OKLAHOMA CITY — Tonight’s game against the Thunder may leave P.J. Carlesimo wondering what might have been.
Carlesimo, now the interim coach of the Nets in the wake of Avery Johnson’s firing last week, coached the Thunder in their final season as the SuperSonics in Seattle — Kevin Durant’s rookie season — and was dismissed after going 1-12 to open the 2008-09 season in Oklahoma City.
The man who replaced Carlesimo, Scott Brooks, has helped mold the Thunder into one of the NBA’s elite teams, including making a trip to the Finals last season. Durant and Russell Westbrook, a rookie when Carlesimo was let go, have turned into one of the best 1-2 combinations in the league.
“I think Scotty’s done not a good job, I think he’s done an incredible job,” Carlesimo said before practice yesterday. “[Thunder general manager Sam Presti] has done an incredible job building the roster. … They’ve made a lot of good moves,
“It’s a very good roster. But Scotty and that staff has done an excellent job with it to get it to where it is — in a very short period of time. You don’t usually get there that quick. But it all starts with [Durant], the guy that’s one of the best, what, two or three players on the planet, and is going to be for a long time, and is a great kid on top of that. … Oklahoma City is going to be good for a long time, and Scotty has a ton to do with that. But KD is special.”
* Gerald Wallace was limited in practice after sitting out of Monday’s blowout loss in San Antonio with a bruised left knee. Wallace was listed as probable for tonight’s game and is expected to play.
Backup point guard C.J. Watson sat out with a bruised right knee, but also was listed as probable and is expected to play.