The Sacramento Kings introduced new head coach Mike Brown Tuesday at a press conference. General manager Monte McNair said the coaching search boiled down to three things: experience as a successful head coach; the ability to build relationships across the organization; and leadership as a head coach “for everything that we’re trying to do here.”
Brown followed that up by acknowledging that he was brought in for leadership and pointed to his goal of working to build a “strong soul” within the organization that can lead to a winning culture:
“Every organization out there, in my opinion, has a soul and the stronger that soul is the better that organization will be. A strong soul in my opinion equates to a winning culture. And there’s three areas I’m going to really focus on to get that right…
- “There has to be a vertical and horizontal alignment of trust within all the units of an organization. It’s not just about basketball, it’s the business side, it’s the medical side, it’s the players, it’s the coaching staff – there’s got to be a level of trust.”
- “There has to be a set of values on the table that are led and upheld by the leadership of this organization, starting with me. Eventually, it will get to the internal part of the group, which is our players too, the leaders within our group of players too.”
- “Then thirdly, there has to be an embracement of your role. Everybody will understand what their role is. I’m not just talking about our 15 or 17 players, everybody in the organization, from the business side, to the front office, again will know what their role is and they’ll embrace it.”
“If those three elements come together, and come together at a high level, we’ll have a winning culture here that is sustainable and long-lasting.”
Everyone has been talking about what is “missing” with the Kings for what seems like forever now. Brown really laid out a plan there that makes sense for what is needed with this team in terms of trust and values. Later on in the presser, he detailed what he has seen in his experience with the good teams he has been a part of.
“The organizations that I have been with that were great in the past, there’s always a competitive spirit that everybody has within the organization that you want to make sure exists here or that you can bring about on a daily basis here. There was always a connectivity within the organization,” Brown said. “When you hit tough times that connectivity would help you sustain. There was always a level of appreciation of the journey that it takes to be great. There’s an appreciation of the process, or the steps and there was an understanding that you don’t want to skip any steps along the way. Then, lastly, there’s a level of focus throughout the course of the year, starting right now in the summer and then carrying over to training camp, carrying over to the beginning of the season, the middle of the season, after All-Star break. There was a level of focus that all those groups, or teams, or organizations had that was unmatched.”
We’ve heard a lot of coaches walk through the door and say a lot of the right things only for nothing to come fruition, but this was good to hear. And it didn’t stop there. His response about defense also was interesting. De’Aaron Fox, Davion Mitchell, Richaun Holmes and Terence Davis all were in attendance at the press conference. When Brown was asked about the team’s lack of poor defense over the years, Brown had this to say:
“I’m going to preach from day 1, they have to have communication, they have to give effort, and they’ve got to trust one another. On top of that, you throw out a defensive system that fits for this group and you have a chance to be pretty good,” he said. “I had that young man over there Foxy [De’Aaron Fox] when he was in high school at an Adidas Nation camp and obviously, I walked away impressed with his speed, but I thought he was a dog defensively, and he is who is because he earned it. So, there is going to be a lot of pressure on him, coming from me not anybody else, to get back to what I know he can do on this level night in and night out. So, I’m excited about all of this. Then, we’ve got the young fella right there [Davion Mitchell] that’s going to do his thing too. So, I’m excited about all this, but it starts at the head of the snake and those two guys up there for me, great to have.”
It would seem that Brown, through a compliment, called out Fox in person as one of his first statements in Sacramento to get back to the level of defense he saw him in play in high school.
Again, like we have said many times; talk is cheap. We have heard it all before. That being said, Brown’s approach here from the standpoint of getting the “soul” of the team right and being able to address Fox, the franchise player, directly about defense is a strong start.
I hope he does lean super hard on fox when it comes to d.
Love what he said. Getting on Fox to defend. Finally. He will hold Fox accountable, which no one has done yet.
Also love the process talk and not skipping steps—-Looking at you Vivek. Vivek’s biggest error, due to ego, is step skipping..I believe.
With a real GM seemingly making the decisions, a real coach and a top 4 pick, the Kings have a chance to actually climb out of the hole and be a real
team.
Yup can’t agree more, accountability has been the issue here since cousins.
They have anointed so many undeserving rookies the face of the franchise status as if they are bringing something more to the table than just the promise of what could be.
Constantly drafting in the lottery and constantly rotating to the next savior has been the death spiral.
This time it’s different.
KanGZ!
Hopefully we could get to see Fox buy-in and actually tries playing defense for 82 games. Doesn’t have to be elite at it but being average to slightly above average would be very good for him and the Kings.
If not, then I hope Brown meant what he says about being accountable. If Fox is being a liability down the stretch, we’ll find out if he has the balls to sit out Fox in favor of Mitchell or Donte down the stretch.
We’ve certainly seen that Fox is able to disrupt when he’s locked in. I’m remembering a sequence from last season, or possibly the one before, where Fox hassled the absolute ass off of Russell Westbrook. Fox would not let him go where he wanted, was already where Russ wanted to go once he made a move, and just frustrated the hell out of him.
I don’t need him to go that hard all the time, and doing so probably isn’t sustainable, given his role on offense. But Fox can definitely be better far more consistently, and I’m hopeful that Brown will be insistent about it.
Fox certainly has the ability. Its the consistency that frustrates us fans. I think Fox gets fired up on certain guys that he just decides to play defense and lock them up. Problem is most of the time he’s not that engaged.
I think that would be Brown’s challenge to Fox. He don’t have to be a beast on defense like you mentioned when he locked up Westbrook, but if he can be consistent and just plays average to slightly above average defense. It would really go a long way.
Totally agree, loved seeing his effort and commitment when he first got into the league. It wasn’t like anyone had to squint to see that while he’s not defensive player of the year level, when engaged he can easily be above average.
The hard part has been watching that disappear into not caring unless he is matching up against Mitchell or Westbrook.
This has actually been an issue, IMO, with Fox since college. He gets up for the big personal 1v1 matchups, but not the others. Whereas elite players are intrinsically motivated.
Really, the bigger problem with Fox is that he’s an easy mark on any team actions. He doesn’t navigate screens, read the offense, communicate or rotate especially well. 1v1 defending is nice and all, and you’d rather have it than not have it, but ultimately, it’s the team defense aspects that are more important.
Fox is not the franchise player despite what anyone says. That has failed.
Maybe Brown gets that and he can put Fox in a position to do something within his role?
Just hoping he has the same impact on Fox that he had with Wiggins
He’s part of it but I would argue that culture and soul as he said of the warriors is what had an impact on Wiggins.
Learn to play within a winning system and don’t be dumb. The basis of the culture.
KaNGz culture….get drafted way too high. Cash max deal paychecks after being a decent player in the NBA but the best player on the KAngZ.
“The transition to soul from a jazz band after initially being a sousa march band is music to my ears.” – Vivek, probably
I hope it isn’t too late for Fox.
With Wiggins it was easier. Wiggins is on a team that is championship caliber and he is expendable. A coaching staff and a front office that is completely willing to let Wiggins rot on the bench helps establish a process for Wiggins to succeed.
There are multiple generations of Kings players that never feared losing their job.
Wiggins had to earn playing time and figure out how to contribute to the team. It has paid off for both him and the Warriors,
Thanks for explaining things to those of us with lesser aptitudes.
What have you learned today?
Are you reading before you write or writing random thoughts?
If Fox is an average defender this year, the team would be so much better. Add in drafting Ivey and getting him to defend at a high level too, then things get interesting.
Fox, Davion, Ivey, and Donte would be quite the perimeter defense
Donte, if he stays, will have to step up on defense too. From what we’ve seen so far, he’s been rather pedestrian, and not at all this defensive presence he was billed as.
So far? He appeared, after a 40 game injury lay-off, in 25 games for Sac during which he averaged a career high 1.5 steals per game (best on the team), and .2 blocks (basically unchanged his entire career). Mitchell had .3, and Fox had .4.
Donte’s the white guy in the back court, you know, the one with the goatee?
Not being sarcastic at all.
Are you arguing that 1.5 steals per game and 0.2 blocks per game are good defensive statistics?
Are you using Fox and Mitchell as points of comparison to set the benchmark for good defense?
Honestly want to know what you are saying.
Fox shouldn’t be used as a benchmark for good defense, but Davion’s good at on-ball defense.
Agree. Not sure what his point is though?
Not at all the impression I had watching Donte. He was a dog in the games I watched. High effort on both ends, but poor decision making with the ball in his hands. Gunna chaulk that up to trying to hard to fit in right away and being anxious coming off of his injury.
Really? I was blown away by his defensive playmaking and rebounding. It’s so freakish that it interrupts one’s train of thought. You have to pause and wonder how he covered so much ground. Where did he come from to get that? He was just over there a second ago. Meanwhile, Kings are running the break.
That said, big event bias can really skew our ideas of overall defensive quality. A guy that goes for big moments that we usually think of as “defensive playmaking” often sacrifices fundamental team defensive concepts to do it. A guy like Tari Eason is a great, extreme example. He’s constantly chasing steals and blocks. In doing so he’s constantly making stupid fouls, missing rotations, getting lost, and giving up easy buckets.
I’m not saying Donte is doing that, but guys that are “all over the court” often make things difficult for their teammates when they get caught out.
Donte has been highly overrated on this site. I just don’t see a reason for all the hype.
KanGZ chased him for years too. I don’t see it. I don’t think he wants to be here either.
LOL!
I hope Mike Brown would only plays who plays defense. (either Fox / Sabonis should be put on bench if they do not sacrifice or hustle play)
look how A. Wiggins plays and how many effort did he give out and grabbed those offensive rebound.
I think part of Wiggins stepping his game up is no longer being a 1st or 2nd option and also the amount of solid veterans/coaches in the Warriors organization.
Having deja vu from all the revolving door of head coaches the past 16 years. Last one who actually had a winning record was Rick Adelman. Anybody remember him?
My 3-point plan:
-Gag Vivek and put him in a closet
-Stop thinking a spot in the play-in game is actually some sort of accomplishment.
-Tank for the French dude next year.
Even if you can’t get Wembanyama (said French dude), next year’s draft is supposed to be very good anyways so if you can get multiple bites at next year’s apple, go for it.
He certainly said all the right things and I think at this point he should know what needs to be done given his experience and status in the league. Hopefully he plays hard ball with these guys because until they defend, this team will never do anything.
Doesn’t look we are trading Fox or Holmes.
As much as I like Holmes (& his mom), I wouldn’t expect him to be w/the Kings next season.
Both would be hard to move with their contracts. Brown can probably help Fox live up to his, but it’ll be hard for Holmes to live up to his here or anywhere else. Holmes doesn’t fit with Sabonis so it’ll be hard to raise his trade value considering he likely won’t get extended minutes.
I don’t think Holmes would be tough to move. He’s on a great contract, even if he’s the first big off of your bench, getting thirty minutes a night.
I’m not convinced that Fox would be such a hard sell, either. His contract makes things more complicated, but if I recall, Fox was who Morey wanted in order to get him to discuss a swap for what’s-his-face, Ben something.
There seems to be something of an assumption that just because commenters on this site are sick of Fox, that everyone else feels that way, too. I don’t think the notion is anywhere close to a consensus, even among Kings fans.
Agree with you on Holmes and Fox to a lesser extent. Holmes is very much tradeable and arguably an asset given his contract.
Fox has a lot to prove given his contract. If he continues playing like he did post-Hali then obviously his stock rises and he becomes more tradeable. 50-50 whether he plays like he did down the stretch last year.
I think Det would be interested in him coming back for Grant
I’m not sure why you would expect either of those things from a coach’s introductory presser. He’s not even the GM…
Mike Brown gives soul while Vivek takes it away.
Nice!
Brown has no idea what he is in for but saying the right things is a start . Sadly, Vivek is still the soul ( or soulless) until proven otherwise .
I will reserve judgement until i see him execute on his plan, other wise he is just like and new manager/leader. It’s easy to lay out a plan, executing is the what separates great ones from average ones
Agree, since it happens on the court it’s just nice words which have been spoken many times in different ways by different coaches .
Yep. I like the nice words, but any of us could’ve said nice words. Can he turn the team around? That’s what I want to see. More wins than losses. I hope he does. Look forward to having a competent coach on the sideline for us this year.
“Good luck…”
Hahaha I had a doomsday countdown clock in my mind.
8 months is on the clock..until 🤙🏽 new whim.
Mission: Soulful?
FIFY coach Brown:
Good luck, coach!
Said the right things, came over as a likeable and smart guy. Let’s hope he’s able to improve the team too, but I’m afraid we need more than a well-meaning HC for that…
“So, I’m excited about all this, but it starts at the head of the snake and those two guys up there for me, great to have.”
He left out one thing…
4. Somebody needs to improve this roster.
Curious why an incoming Head Coach would even bother saying that? That makes no sense whatsoever to me.
What? You never walked in on your first day of work and loudly announced that the people that you manage are completely substandard and that your boss needs to get better people for you?
Soooo naive, Pook.
I’m sure Marty was being facetious. Goodness, some of you take everything so literally.
I don’t really know that the gentleman was being facetious. Very little of what I’ve read recently suggests that the statement should be taken at anything other than face value.
With you Sims, I’d assume sarcasm. But Marty I cannot. If it was sarcasm, fine. But it certainly was not super obvious.
You can hardly blame people, since irony and sarcasm have taken such a brutal bludgeoning over the past few years. Poe’s Law is pretty much the law of the land at this point.
I broke my brain trying to imagine Luke Walton saying anything so substantive about anything other than the videotape.
I’m beginning to think Walton actually was just a videotape / hologram so Vivek could save a few million while paying for all the other coaches who didn’t work here anymore.
Hollowgram, maybe.
Lots of shadows in the comments cast over what could be the turning point for this franchise. I know, we’ve heard this stuff from about 12 other coaches in the last 16 years, sure. But here’s the thing; when Vivek hired Monte he hired a guy who actually knows how to do his job. That job was to implement change in the culture of the team and Monte has been steady handed in this process and, so far, has stayed true to his word of maintaining flexibility and moving this team closer to the playoffs.
The Kings have been in a huge hole talent-wise, and he has been digging us out of that with consistently above average drafts and decent to above average trades. He has been allowed, finally, to address the huge hole at the coaching position, where we’ve gone from a turd, to a proven interim coach to a well respected leader with a multi-championship pedigree.
I don’t expect us to make the playoffs this year. But I expect to see all the things Puke Walton talked about for 3 years actually start to take shape this season – a real system, culture of winning, trust and development. If Vivek can stay on board and not go rogue at the first sign of adversity, I believe Monte has the ability to bring some respectability back to the Kings. Maybe sooner than later, especially if his and Brown’s approach lineup in a Petrie / Adelman kind of way.
I know this team has given us plenty of reasons to expect the worst. If that’s where you choose to stay as a fan, cool. I’m actually hopeful this season will bring some visible, on-court improvements, maybe some cohesiveness and chemistry, building blocks that show we’re on the right track for a change.
Its a long way to the top, and I hope we’re seeing those first steps once again.
Monte allegedly needs to make the playoffs to get an extension. He’s improved the Kings, but I have a tough time imagining them in the playoffs next season, so Idk if the Kings have reached a turning point.
I recall alleged reports about Vivek saying he wants to make the playoffs next year. Which is likely true. I bet he’s said / felt as much every year.
I don’t recall one single report from anywhere stating that Monte needs to make the playoffs to get an extension. I’ve never heard anything regarding metrics in any way tied to Monte’s extension, honestly.
I agree that its tough to imagine them reaching the playoffs next season with the current roster + 1 young draft pick (regardless of the talent, head nod to rookie Magic, who obviously isn’t walking through that door.) The team doesn’t need to reach the playoffs next season to have reached a turning point, tho. I laid out as much in my original comment, including key indicators that would, for me, signify said turning point.
I know its contradictory to be optimistic about the team (or for me to be optimistic in general,) but when I see the team making decisions, in effect, like a normal NBA front office, I can, if I squint just right and cross my eyes, see a little tiny light of positivity that, if nurtured properly, could eventually turn into… something resembling a respectable NBA franchise at the very least, maybe…?
I imagine McNair would also like to make the playoffs at the end of next season. That isn’t the same thing as saying it’s a reasonable expectation. We’d all like to see Sacramento in the playoffs next year!
The question is whether McNair’s job counts on it. My guess is that it doesn’t, but no extension has been offered, which is a pretty strong clue. They may be waiting until next month, but sooner is better.
The organization has finally begun to take on a glimmer of respectability, and it would be a setback to bounce the GM after the season, and put another GM in the same shitty position that McNair was in: Stuck with a head coach whom you didn’t hire, and who has years left on his contract.
This.
I could also see that, but I’m not sure if that’ll continue if Monte’s replaced.
I think you have missed perhaps the most important part of the interview. I am not sure why or how, but you missed it. Our new coach has asked for more cowbell. We should be talking about how we as fans can be sure to deliver More Cowbell!!!! We need to double the amount of cowbell at home games… what is our strategy to reach ear splitting decibel levels?
Dickinson’d.
Jerami Grant to Portland for protected 2025 first round pick.
Milwaukee’s first rounder, so near the end of the first round. :-/
I’m not shocked in any way.
Nice trade by Portland. Guess they’re going all in on competing with Dame.
I wonder if they’d have interest in Barnes or Holmes.
Here we goooooo!
People are anticipating a lot of trade action today and tomorrow.
Unfortunate for us as a potential trade target and more likely det calls the bluff and think they’ll get ivey at 5.
Given that no one has talked about Bey being included in any rumors, Detroit really doesn’t have anything that they’d be willing to trade.
Jerami Grant is off the board. Dealt to Portland. I wasn’t a big fan, so not too upset about this. There are reports that the Kings are dealing Barnes for John Collins. I see the logic, but this team started out short on wings, so some backfilling would seem required. My assumption if the Collins deal goes down is that the Kings will either draft Ivey or deal the pick for a wing.
Barnes for Collins keeps us in the same shitty forward depth position so I’d think they’d draft Murray if no other trades are an option.
How attractive is Bey? Swap picks and a protected first next year? Does det even listen to anything with us for Bey?
Badge Legend