The safe play would have been the simplest play.
Just keep Scott Brooks and do what the Thunder have done every other season when injuries didn't turn fortune into fruitless like what happened in this disastrous 2014-15 season.
With Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook healthy and Brooks comfortable the Thunder would have been one of the favorites to get back to the Western Conference finals for a fourth time under Brooks.
But OKC general manager Sam Presti didn't play it safe.
Billy Donovan could have played it safe, too. The simple thing would be to sit back and wait for the folks at Florida to finish the statue of him that's sure to be on display sometime soon. That's what happens when you go to four Final Fours and win a pair of national championships. The fact his team missed the postseason in 2015 was not a big deal. By next November, Donovan and the Gators would have been just fine.
Donovan didn't go the safe route, either.
But the two did the next closest thing. Neither Presti nor Donovan took a risk. This isn't a wild hair. There's no gambling here. On this bicycle built for two, Presti and Donovan are wearing crash suits and helmets.
Presti called up his old buddy. Donovan has a kingdom of gold waiting on him. Both made easy, sensible, what-me-worry decisions. As far as risk goes, there's more danger in trying an extra drop of Tabasco sauce.
No one went off the board or rogue with this decision. Firing Brooks was the risk and showed Presti was not averse to taking chances, but calling someone he knew and trusted and had a 10-year relationship with, was neither risky or chancy.
And when the future of the franchise is set to be determined by the hiring of a coach like it is now in Oklahoma City, it's not the time or place to show how crazy different you can be.
Kevin Durant is in the last season of his contract. Russell Westbrook's contract comes up in two seasons. Presti was always going to hire someone that wouldn't cause worry. Donovan is that guy. Donovan doesn't have NBA experience, but he's extremely connected within the league and had already been hired once by the Orlando Magic before changing his mind.
If there was ever a time to take off and try the NBA, it can't be better than now. Donovan gets Durant and Westbrook, two players in their prime, two All-Stars and both among the top 10 players in the league. He gets Serge Ibaka and Steven Adams and the experience of Anthony Morrow and Nick Collison.
Everything is just sitting right there for him. Maybe even a championship. The team is set, and Donovan faces none of the uncertainty he faced at Orlando and has none of the baggage of recruiting, grades or the college life.
Change is always difficult, but the decision by Presti and this decision made by Donovan were not. Once Brooks was fired, the hiring of Donovan was an easy call for Presti. It was natural and had to be comforting, too.
Now we get to see if it works out better than leaving things how they were.
Follow Andrew Gilman on Twitter: @andrewgilmanOK
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