Oklahoma City, OK (My Sportsbook) - The Oklahoma City Thunder named former Philadelphia coach Maurice Cheeks as an assistant on Friday. Also, the team hired Rex Kalamian to be an assistant coach. "We are thrilled to add Maurice and Rex to our coaching staff," said Thunder head coach Scott Brooks. "They bring a wealth of NBA experience and solid work ethic that will help our players' continued development." Cheeks was fired by Philadelphia last December after the team stumbled out of the gate to a 9-14 mark. In the 2007-08 season, he guided the team to a 40-42 record and took Detroit to six games in the Eastern Conference quarterfinal round. After coming to Philadelphia in 2005, Cheeks guided the team to a record of 122-147 with one playoff appearance. A member of the Sixers' 1982-83 NBA championship team, he started his head coaching career in Portland, where he finished with a 162-139 mark and a pair of playoff appearances. Kalamian comes to Oklahoma City from Sacramento, where he served as an assistant coach with the Kings during the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons. Prior to joining the Kings, Kalamian spent two years as an assistant coach with the Minnesota Timberwolves and one season with the Denver Nuggets. |
