Williams, Cheeks hired as Thunder assistants

Jun 29, 2015 - 11:07 PM Oklahoma City, OK (SportsNetwork.com) - Oklahoma City Thunder coach Billy Donovan will have plenty of experience working under him as he prepares for his first season in the NBA.

Former NBA head coaches Monty Williams and Maurice Cheeks and recently fired University of Alabama head coach Anthony Grant were hired by the Thunder as assistant coaches, the team announced Monday.

Donovan was hired to replace the fired Scott Brooks after spending the last 19 seasons as the head coach at the University of Florida.

"I'm really excited about the vast experience that this staff will bring to our team," he said in a statement.

Williams was fired as head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans last month after guiding the team to a 173-221 record and two playoff berths in five seasons.

Cheeks last coached the Detroit Pistons, who fired him in February 2014 just 50 games into his first season. He has also coached Portland and Philadelphia, leading the three teams to a combined 305-315 mark and four playoff appearances.

Grant was fired by Alabama in March after leading the Crimson Tide to a 117-85 record and one NCAA Tournament berth in six seasons. He served as an assistant under Donovan at Florida from 1996-2006.

Mark Bryant and Darko Rajakovic remained as assistants after Brooks was fired in April.

The Thunder hired Billy Schmidt, an assistant under Donovan at Florida last season, as quality control coach.