Report: Ollie Being ‘Seriously Considered' for Thunder Job

Ollie signed a five-year, $15 million deal last June.

Last week, Yahoo.com reported that Kevin Ollie could be a candidate for the NBA's Oklahoma Thunder job should the team decide to part ways with incumbent Scott Brooks.

On Monday, SNY.com's Adam Zagoria writes that, according to sources, Ollie, who was mentioned as an NBA coaching candidate following the 2013-14 season, is being “seriously considered” for the Thunder job.

More from Zagoria:

Ollie teamed with Thunder stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City and remains close with GM Sam Presti. Ollie is considered to be one of the keys to convincing Durant to remain in Oklahoma City after he enters free agency in 2016, the source said.

In June 2014, two months after Ollie led the Huskies to an NCAA title, the then-second-year coach reiterated his commitment to UConn.

"I want to be here at UConn," he said at the time.

"I don't know about the future," he admitted. "The only thing I can do is take care of today. I got a five-year contract, and I believe I'm going to be here all five years. That's my motto, that's where I want to be at. I want to be here with my family. I want to see my daughter graduate high school here in Connecticut. And whatever happens is going to happen. There's going to be speculation ever year, but the kids know that I have their back, their best interest in mind."

A month before Ollie made those comments the University signed him to a new five-year, $15 million contract, which made him the highest-paid coach in the American Athletic Conference.

Contact Us