Monty Williams Will Not Return to Thunder Next Season: Latest Comments, Reaction

Oklahoma City Thunder assistant Monty Williams will not return to the team for the 2016-17 season, coach Billy Donovan announced Wednesday. 

Erik Horne of the Oklahoman was among the pool of writers at Donovan's exit interview to report the news. Williams, 44, left the team in February after his wife, Ingrid, died in a car accident. He did not return to the Thunder for the remainder of the regular season or their subsequent playoff run. 

Anthony Slater of the Oklahoman reported in April that Williams was not expected back, even after the current season.

Williams previously served as the New Orleans Pelicans' coach for five seasons, compiling a 173-221 record. The franchise made the playoffs twice, including a run to the No. 8 seed in 2014-15. New Orleans lost 15 more games this past season (30-52) under Williams' replacement, Alvin Gentry, than it did in 2014-15 (45-37).

Donovan said he did not yet have a replacement in mind for Williams.

"If you’re going to try to build a team, and you want your team to be cohesive and have really, really good chemistry, then it starts with the coaching staff," Donovan said, per Horne. "At this level, there’s plenty of really, really good competent coaches, X and O wise. To me, it’s so much deeper than that."

With Donovan having a year of NBA coaching under his belt, it's possible he has more freedom in choosing his assistants. Williams had no real ties to Donovan before his hiring; it's likely management wanted someone with NBA experience on the bench to help the college lifer in his transition. Former NBA coach Maurice Cheeks is also on Donovan's staff.

Anthony Grant, who joined Donovan last year after stints as the head coach at VCU and Alabama, may be the most obvious replacement. Grant is a longtime SEC guy, like Donovan, and may push for a bigger role after not being hired for any major college vacancies.

Darko Rajakovic, a well-known "Presti guy," may be the favorite if general manager Sam Presti gets involved with the process. Given the collaborative relationship between Presti and Donovan, though, it's likely they'll work together and land on an internal candidate.

Follow Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) on Twitter.