Reports: Thunder head coach candidate Will Weaver quarantining in Oklahoma City

Sydney Kings coach Will Weaver is currently quarantining in Oklahoma City, presumably interviewing for the Thunder’s head coaching vacancy in person.

ESPN’s Olgun Uluc was first to report the news Thursday.

Weaver has been one of the more recent names to discuss candidates for the head coaching job in Oklahoma City.

New York Times’ Marc Stein reported this past Tuesday that the five big names he has heard linked to the job are Weaver, Spurs assistant Will Hardy, Bucks assistant Charles Lee and both Thunder assistants Mark Daigneault and Brian Keefe.

Weaver spent last season in Australia coaching the NBL’s Sydney Kings, who finished with a league-best 20-8 record.

Before that, Weaver won the G-League Coach of the Year with the Long Island Nets in 2019.

Weaver has been an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers under Brett Brown and the Brooklyn Nets under Kenny Atkinson. Both teams were rebuilding situations during Weaver’s stay on the bench, a phase the Thunder are heading to.

Weaver flew to Oklahoma City during a pandemic should indicate that he is a serious candidate for the Thunder head coaching job.

Weaver fits the mold of the type of head coach that the Thunder is looking to hire: young, inexperienced, good player developer, and a culture guy. It should be encouraging that in Weaver’s two head coaching opportunities, he turned his teams into winners with the Long Island Nets and Sydney Kings.