It wasn't Scott Brooks' fault that the Oklahoma City Thunder missed the playoffs this season, but the lost campaign probably still precipitated his firing as the Thunder's head coach Wednesday.
A year away from Kevin Durant hitting unrestricted free agency, there's a newfound sense of urgency in Oklahoma City around what might be the Thunder's last chance to win a championship with Durant and Russell Westbrook as teammates. And that made this the time for Oklahoma City to try to upgrade on the sidelines to compete with the NBA's best teams.