Thunder reward Brooks with multi-year deal

Oklahoma City, OK – The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed head coach Scott Brooks to a multi-year contract.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it is reported to be a four-year deal worth about $18 million.

Brooks guided the Thunder to a 47-19 mark and a second consecutive Northwest Division title in 2011-12, a lockout-shortened season. Oklahoma City beat the then-defending champion Mavericks, Lakers and Spurs en route to winning the Western Conference title, but lost to the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.

"Continuing with Scott as our head coach is extremely significant for the future of our organization," Thunder general manager Sam Presti said. "As we have continually communicated, he has been integral to our success and we have a deep appreciation for his tireless dedication to our players' development. His experiences and core values are invaluable to our players as they continue to grow and improve and we are thrilled to continue our partnership."

The 46-year-old Brooks took over for P.J. Carlesimo in the 2008-09 season and coached for the final 69 games.

In his first full season at the helm in 2009-10, Brooks was awarded the NBA Coach of the Year award after guiding the Thunder to a 50-32 record and the franchise's first postseason since moving to Oklahoma City. The club lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the playoffs.

The Thunder went 55-27 in 2010-11 and lost to Dallas in the conference finals.

Brooks has led Oklahoma City to a 174-125 mark in the regular season and a 24-19 record in the postseason.

"Oklahoma City is a special place and I'm eager to build upon the foundation and culture of this franchise for years to come," Brooks said.

The UC-Irvine product had spent six seasons as an assistant coach with the Thunder (2007-2008), Denver (2003-2006) and Sacramento (2006-2007) following an 11-year playing career with seven different teams, including Philadelphia, Minnesota, Houston, Dallas, New York and Cleveland.