Kings assistant coach Igor Kokoskov has reportedly agreed to a deal to be the new head coach of Fenerbahce, the premier basketball club in Turkey and one of the best teams in Europe.
Major moves in basketball's international coaching ranks today with one of Europe's X-and-O stars Sarunas Jasikevicius taking over Barcelona and, as @ismailsenol reported, Fenerbahce luring Igor Kokoskov off the Kings' bench and away from the NBA to take over the Turkish power
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 2, 2020
The deal is guaranteed for three seasons, per Nikolas Varlas of Eurohoops.
This was Kokoskov’s first season with the Kings, and he served as lead assistant to head coach Luke Walton. He previously had his first head coaching job in the NBA last year with the Phoenix Suns, but was fired after the team 19-63 (and didn’t draft Luka Doncic, despite Kokoskov and Doncic having a prior relationship from the Slovenian national team).
Kokoskov’s biggest claim to fame is being the head coach when Slovenia won EuroBasket in 2017. He is now the coach of the Serbian national team, which features current Kings Nemanja Bjelica and Bogdan Bogdanovic.
Kokoskov had previously been an assistant with the Clippers, Pistons, Suns, Cavaliers, Magic, and Jazz for 18 seasons combined before earning his first head coaching job. Presumably, Kokoskov did not believe he was in line to get another top job in the NBA soon, and the Fenerbahce position is one of the best in the world outside of the United States.
It is unclear when the next Turkish season (or Euroleague season) will begin, but for now, Kokoskov is expected to be with the Kings throughout their time in Disney World.
Kokoskov will still finish out the season with the Kings and be in Orlando, per source https://t.co/Q6LFbaCi0z
— Jason Jones (@mr_jasonjones) July 2, 2020
This story will be updated as more news becomes available. Congrats to Kokoskov for this monumental step in his career.
0 Comments
Badge Legend