Written by Jorge Castillo at WashingtonPost.com
The Washington Wizards and Scott Brooks have agreed in principle on a five-year deal worth $35 million for Brooks to become the team’s head coach, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld and Vice President Tommy Sheppard traveled to Southern California on Wednesday to meet with Brooks, 50, who became the clear favorite for the job when news trickled out earlier that day that their top target, former Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, would become the Minnesota Timberwolves’ coach and president of basketball operations.
Grunfeld returned to Washington on a red-eye flight early Thursday morning without an agreement in place, but Sheppard stayed in California and met with Brooks again on Thursday. Brooks is the only person the Wizards met with about the position, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
The $7 million annual salary is more than double what the Wizards paid their previous coach, Randy Wittman, the past two seasons and hints at the importance the franchise is placing on the position as they enter a pivotal phase.
The salary would make Brooks one of the six highest-paid coaches in the NBA and would equal Dallas Mavericks Coach Rick Carlisle as the highest-paid NBA coach among those who don’t double as president of basketball operations for their respective organizations. The four coach-presidents that currently make $7 million or more per season are Gregg Popovich (San Antonio Spurs), Doc Rivers (Los Angeles Clippers), Thibodeau and Stan Van Gundy (Detroit Pistons).
Brooks would take over just as the Wizards begin one of the most important offseasons in franchise history with a connection that is impossible to ignore: He coached Thunder superstar Kevin Durant for seven seasons and the two are said to have a good relationship. Durant will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, and the Wizards, who have meticulously created the salary cap space to sign him, are going to throw themselves at the Washington area native when the clock strikes midnight on July 1.
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