The Sacramento Kings have fired head coach Mike Brown. ESPN’s Sham Charania was the first to report the news, and The Athletic’s Sam Amick confirmed the report.
The Kings have lost 5 straight games, and currently sit 12th in the Western Conference with a record of 13-18.
It’s strange. I don’t think this firing fixes anything. I think Mike Brown was certainly part of the problem, but I don’t think he was the problem. And yet I’m also not that upset that he’s gone. I will say, though, that the Kings are rapidly on their way to once again being a punchline of the NBA. Mike Brown is only the second coach in franchise history to win over 40 games, and he’s done it both seasons he’s been in Sacramento. He won Coach of the Year in 2023, and was given a multi-year extension just this past summer. And he helped end the drought. But for all the good he did, something had to change with this team. And right or wrong, the head coach is often the first on the chopping block. We’ll see if a new voice can suddenly inspire the Kings roster or cover up the holes in the roster construction.
Best of luck to Mike Brown. He drove me mad with his rotations and challenges, but overall he seems like a pretty good dude. I’m sure he’ll be scooped up as an assistant in no time, or he can sit back and count Vivek’s money and laugh. I wish him well.
The clown show returneth…
It never left…
DE’AARON FOX, COACH KILLER!
Blow it all up.
Coach. After Coach. After Coach. After Coach. After Coach. After Coach.
Vivek should step in as Coach . Some 5 on 4 might be fun !
I nominate Anjali
Hey, it won Anjali an AAU chip.
Yes and has the coach made a difference. It all about and only about the roster. Focus on that.
Interim coach the rest of the season or are there actually any candidates worth checking in on? My suspicion says interim until more candidates free up. Hopefully, this is also saying Monte knows changes are needed more than just a coach switch.
Luke Loucks is Fox’s choice
Clearly there was an internal struggle going on between Fox and Brown. By choosing Fox, this guarantees the worst possible outcome for this iteration of the franchise.
Now they won’t move Fox until he forces his way out, and they’ll get essentially nothing in return.
Nothing ever changes…
This is exactly my fear. This team isn’t one (1) coach away from contending. MB frustrated me like he did everyone else but I don’t think this is the answer.
Missed the shit show after 18 month’s away. Hold tight
That 24 million should ease the pain . Not certain it’s going to help but his actions did not help either . To me the bigger problems are Vivek and Monte. Fox moving to problem territory as well . Oh well, back to Kangzland ????
Welp, that’s one decision …
I didn’t really think this was on the table, but sure, I guess?
If it works, great! If, as seems more likely, it doesn’t, there’s still plenty of time until the trade deadline to blow it up.
Are you not entertained?
Christie or Triano won’t turn this around. No decent asst in the league will be interested in this job.
Expect the usual retread suspects to get another shot.
This take (not you, just the take genrerally) is ridiculous. You’re telling me that when one of only 30 jobs of its kind open up that includes millions of guaranteed dollars and gives you the chance to work with Fox and Sabonis who may be motivated to prove Brown was the problem IS NOT an appealing job? Maybe some won’t want it. Lots of them will. I’d love to go after Chris Quinn or David Adleman if not Becky Hammon.
They are straws and the Kings are grasping.
I detest this decision. There is much we do not know – the interaction between Coach and Front Office – the interaction between Coach and Players –
but this will return the nightmare of the Boogie Cousins Kings – This is just so Michael Malone to Ty Corbin to George Karl – and that was just so darn Kangz.
I have to put the blame on this with the Top: King Vivek and Queen Matina should abdicate the throne. Until they do – I can’t help but expect more of the same.
Have they cleaned out Ty Corbin’s office yet?
Is this a joke? No coach worth there salt wants to come to a dumpster fire. More coaches will get fired with better opportunities for a good coach to go to. The 30 jobs thing sure works out well in other sports like the dumpster fire in the ny jets.
Not every coach works out, but when the Jets hired Salah he was a great candidate. The organization stinks to high hell starting at the top, but a confident coach believes they can come in and make things better. We’ll see.
Also — Mike Brown is a great coach. In his presser last night he made great points about where the breakdowns fell. I’m not thrilled to see him (probably) go down the road to GSW’s bench and make them even better.
Salah was burdened with the GM Aaron Rodgers
& Woody Johnson’s an awful owner.
As a Jets fan, I beg of you to not bring up that dumpster fire here. I come to this shithole to escape that shithole.
Well, Mike Malone’s comments won’t help encourage candidates to line up for the job, that’s for sure.
I am firmly in the never-say-never camp on this. Sometimes when a team is underperforming it’s just because the current coach’s shit just stops landing with the players for whatever reason and the rando assistant who gets promoted turns things around.
Hope springs eternal, I guess.
What else is it about?
I’d be happy to see examples where this actually happened, then. The only example that comes to mind is David Blatt being run out of time by LBJ (and Rich Paul), but that team was actually winning and had a generational talent. We have (checks notes) De’Aaron It Doesn’t Really Matter Fox.
I think the general consensus is that in almost all cases the team does not improve substantially under an interim-coach.
Ah, Frank Vogel comes to mind as well, I suppose.
This also makes me wonder if Jordi had been serving as a go-between / peacemaker between Fox and Brown for the past two seasons.
Just kind of shocking how quickly it all went bad…
Jordi has been doing a fantastic job in Brooklyn. May as well name Doug Christie interim coach
Funny you should say that…
https://kingsherald.com/4756afb7-a92e-49a3-a1de-837818c03ea2
That literally made me laugh out loud.
Doh! I suck at the inter-tubes.
…. and so it begins….
Enjoy the money Mike. The Kings don’t deserve you. Kings are officially back on schedule as the worst organization in the NBA with the Hornets and the Wizards.
As if MB was doing a good job.
If you fire a coach, you better have a better option waiting in the wings that isn’t named Luke Walton. I feel like he knew it was coming at the presser, basically saying that there isn’t much more a coach can do if the players aren’t listening.
I’m not a fan of mid-season coach firings.
Likely:
Doug Christie
Mark Jackson
Jay Triano
Luke Loucks
Alvin Gentry is still on the payroll
yes – add him to the list. I put Doug Christie first because Glory Day Kings has been the consistent trend for Vivek along with anything Warriors. Anything.
None of these are a better option.
Mark Jackson incoming in 3…2…1.
It doesn’t really matter. It’s not going to make anyone feel any better.
Dude….that’s gold!
Should have did it when Jordi was getting offers and kept him.
Jordi had an abrasive confrontational attitude. That’s not going to work.
Damn, he just ran a practice and talked to the media too.
Damn he pulled out the Keisha Magic School Bus quote.
He’s in the middle of a remodel of his house as well, he did not see this coming… Good grief, Happy Holidays
Vivek will be paying for the remodel, and now MB will have plenty of time to oversee the work
How can one organization employ SO MANY incompetent people for SO LONG?
There’s an incompetent person at the top.
Right, and before that there two TWO incompetent people at the top. How many more decades does this go on?
It’ll probably go on as long as Vivek owns the Kings.
Now that it happened, I’m still wishing Monte and co were the first to go. Brown did a bad job this year, but Monte squandered the best team in a generation. I’m not sure what the downstream effects will be. Here we go!
I said that the extension was a mistake. From COY to play-in loss to 13-18. All downhill. Needed to proved he could get back to the playoffs this year to get an extension. Trade them all. Would like to keep Keon and Domas.
Trading Domas would hurt, but I think that blowing this team up by trading Fox & Domas is almost certainly the best course of action.
Yep. The obvious choice was to let MB go and promote Jordi and never procure MB with the extension. But MM has trouble making big ball decisions. And no, firing MB mid season is not a big ball decision, it’s a pathetic cop out because he doesn’t have the stones to trade Fox.
Yup it was. Premature extensions are a Kangz special.
Fans gave Mike Brown a pass for ending the playoff drought that season but he also lost in the 1st round with a better team after being up 2-0. Then failed to capitalize on it the next season
Monte needs to contact the Clippers to request permission to speak with Van Gundy. If Van Gundy is interested make him a offer he can’t refuse, get him here asap.
Respectfully, I don’t think a new coach fixes this. Monte more at fault than Brown. Didn’t get him the players he needed.
Why oh Why would Jeff Van Gundy want to work for the Vivek Kings when he’s on the bench with Ty Lue on Steve Ballmer’s LA Clippers ? Just my opinion: Fat Chance.
Maybe re-hire Michael Malone… oh wait, he hates Vivek. Maybe Dave Joerger. or Micah Nori. Lots of former Kings coaches to chose from. (actually, Ime Udoka as a former player would be kind of super).
Man, being a Kings head coach is the best. You get 2-3 years of paid vacation, guaranteed.
Raiders as well. The two trashiest franchises in the NBA and NFL respectively and unfortuantely my two favorite teams.
Same. Add to that being an A’s fan as well.
Sigh. #FJF
Same same. We honestly shouldn’t even like sports at this point lol
At least we get the A’s for three years, assuming you’re in Sac.
Moved from Sac about four years ago…lol.
Same. Keeps the bars in business though
Well, it’s been a while since I’ve commented and I guess I’m one of the few that is OK with this move, but I feel like the team has regressed each year and I hold MIKE partially responsible for the loss against the Warriors in that seven game series. He didn’t make adjustments when we were getting killed on the offensive boards and game seven . I guess that’s one example but I think it’s indicative of his unwillingness to make adjustments when things aren’t going well.
His lack of adjustments and screwy rotations definitely played a part in it, but Monte is the one who built this shit show. He’s every bit if not more responsible.
Brown didn’t get fired. He got paroled. Did his time and got out.
If they could only have gotten Dedmon back, this would have never happened.
Oh boy…….Doug Christie is gonna be the interim coach…
Matina’s choice!
True Dat! Queen Matina and Prince Vlade as well.
Mike Bibby will be added as lead assistant
Sigh. Jman stop! you are giving me agita. If I had hair, I’d be shedding it right now.
F it. Bring Vlade back as the Assistant to the Assistant to the GM under Anjali and Peja as lead scout.
This is 100% Vivek. I don’t think any competent GM picks the 4th coach down the bench to take over.
Agreed.
Objection! Assumes facts not in evidence.
I hope that this’ll help the Kings, but I doubt that it’ll help the Kings. The roster construction problems seem like problems that are much worse than Brown’s flaws.
Fox is a spoiled brat and Monte is trying to save his job. Brown fell in the wrong spot politically.
If it comes out that Rich Paul was here to get Brown fired on Fox’s behalf he is a shit bag. If Fox trashes Brown or admits to getting Brown fired he is even a bigger shit bag than he showed himself to be yesterday. If the new coach comes out praising Fox that coach is a shit bag.
Something had to change in the coaching situation but this smells of shit baggery.
Brown knew his ass was on the line and he called Fox for what he is. Brown is not the greatest coach but he is NOT a shit bag.
Unfortuanetly, the truth will likely never come out unless MB divulges the dirty details which he won’t.
Brown gave us an indirect version when he openly criticized Fox for his play last night. He was basically telling the world that the team is playing poorly because of Fox’s lack of leadership and his open disobedience.
Bingo!
Brown tried a power play when he saw the season slipping away and called out Fox publicly and Fox turned out to have more power (and a strong agent).
If Monte still has any power he needs to pivot and blow it all up. Doug isn’t fixing Jack shit.
I thought your biggest criticism this offseason was the coaching, and the decision to re-hire Brown. Why would you then not be open to a new coach being able to right the ship?
Good question.
It is not that I am not open to a new coach (I am very much open to it), but IMO:
a) more needs to happen (a complete blowup); and
b) the timing is horrible.
A few explanations regarding the timing:
Brown shouldn’t have gotten the extension. But firing him now is not helping the organization in any way.
As stated above, it rewards Fox’s lack of accountability, which is horrible in my view. It does not improve the team’s chances of getting better (given the history of interim coaches’ succes in the NBA) and therefore it doesn’t improve the chances of keeping Fox in Sacramento (if that is what you’d want).
I think how the Kings let him run practice and talk to the press, to then fire him right afterwards is atrocious, almost comically and purposely ridiculous behavior from a corporation worth four billion dollars.
I think Mike is a “great guy/good coach”, sort of a Kirkland label Doc Rivers, and has been fired three times before, so its not a surprise that some of his worst tendencies showed up. With respect to the lack of bench wings, and some of the injury issues, Mike was not making the most of his roster/rotations, and seemed to be a bit of a deer in the headlights when things started to go sideways. If he can only coach a loaded/well balanced roster, well good luck because there are like six of those in the league, and couldn’t anyone coach that team?
My issues with Mike were his stubbornness in sticking to his game plan (something that came up in LA & Cleveland) when it wasn’t working, not really managing the game or thinking on the fly. Watching SA run the same play over and over, getting Monk/Fox to switch on Wemby one-on-one, and not change the scheme at all for the last five minutes in a close loss is when I realized he does not have a handle on the team this year. A few nights later, after the Kings had played Memphis very well on the road, to watch it slip away because the Kings could not score in the last few minutes, was it for me. Sabonis had 17 in the first half, as Memphis literally had no one to gaurd him as he was too strong for JJJ/Huff, and the Sabonis did not get the ball at all in the 4th quarter. Not once, and that was also the game Keon only played two minutes because of whatever reason.
That stubbornness/deer-in-the-headlights showed to me in his lineup selections. I initially thought Monk starting might really put pressure on a defense, having two super quick guards to penetrate/create, but it did not. What it did was make it crowded, and neuter DeMar’s effectiveness, turning him into a jump shooter rather than creator. Tim did a nice job demonstrating DeMar’s effectiveness on drives and pnr’s, and Monk is similar, as is Fox. Too much. They needed a catch&shoot player in the starting lineup, and if it wasn’t Kevin, then it had to be Keon. Keon is very limited offensively, he is not a good ball handler, nor passer, and not a great decision maker, but he is a fantastic c&s from three point range.
Malik in Nov (6th man): 27.6 mpg, 16.2ppg, 4.1 ast, shooting 48/35/81
Malik in Dec (starter); 33.3 mpg, 16.4ppg, 5.8 ast, shooting 42/35/95
What stood out to me was his dip in FTA/g (from 2.9 to 1.7), and did not shoot a free throw in five of eleven games as a starter, likely as he did not have as much opportunity to get to the hoop. He only had three games of zero free throws attempted in his first 13 games off the bench.
DDR in Nov (Monk is 6th man): 22.5ppg, shooting 50/30/81 on 17.6 shots/game
DDR in Dec (Monk starting): 18.2ppg, shooting 44/33/90 on 14.4 shots/game
I think Monk starting made it difficult for both of them to play to their strengths, and did not work. Kevin was much more productive off of the bench, averaging 11pt/4rb/2ast and one steal a game, shooting 47/38/80.
Keon, meanwhile, played less than 20 minutes in six out of ten games in December, after playing 20+ twelve of the previous fifteen games.
I understand giving Kevin a shot as a starter this season, but when it wasn’t working out, Keon should have been made the starter, letting Malik and Kevin be a scoring punch off the bench, and Keon giving Fox/DDR/Domas a proper target to find on the perimeter, while not taking the ball out of their hands. I think this failure cost the Kings a couple of games, and likely MB his job.
I liked Mike but he didn’t show us his best this year and I’m not mad at this change. Good luck Mike!
I hope this is just the beginning though and Monte makes some moves SOON. I’m still a believer that DDR has to go while he still has value.
And for anyone wanting to see Fox moved, this organization just chose it’s side. Fox isn’t getting traded.
I think there’s still a good chance Fox gets traded.
Debending on how or who fired Brown that could still be true.
Are you really sure. If Vivek is the owner and he fired Brown Monte still IMO has the say on trades and doesn’t want Fox to be a Lebron James and that is true then I think Monte might still have something up his sleeve. I still think Monte has the say not Fox. We’ll see.
Monte has say just no power . Vivek hired Brown and fired Brown . See Malone takes . Vivek hired Monte and will eventually fire Monte .
The Kings fired the person least responsible for the team’s problems, letting the unaccountable star get the coach fired. Can’t wait for Fox to get resigned.
Hard disagree
The Kings have given the keys to the franchise to Fox. We will see how well it goes.
Remember what Fox said in an interview a couple days ago and what about his agent talking to Monte and Wes behind closed doors. Very interesting.
Maybe not.
Welp.
I don’t necessarily have a problem with firing Brown; he’s not a great coach, and he’s made plenty of questionable decisions during his tenure (starting Okpala, the weird back-up center rotation at the start of last year, having Terrence Davis guard Curry, the Keon Ellis allergy, etc.
The problem is how: not only is the timing and manner distasteful, it also screams NO PLAN. I hope I’m wrong, but we all know that’s highly unlikely with this ownership group.
The sh!t show continues and I’m here for it lol.
Apparently the two DC’s are going to save our season. You can’t make this stuff up.
Another sideways move.
Monte “Sideways Move” McNair is becoming a thing.
Maybe we’ll get some decent rotations now
I’d 100% be behind Keon starting and moving Monk back to the bench.
Yeah that should be first move. I can’t see derozan coming off the bench but he should with lyles starting…I’ll be happy with just keon though
You’d think Christie would do this, but my sense is that we are going to see the veterans placated instead, which means even more Huerter.
My only positive angle is that Doug was a defensive dude and Keon has, at times, reminded me of him as a player.
Yes, that is my hope, too.
Colby, Huerter, Doug, Len, Crowder?
He dared to criticize De’Aaron lol
Crazy that it was after this loss which was clearly on the players. He told them exactly the right things to do and they just didn’t do them. But if the players no longer listen to the coach I guess you can’t fire all the players.
But you could get rid of those that don’t listen or try to run the organization. I don’t want a Lebron James on our roster.
I think back to when Monk was announced as being the starter. Domas said “it’s about time”.
Did the problems with Brown run deeper than some may have thought?
Were the players also frustrated with his rotations?
I expect this to do absolutely nothing in terms of team performance. It was just the easy move for Monte to make and say, “See, I’m doing something!” Throwing the coach under the bus is the easy go to move for a GM save face on a shit season.
The truth is, it’s still egg on Monte’s face. He’s the guy that gave Brown a 3 year extension just a few months ago.
Yep. Though I will say that MM has drafted better than any GM since Petrie. But that’s a low bar to clear.
I think it actually looks pretty bad.
2020
Haliburton was a major win, but he had to be there at #12. Still, A+ decision.
2021
Davion Mitchell – I like Davion better than most, because I was never down on his man defense. Still, he gave very little to the Kings and was traded in a salary dump.
2022
Keegan Murray – One really good season, one average season and now he looks like a bust. And this was a #4 pick.
2023
Traded pick to dump Richaun Holmes salary.
2024
Devin Carter – TBD.
They’ve gotten nothing out of second round picks.
Right now we’re sitting on what I would consider one good pick in four drafts, and effectively two picks traded to dump salary.
I think Murray has been misused this season, not a (full-time) PF.
Even with Keegan seemingly hanging in the balance, what GM has drafted better than that?
This was all Vivek . Monte is juiceless . The next Pete D .
And almost everyone here was praising that move and claiming that you shouldn’t have a good coach go into a lame-duck season, instead of making him earn it after a down year…
I remember you making comments about making him earn it, and thought you were pretty spot on.
Brown was one ofthe problems *and* the easiest move. McNair may not be a genius, bt is at least a competent GM. Let’s see if any trades are coming. I think a big decision is whether they try to salvage this season rf acquire future assets by e.g. trading Fox and tank to retain their own draft pick.
Vivek did all the above . Monte is just Pete D the second version . Has say in draft and little else .
I was so thrilled about MB during that 22/23 season. He seems like a great guy and I wish him well wherever he ends up. A midseason firing isn’t going to go well.
But he did so many goofy, inexplicable things as coach. As the last two seasons went on, I started getting the nagging feeling that he had somehow negatively impacted the confidence of both Keegan and Huerter. This team had become a psychological mess, in my opinion.
I know roster construction is a big problem, but not a 13-18 problem. The inability to hold onto double digit leads had become a part of the fabric of the team.
Monte needs to move players soon. I’d like to see them get a big haul for Fox but that ain’t happening right now, since it sure looks like he engineered the firing. So, get what you can for any combination of DeMar / Monk / Huerter. Doug Christie probably isn’t going to be the answer, so acquire some bigs and build around Domas, Keegan, Carter, Keon, and start to get some FRPs.
Sure wishing I saw any light at the end of this tunnel.
“As the last two seasons went on, I started getting the nagging feeling that he had somehow negatively impacted the confidence of both Keegan and Huerter.”
Aren’t they supposed to be professional athletes? How many opportunities is Huerter supposed to get to brick 3s and let his man blow by him to the basket?
Agreed, they are supposed to be professionals. But they still deal with the same psychological challenges we all deal with. Especially in their case because they’re under the microscope.
I don’t think Huerter is a starter on most teams. But I also don’t think his poor play has been anything more than mental. He’s a beast of a player when it’s flowing. I feel like he was that guy for multiple games at a time in his first year here but was only that guy for random quarters last year. Age isn’t an issue for him. The scheme hasn’t changed much in three years. He still gets a ton of open looks. He’s just missing them again and again. It feels like the basketball equivalent of the yips for him and Murray.
They need to watch a little Brockmire or something.
You can get a big haul for Fox. The Spurs are already to make things work. You also can get a big starter by trading Huerter and Lyles and a pick for John Collins. Monte has the power to do this but it could be a disaster but IMO it won’t. Monte”s choice. These moves would still be contender for the Kings organization. Don’t blow it up just retool.
SAS want Fox but aside from their 3 top picks in 2025 what do they have to offer? Good role guys and that’s it. Both they and OKC have a ton of 2025 first rounders in a “strong” draft.
But you need a PG. A few teams get away with a mediocre PG but most good teams need a good one.
DC will be interim until end of year. Hard to get a new HC mid season.
Carter may be the PG of the future.
IMO Monk is your point guard. He has the tools, can play make, works great with Sabonis and can shoot the 3. His attitude is what we want as a point guard. And motor. Great team player.
This could be relevant, because Luke Loucks is Fox’s guy.
Hiring a beloved King be it having blinders or trying to appease the a fanbase isnt gonna cut it for me. I’m sorry I dont really care how many compliments Christie’s garnered from this roster. In regards to assistants, he is an extremely unqualified assistant. He was placed on Browns staff from the FO and more directly ownership.
I think that’s a poor decision.
Totally agree. This is just another Vivek legacy hire because he thinks it will appease fans.
I was just pointing out the Doug has been working with Domas, while Fox has been working with Loucks. There could be fire to that smoke.
I don’t think Doug is a head coach just yet. Someone has to be an intern coach for tomorrow’s game or until Vivek and Monte can find one, a good one, Until that happens we are stuck with Doug. IMO not a bad one. He still has his assistants to help him and they are good assistants if he wants to use them which I think he will.
PS And maybe Fox will cheer up because of this. He responded terrible in his press conference yesterday. Looks haggard which is totally acceptable. I’m wondering after his comments a couple days ago he thinks he could win more with the Spurs and Wemby with Pop’s coaching than with the Kings and Christe coaching. Interesting.
Doug knows how to react when a Fox steps out of line
&ct=g
Cheer up? WTH.
I think Adamsite mentioned it to suggest Fox did not get his buddy Luke Loucks made HC, i.e. Fox might not be calling the shots.
My first response is LOL, but I guess I shouldn’t dismiss the possibility that he could be another Pat Riley.
Just give him a chance. Could be worse
That’ll definitely fix everything!
My comment yesterday is pertinent here:
“It is interesting to look back upon what Brown said about Fox during his first season, and what he says now. Back then, he praised Fox and talked about what Fox needs to do to fulfill his potential and the team’s potential.
Last night, he called out Fox for his lackadaisical, inattentive play that cost the Kings the game, with no excuses and no acknowledgement of his star status.
Brown has been trying to get through the Fox all season, and, last night, he had enough.
Brown may be a puzzling coach this season, but he has coached great players, and recognizes that Fox isn’t one of them.
I really believe that Brown could be successful with a good roster. Fox? I’m not sure what he can do anywhere, unless he has a demanding coach fully supported by management and the owner. And even, then, I’m not certain he would succeed.”
actually, in his first season, the Kings started off losing and MB called out Fox publicly before the team went on a winning streak.
As a coach I support Brown when he called out Fox. Or anybody else. If Fox could’t handle that to me he doesn’t understand what he was doing that’s his problem. He needs to be accountable for what he did or didn’t do. In his press conference he never owned up to his mistakes and said that’s the way it goes. If he did that I would respect him more. I am really waiting for tomorrow nights game. Should be interesting.
I found Mike frustrating as everyone did this season. But I also think the rationale to which this is being done is poor.
Fox clearly had sway, if not directly, indirectly. But the drama of December on a national level tends to place Fox’s incentives as the subject. Listen we maybe wouldve put off this conversation until later if the team was meeting expectations, but what really is the ceiling of this core regardless. Fox may be frustrated by the franchise but I am equally doubtful of him now and especially in a hypothetical supermax extension. From either perspective I think there’s a misalignment that points to that this time should likely be over.
However difficult, we are in a strong position with assets to leverage a competent rebuild. All while many in the league are either trying to competitive or in a similar stasis of mediocrity as us currently.
Instead of acknowledging the league context and the likely lack of viability of this core, they will try to save face and likely fail. Under the guise of blaming regardless of faults the culture setter who may be the single biggest reason we saw any marginal success to start and ended a league embarrassing postseason drought.
I say that not to argue that cutting ties has no grounds but conversely it should follow the same being applied to the rest of the team. If not I think we will be making a way bigger mess down the line.
Very well put. Thanks.
100% full send Kangz mode engaged…awkwardly timed moves activated. All-Star break seems a little more appropriate but he was cooked after last year. I swear he was begging for it, he had enough and wanted a beach and millions coming in fr.
Pretty neutral move for a floundering franchise so this doesn’t change anything.
Doug Christie will be Fox’s 5th different coach in 8 seasons with the Kangz.
Is Fox a coach killer? Or the org just crappy?
Embrace the healing power of “and”.
Ah, you are correct.
The recent developments made clear that Fox is most certainly a coach killer.
And the organization shit. Both can be true.
I am afraid Dougie is in for a rude awakening. Those thinking he’s going to turn this season around. Think again. The next 7 games look like a murderers row. In addition. Tired of this organization reaching with former players to turn this trainwreck around.
A new GM is needed more than anything. Bob Myers is available.
JustSayin!
Doug knows what’s happening. He was picked to be the interm coach. I don’t think he asked for it but he has it. I hope he isn’t a sacrificial lamb and he didn’t pick the schedule they have to play in. Let’s all give him some support. He at least deserves that.
Good thought but must remember that Larry Riley was the GM that drafted Curry, Thompson and Green .
Fly away little bird, be free.
They’re baaaaack…
Just reading about potential Coach replacements. What are yall’s thoughts.
5) James Borrego, NO pelicans assistant
4) Darvin Ham, Milwaukee Bucks assistant
3) Micah Nori, Timberwolves assistant
2) Chris Quinn, Miami Heat assistant
1) Sam Cassell, Boston Celtics assitant
1+) Doug Christie
Rajon Rondo
What!
Sarcasm, Jack.
Mark Jackson
What!
Sarcasm, Jack.
Does Doc Rivers have a kid that can coach?
I can see Doug Christie continuing since the Kings need to save money now that they fired Brown. Everyone else will cost a pretty penny. But there is also David Alderman. Could totally see Vivek bringing in an Alderman, because….
adelman
George Karl
never replaced our power forward. Murry isn’t a PF.
Did Vivek really call MB while MB was on the way to the airport to fire him?
If true, Vivek is one classless POS.
“No class, No balls”
-Mike Malone on the firing
This one almost trumps trading Cousins during the all star break while Cuz was in The Big Easy.
Cousins deserved every drop of the disrespect. Every drop.
Where did you see that reported?
This came up for me in an AI search:
“They have practice this morning, he does his post-(practice) media, and he’s in his car going to the airport to fly to L.A. And they call him on the phone. No class. No balls. That’s what I’ll say about that.” (Source: The Denver Post)
Here’s the rest…
“I’m not surprised that Mike Brown got fired, because I got fired by the same person.” (Source: ESPN)
Malone also implied that the Kings’ front office handled the situation poorly, stating that Brown was not even fired in person, but rather over the phone while he was on his way to the airport. (Source: various media outlets)
https://www.si.com/nba/kings/sacramento-kings-news/rival-coach-rips-sacramento-kings-for-firing-mike-brown-01jg5avk6pdf
A little bit more…
““The firing of Mike Brown today was just shocking to me and I’m sure all the people in our profession — men and women,” said Rick Carlisle, the Indiana Pacers coach and longtime president of the National Basketball Coaches Association. “I had the privilege of working with Mike when I was in Indiana coaching the first time. I view him as one of the standard bearers for integrity for our profession. And I’m just absolutely shocked that that decision was made.”
Carlisle — who offered those sentiments, unprompted, to open his pregame media session before the Pacers visited Boston on Friday night — wasn’t alone on that front.
When will the Kings see a coach bring them 107-88 during their tenure again?
I am sure that all of the other NBA coaches, assistant coaches, former coaches will pay no heed to Michael Malone or Rick Carlisle or even Jordi Fernandez and are instead hungry to work for Vivek’s Kings in Sacramento.
In Doug We Trust
Mike Malone chimes in
I have good news and bad news. The good news is you get to keep the team. The bad news is you are going to have the worst owner in professional sports.
We made a deal with the devil.
Now that Snyder is out in Washington, can we safely say he is the worst owner in American sports, or am I being biased as a jaded Kings fan?
If he’s not the worst, I’m not sure who is
Mr Bowl Cut in Las Vegas says “Hi”.
Third, behind #FJF and Vivek.
He’s 1 of the worst, but John Fisher’s probably the worst.
#FJF
13 head coaches in 19 years. Maybe the coach isn’t the problem.
He might not be the worst in Sacramento next year.
Was going to say the same. As bad as he is, he isn’t even in John Fisher’s league. #FJF
Not exactly the epitome of class on Malone’s part either, despite it (probably) being all true. I know coaches have each other’s backs and all, but this seems really bitter and petty. And I say this as someone who thinks Vivek is an absolute nincompoop.
That whole “we are a good team again” thing was fun for a while.
Good times.
Wonder if maybe we could re-draft Marvin over Luka again?
I had almost forgotten about it.
Path of least resistance…Cousins all over again…easier to change coach and hope things turn around than to move another “franchise player” Wildcat.
13 head coaches since 2005. Maybe the coach isn’t the problem.
Hiring Cousins as head couch later on is the only way to turn the beam into the Eye of Mordor
The fact that he let Brown run the practice, do a media session, and then fire him is so Vivek. A scatterbrained prick who has zero self awareness. I f you knew you wanted to fire him, you knew since last night. Tell him face to face before practice you moron. And you wonder why no one wants to come here.
I agree it is a bad look, but do you know when Vivek knew he wanted to fire Brown? And seriously, once you have decided to fire an employee, isn’t it better not to delay telling them?
No class. No balls. No brains (for sports anyway). Just money and friends in high places. Thirty teams, 800 billionaires in the country (just looked it up). And we got this guy.
People laughed when I said a year ago that the Coach of the Year curse is real. And here we are.
I was no fan of Brown but if this is your only move, maybe along with a middling trade, you’ve signaled that you let Fox and Clutch Sports run the asylum.
Rich Paul doesn’t play nice. He is a power broker who achieves his goals through force, if deemed necessary. And he doesn’t act in the best interest of this franchise.
And of course Vivek & co let him and Fox call the shots. Fuckers.
At this point, you might be better off losing Fox for nothing than give him a huge extension and let him run the asylum.
Yes, the Kings would be better off
At this point, trading Fox (& Domas) seems like the best case scenario.
No might about it, giving Fox a big extension will set this team back a decade.
Duck Crispy as head coach? Interim or not, holy shizzzzzz.
This is why we can’t have nice things! Mike Brown Foxed around and found out!
Damn so they let MB run the whole practice and press conference and then fired him as the team was boarding the plane? Just burn the whole organization down already…
Random thoughts on the day’s events.
I’m not convinced that this was Fox’s call. First, he’s never been that guy. Second, if he’s considering am exit strategy, this does him no benefit. I think this is a culmination of recent events, and I would bet/guess that a schism between McNair and Brown over roster construction and rotation decisions was the biggest influencer. To be clear, I’m not saying that Fox is faultless, as his recent comments turned up the temperature. But I think that his role here is vastly overstated, and symptomatic of the dysfunction that continues to permeate this “organization.”
Mike Malone is not wrong, but damn, he’s picked at that scab for so long that it’s never going to heal.
Brown is gone, but the imbalanced roster remains. Your move, Monte. Check that: Your moveS.
Vivek, whatever your level of involvement, your organization is a joke, a waste of an opportunity. And that starts and ends with you. Your organization is a joke, sir. You and the A’s were made for each other.
Time to start dusting off the old classics:
The way the firing of Brown is being reported, I lay a lot of this mess at Vivek’s feet. Completely classless to fire Brown over the phone while on his way to catch the team plane after he held practice and a presser. And if it comes out that it was Monte who chose to do it that way…fuck him too.
A joke indeed, and a stain of embarrassment to the city of Sacramento.
The clown show of the Vivek era took a brief, 1.5 year hiatus before returning…
It’s almost as if his attention was on the A’s for the past year or so, but now that he’s got them coming to Sac his dumbfuckery has come back to the day to day operations of the Kings.
Don’t disagree that the manner of firing was bad, but the significance of how Brown was fired should not be overstated (happens all the time to people who won’t continue to collect millions for years).
Good take Rob, and it is likely a lot closer to the truth than Fox having a more purposeful role in the decision.
Neither McNair nor Vivek seem like people that would talk with a player directly about that, and I doubt Rich Paul would allow that situation to happen, as it could have a great affect on Fox’s marketability, trade possibilities, or his next contract. Klutch is quite capable of playing the four Knights of Normandy and rid Fox of his meddlesome coach.
Listening to Mike Bibby’s take was interesting, and while I agree with Adam’s assessment that Doug being named Interim seems very Vivek, Doug also seems like a vibe guy, and the vibes have been weird with this team for weeks.
I get the complaints of roster construction, but there are twenty teams that can say that, if not more. From my perspective, the Coach’s job is to use the pieces he has to the best of their ability, putting them in position to succeed, and getting the most of the talent. I don’t think Mike was doing that. If Mike could have done something to make this team more competitive, or to correct course, he would have done it already, but it was getting worse.
Fox was the Pontius Pilate of the situation at best.
You can’t get more “I want this coach gone” than Fox was during his post game press conference. He did everything but say it out loud.
That is certainly one way to read his comment, which is really out of character with who he has historically been, at least publicly.
My take on Fox’s comments is that he was angry and embarrassed, and he expressed himself in a poor and regretful manner. He played his ass off from baseline to baseline for 38 minutes, only to make the most egregious of mind farting errors at the end (after Lyles failed to foul as allegedly instructed). My guess is that the competitor in him was pissed at everyone, including himself, and he conveyed it in the poorest of fashions.
That said, if Fox’s comments at that post game presser was the difference in Brown staying and Brown going, then the problem with this organization ain’t De’Aaron Fox.
Excellent take again Rob.
When I saw Fox make those comments, I thought he was angry and embarrassed and didn’t want to go thru the silly pageantry of answering the same question posed eleven different ways when it was obvious he made a crucial error.
I have to doubt that the presser made any difference in the decision. After the debacle against Indiana, I am certain Detroit was a must win for MB, and to lose in a 4th quarter collapse sealed the deal, regardless of any comments from Fox. Mike Brown’s comments were more telling to me, he sounded like a guy who knew he was fired, and was pointing out it wasn’t his fault, and not the first time he has done that.
This just feels gross.
Not that MB is a great coach, he isn’t, but he is a legit NBA coach and they did him dirty.
Between Vivek, Fox’s actions and his agent being involved I’m getting a very big ick vibe.
I might be done with supporting this franchise.
NO CLASS, NO BALLS…
maybe I will support MM and the Nuggets
Finally, now we are sure to win the NBA title!
Just curious, did we have an option to trade Fox instead of Halliburton with the same return or better?
Honestly, I really doubt it. FWIW Hali has been criticized for “regressing” after injuries recently (see Andy Hoops on YouTube if interested) so take that for what it is.
Damn, Malone and Carlisle coming out in defense of Brown tonight. Vivek has run this franchise into the ground. To quote Geoff Petrie: “He’s a dismissive little chap.”
Vivek has simply used the Kings and Sac to fatten his bank account. He could care less if the team wins as long as dumb fans continue to pay exhorbitant prices on tix and merch.
Matt’s statement makes no sense to me. Literally zero. “Failed Mike Brown”? What was it about Mike Brown that he needed so much propping up? It is the fourth time he has been fired, including twice right after posting strong records. What exactly did he bring to the table that everyone owed so much to him? I don’t get it.
I liked his energy and professionalism and there is plenty to compliment him on as a person and a coach, and he did a terrific job turning the team around, and I think how he was let go is comically inept and inexcusable, but he is not some coaching genius whose system transcended the players or organization. If he was, the team would not be 13-18.
IMO, everyone shares the blame. Monte built the team, the team vastly underperforms, Vivek does his Vivek shit, and Brown’s adjustments and rotations were more than questionable.
Mike takes the fall for it because the change will make absolutely no difference, but excuses the players, management, and ownership. Brown could only get so much blood from a turnip.
I realize I am a very literal person, perhaps too much so, it is just how my head works, but “failed Mike Brown” is unjustifiably histrionic. He wasn’t working for free, and he didn’t spurn a bunch of other head coaching jobs to slum it with the Kings.
Again, with realizing I might be misinterpreting what people mean vs what they say, but isn’t it a given that everyone shares the blame? I haven’t seen a person, even myself who is higher on this roster than most, say that McNair has put together a team that should be easy to coach to 50 wins. I keep seeing on Twitter “Mike Brown wasn’t the problem!!” as if there was just one. I don’t interpret his firing as saying he was THE problem. On the flip side, if he was the solution, they would likely have 16-18 wins, not 13.
I feel like it is almost bizarre that this boils down to a Keon issue, but his jerking around of a player who by the eye test and by lineup data, is a very good fit with the other four starters, is the sort of minor failure that made it very easy to start wondering just how much of a grasp he had on the team as a whole, and spotlighted some game management issues that have been a nagging weakness his whole career. If this team was 16-15, I doubt he would have been fired this morning.
I also think Vivek’s vast (and deserved) unpopularity, is propping up the vitriol at Mike’s firing, rather than support for the job he has been doing post-COTY.
Matt can be such a schlub
So profound LOL.
He covers the Kings and knows he has to say something but he has nothing to say.
The posts where he refused to call out Fox for being a jack ass were just as bad.
Fox, Christie, and Vivek are the longest tenured members of this organization. Here we sit with coach number six or seven for Fox and he has never won. Vivek continues to throw coaches away hoping to change the outcome of a team led by Fox. Christie was forced on Brown and he is now magically the head coach despite the experience and resume of coaches sitting next to him. Vivek is committed to Fox and marketing the nostalgia with Christie.
Wonder how many weeks Monte has left before Fox and his agent decide they don’t need him either?
Building around Fox has resulted in a trash basketball organization.
The organization was “trash” before Fox arrived here.
And Fox has done nothing to change that in 8 years which means he’s a part of the problem. Let’s not make excuses for any of these parties. Plenty of blame to go around amongst Fox, MB, MM and mostly Vivek and Anjali.
Don’t forget Matina Responsible for Christi and Vlade pushed on Vivek
Bobby Jackson is in the wings! And he has as much or more coaching experience as Doug Christie.
Sorry if this was covered above but late to comment — have you watched the last 10 seconds of the game last night? Fox played it SO badly — he sagged off his man for no reason and then had to scramble back to Ivy and fouled him. In the presser, Brown made it clear that they were told not to do that — to play them at the 3 point line. Lyles also missed a chance to foul his man and get them to the line. They did not execute the foul period and that cost them the game. I noticed that Brown did not issue the instructions in the huddle before that last play — it was assistant coach Loucks. Hmmm…Is Fox kind of dumb or what? He is super talented but his head is not the best at times. He recently cost a game they lost by one point because of his pestilent temper (technical foul).
Not to mention Fox rolling the ball up court in the last 4 minutes when the Kings had a lead and should have been running out the clock.
The clock was running when he rolled the ball up the court.
The game clock was running while the shot clock was not running. It’s a widely used way to use extra time when a team has a lead.
Yes, should have remembered that
Christie will be a better coach than Brown when it comes to using what you got and knowing when and how to use them. In the (3?) games that he coached in January 2023 (or so), I believe he went 2-1.
Recalling from strictly memory only here – I believe the Herlald’s user comments/threads regarding his coaching were generally very favorable for Doug for the first 2 games – but the analysis of his final game and subsequent reviews here were generally less favorable.
Over all, I liked the way Christie used his players in a timely and consistent fashion, managed the clock well, and coached with an abundance of enthusiasm. Time will tell, but I believe the Kings made the right move here.
Christie maybe a correct move, but it cannot move the needle….
Next – Trade Fox and/or DeMar….
Or both.
Not losing sleep over the fact that MB is gone. He’d been really bad this year, as has been chronicled on this site. But the completely unprofessional way in which he was informed of his release, and the subsequent selection of DC as interim coach just reinforces that Vivek is the root cause behind all the stupid shit that’s plagued this team for years, and unfortunately we can’t fire him. Is there any hope for this team at all?
For Xmas, my wife gave me king’s swags. I gave the cried emoji face and said they’re Kangz now… then piston happened. And now this haha. Sigh
That was not the news I want to hear….
By order: Trade Fox –> Trade DeMar –> Fire Mike Brown….
Fox is not making this team better….he should be the first to go, before Mike Brown…
If Monte is really doing his job, he’d better make any trade to part away with Fox….
The coach can be fired unilaterally; trades need partners and take longer – jury is out.
Apparently Damian Barling is the only guy in the local media with the guts to be explicit and say it out loud.
https://x.com/damienbarling/status/1872810355992461506
Can we hire this guy to be our GM or coach, or whatever…
At least he is telling the truth, and know what is BEST to the team….
I am expecting another breaking news that Fox is traded to Spurs/Rockets……
That guy is correct, we need no players with no heart
Listened to the full show. D-lo mentions there was a “disconnect” between Domas and Brown. Didn’t know that. Is this why DC is the interim over the other coaches? Or is Vivek again turning to a Kings legend to appease fans and sell seats?
Fox is Cuz 2.0 in his own special way.
But hey, he’s a player you “build a contender around.”
Methinks a T-shirt is in order:
”No Class. No Balls”.
And the obligatory T-shirt:
It doesn’t really matter.
It’s not going to make anyone feel any better.
Wish I had the means to fill the arena with these
“They not like us. No class. No balls.”
The incorrect grammar adds a nice touch.
It’s been a day and this move doesn’t make me feel better about the team.
Do something else now please.
This is not a move that is likely going to help the Kings make the playoffs this year. So where do things go from here? Was this was meant to light a fire or burn it to the ground?
Have a feeling team will look better for a game or two and raise hopes before the wheels come off.
I wouldn’t be surprised if this happened.
Well you could see this whole short term sugar high plan 3 years ago was going to fail. Of course it depends on how you define failure. For me it is being unable to be championship competitive. Yes it was likely and did happen the team would get better and then would have no draft picks and other resources to improve from getting to mediocre. By the way, as I’ve said before the coach matters very little, it ALL about the roster. I never did like the Haliburton trade and I certainly didn’t like giving up a draft pick for Huerter along with paying his contract. Huerter is great fit as a bench player for a championship competitive team and the Kings were certainly not that when he was acquired.
So what to do now. Well they decided to blame it on the coach instead of the plan they constructed 3 years ago. Again the coach matters very little. So what to do now. Well you can give up your draft for the next few years and try to obtain Jimmy Butler or start all over rebuilding in a similar way as OKC did. That would mean piling up a bunch of draft picks, get back to being terrible for at least 3 years and hope you get lucky in the draft. It could result in a roster like OKC or we could become Detroit. At this point I would go the Jimmy Butler route and then try tearing it down if that doesn’t work. So figure out a way to get Butler without losing Sabonis, Fox, Monk, and DeRozan. If not tear it down and go with the OKC plan. Please I don’t want to hear about the coach anymore. As they said in Meatballs “It just doesn’t matter”
I like Jimmy Butler but I can’t imagine that he would agree to come here.
Agree with everything up to the point of acquiring Butler. Kings have resisted a full rebuild for 19 years. Results of this speak for themselves. At some point you must stop applying band aids over broken bones and do the right thing.
Yeah agree for the most part. I was never for the plan they employed three years ago even though the team did get better. I was just thinking since we are so shit deep into this plan we might as well try to add a star beginning the downside of his career. I’m all for tearing it down trading, Fox and Sabonis for a boat load of draft picks and a promising rookie. Build through the draft and when you think you’re getting close add the veteran semi star and veteran supporting cast. The coach doesn’t matter much.
This whole thing is pointless and idiotic. Firing Brown just papers over the existing roster issues. No coach is going to make this team anything more than a first round loser. My guess is that this is the front office “doing something” instead of actually doing something that would improve the team.
If Fox is serious about leaving because the team is bad, this does precisely nothing to address that issue. If this is Fox using Rich Paul to get Brown fired, than I hope he enjoys his “Mission Accomplished” banner while he sits at home watching the playoffs again.
However much this decision was McNair’s, he’s only bought himself a few months (where he’ll most likely do nothing or trade for a wing that won’t make a significant difference) and then he’ll be gone too.
Sigh. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen *four* current NBA coaches publicly criticize a firing when it happened. This organization is a joke from ownership on down.
Be aggressive about moving the front half of the roster or rebuild. Everything else is a distraction and a waste of time.
Yes, finally. I compare him to Mark Jackson. The right coach to lay the foundation but they need to find their “Steve Kerr” to take them to the next level. Mike Brown is a stubborn old school coach that refuses or is incapable of making adjustments. Loosing to the pelicans 6x in one season. He got a lot of leeway because everyone was still riding the high of making the playoffs 2 seasons ago.
Im sick of this! im going to say it though nobody else will. Fox has purposefully lost games for the Kings.
1) Why would he foul to put on line to tie if shot missed?
2) games he (our best ball handler) dribbled ball or lost control in last secs to not even get winning shot off?
Go back and look Fox has done “stupid” things that directly cost us wins. It has nothing to do with M. Brown
I count 4 games we lost that are a direct result of him.
Thats not including Derozans blunder
Go back and look and tell me im wrong
Welp. I missed this news. I wasn’t a huge fan of Brown when he was hired but this? He was mostly effective. This doesn’t make a lot of sense.
Been a fan since 1985 but it’s getting very difficult to muster up any give-a-shit these days.
Badge Legend