Next Thunder member due a pay raise: coach Scott Brooks

Presti did not share a specific timetable in resolving Brooks' future status, but Brooks isn't exactly playing hard to get. “Sam and I have a great, open communication,” Brooks said. “I love the guys I coach. This is where I want to be.”

In the past, Presti has waited until the end of the season to announce contract issues with Brooks, who had the “interim” label lifted on April 15, 2009, the final day of the regular season. On May 4, 2010, four days after a first-round playoff loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Thunder announced it had picked up Brooks' third-year option, which extended him through the 2011-12 season.

Brooks became an assistant under Seattle SuperSonics coach P.J. Carlisemo at the start of the 2007-08 season and was named interim head coach when Carlesimo was fired 13 games (1-12) into the 2008-09 season.

Brooks won the 2009-10 Red Auerbach NBA Coach of the Year Award in his first full season in charge, directing a 27-win improvement (from 23-59 to 50-32) that tied for eighth largest in NBA history.

Terms of Brooks' current deal have never been announced, but he is believed to be making $1.75 million this year.