Oklahoma City Thunder fire coach Scott Brooks after 7 years

Scott Brooks did everything but win a championship. It wasn’t enough. The Oklahoma City Thunder fired their coach on Wednesday, parting ways with a former NBA coach of the year who led the team to three conference finals in four years, only to falter this season as his players were hit hard by injuries. Brooks coached the Thunder for seven seasons. Starting in 2010-11, he led the team to the Western Conference finals three out of four years, and the franchise reached the NBA Finals in 2012. Oklahoma City failed to make the playoffs this past season, as injuries limited them to a 45-37 finish. Brooks was 338-207 (.620) with the Thunder and was the 2009-10 NBA Coach of the Year. He said last week that he expected to be the coach next season. – AP