The Oklahoma City Thunder revealed the bad news that many were fearing all along on Friday, as Kevin Durant has officially been ruled out for the season in advance of his third foot surgery of this calendar year.
Now, with the reality of no Durant for the NBA Playoffs, CBS Sports' Matt Moore believes the Thunder won't be able to give head coach Scott Brooks a full assessment one way or the other after the season:
The Thunder made moves to improve their depth and answer specific questions about positional weaknesses. At full health, they had the best team roster-wise they've had since 2012. But with Durant (and possibly Ibaka) out, you can't make any decisions based on what happens in the playoffs.
Brooks likely is safe. How do you fire him for losing in the first round without Durant? The roster is likely kept together. You have no idea what they would look like at full-strength because you never saw it.
Many questioned Brooks' job security after the team stumbled out of the gate in 2014-15, but a season plagued with major injuries to the team's star core (Russell Westbrook, Durant, Serge Ibaka) may be enough to earn him a mulligan.
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