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Sacramento Kings Head Coach Candidate Profile: Charles Lee

Is Lee the right guy to rebuild the Kings culture?
By and | 21 Comments | Apr 25, 2022

Jul 6, 2021; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) with assistant coach Charles Lee against the Phoenix Suns in game one of the 2021NBA Finals at Phoenix Suns Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The Sacramento Kings search for a new head coach is in full swing, with candidates announced and interviews expected to begin this week. With seven candidates named so far, it seems only fitting to take some time to break down each candidate.

I’m joined by our good friend Jill Adge, who hosts The SportsEthos Sacramento Kings podcast. We highly recommend listening to Jill on any Kings topic, but specially when it comes to coaching searches. Jill has done overviews of candidates for the Kings next head coach, as well as deep dives on some of the candidates that I will link in their appropriate articles.

With that, let’s jump into our next candidate.

Charles Lee

Age: 37
Current Role: Assistant Coach, Milwaukee Bucks
Resume: International player from 2006 to 2010, College assistant at Bucknell 2012-14, Hawks assistant 2014-2018, Bucks assistant 2018-present

From Jill:

Charles Lee was named by ESPN as the Long Runway Coach, meant for teams who are looking to rebuild and create a new culture from the ground up. The title fits based on the amount of interviews Lee has fielded the last three off-seasons: Pelicans twice, Pacers, Wizards, OKC, and Magic.

Jill also did a deep dive on Lee that you can listen to here.

***

Charles Lee is not a name I had been familiar with until the last year or so, when he was suddenly interviewing for head coaching jobs on a regular basis. But with even a short amount of research it’s easy to understand why he’s suddenly viewed as one of the top coaching candidates in the NBA. Lee is yet another assistant looking to come out of the Mike Budenholzer coaching tree (which includes Quin Snyder, Kenny Atkinson, and Taylor Jenkins), which is itself an extension of the Gregg Popovich coaching tree. But it’s Lee’s personality that stands out.

With the caveat that many people sound better in interviews than they do in application, I’d encourage everyone to read this interview The Athletic conducted with Lee back in March. For those who do not have an Athletic subscription, there are a few highlights that jump out to me.

“How can we come together as a team? How can I as the head coach, or even as an assistant coach, build relationships where I’m earning their trust? Where they will let me coach them, they will allow me to help impart some wisdom to them as basketball players? And also just admit, because I want to see the best for them. And I think that once players feel that there’s a connection and a real genuine relationship, it makes them want to play a little bit harder for you.”

This, to me, is one of the biggest things I look for in a coach. Of course Xs and Os matter, and rotations, and philosophy, and development, but above all else the Kings have desperately lacked someone who can bring a team together to fight as one and become greater than the sum of its parts.

Another key takeaway:

What have you learned from working with Giannis and coaching Giannis when it comes to coaching star players and getting them to trust you?

Being honest. Not beating around the bush. Understanding the game and doing your homework and watching the film and going back and forth, but then just finding opportunities to hit him on things that are just honest. Like, not always, ‘Hey, you’re the best. You know, you’re doing this great,’ No, he wants to be coached. All the players from Giannis down to our 15th guys — Lindell Wigginton and Jevon Carter or Jordan Nwora, whoever it is, they just want you to be honest with them and upfront. I think that when you outline clear expectations for players, they respect that more than anything else.

I think this answer goes hand in hand with the other one I highlighted. Coaching at its fundamental core is about building relationships and trust where people know you’re trying to help them success, and then setting expectations and holding people accountable. You can have one without the other, and those are the key things Lee brings to the table.

As Jill noted earlier, Lee’s reputation is that of a guy who can build a culture. We see the culture in Milwaukee, we see the culture that Atkinson had built in Brooklyn, we see the culture that Jenkins has built in Memphis, and that something I would love to see in Sacramento.

Lee is not the top candidate on my list, but that’s due to a lack of knowledge on my part rather than there being something specific about Lee that I dislike. As I mentioned in our profile for Darvin Ham, the hardest part of evaluating an assistant is that you don’t fully know what you’re getting until they are in the job. But if the Kings decide Lee is the guy to fix the Kings culture and lead the team forward, I won’t be upset at all.

Up next: Steve Clifford
Previous: Mark Jackson

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BasketballHella
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April 25, 2022 2:53 pm

He no doubt deserves a look but no more buddy coaching unless they are gonna rip this place down and do a full rebuild. After the Jaeger debacle I don’t get the vibe that anyone on this team thinks they need to be coached.

oshima9
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April 25, 2022 3:17 pm

To me, Lee sounds more the opposite, someone who works to build trust with players, but doesn’t accept a lack of accountability. Given that, I can’t see the Kings hiring him.

ArcoThunder
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April 25, 2022 3:25 pm
Reply to  oshima9

It’s funny in the saddest most depressing way imaginable because it’s true.

JillAdge
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April 25, 2022 3:26 pm

you will not find a single coach who gets results then. it has to come from both ways regardless of who you hire. I encourage you to listen more about him, he is far from a buddy coach.

BasketballHella
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April 25, 2022 5:36 pm
Reply to  JillAdge

Jill first off thanks for being one of the people that keeps me even a tiny sliver of interested in this shit show. I loved your breakdowns.

My thoughts were less based Lee and more based on the fact that the kings players that have been here over the last two years with the exception of davion and now sabonis have showed they don’t give a shit.

Im all for relationship building and I have no doubt that he might be that guy. But you’re asking a coach to not only find a way to get guys to care who haven’t for years, and gel with new guys that do, plus hopeful additions that you haven’t even acquired yet, then team build on that relationship level all to make that work in 18 months. As a first time coach and most importantly HERE the land of zero accountability and please don’t leave us management style that this ownership has deployed since purchase. The don’t piss off the talent under any circumstances.

I am all for Ham over Lee just based on his playing days and how he was a smart hard worker kinda poor man’s Vince Carter type. Also much like Vince Carter he seems laid back until he’s not.

From what I’ve been able to gather I also don’t think that a non former player is going to get the respect of some of our “stars”.

JillAdge
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April 25, 2022 5:47 pm

i feel ya! now i understand what you meant. 🙂

AnybodyButBagley
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April 25, 2022 8:26 pm

Who is Jaeger?

RikSmits
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April 26, 2022 7:31 am

He meant Yoghurt.

AnybodyButBagley
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April 27, 2022 5:55 am
Reply to  RikSmits

ok. I know who that is.

ArcoThunder
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April 25, 2022 3:49 pm

Dude sounds great! I’m in if he’s the guy they choose.

a serious coach like this with a good reputation would be a dream. I hope a guy like this gets hired and that Monte and this coach stay on for the next 5 years at minimum. There’s this thing called stability. You likely have never heard this word attached to anything related to the Kings. Stability. I

Stability is characterized by appropriate and well-thought-out decisions, consistent behavior and moderate mood swings. It’s often overlooked. Yet it’s a key component in professional and emotional success and well-being.

Sound’s pretty cool right?!?! If Monte Hires Lee or Ham that would say to me, there’s a chance at some stability here. As long as Monte doesn’t draft a PG at 7 I would say pretty confidently that he is competent enough to keep around for a long time. Add on this hopefully smart coaching hire he is about to make and you have a really good chance to create stability in a “no stability zone”. I would absolutely love it that tandem lasted 5 years together at minimum no matter what the win loss record is in year one, year two, year three, or year 4. As long as the coach doesn’t create drama with the team, Management, community and or get himself into legal trouble I would be so happy to have STABILITY for one chunk of time over 20 years.

RAP87
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April 25, 2022 5:38 pm
Reply to  ArcoThunder

That would be a pipe dream as long as Vivek is the owner. I mean I hope I’m wrong and would want nothing more than to have some sort of stability with the FO and coaching staff. But looking at Vivek’s tenure we haven’t had a coach who have stayed for more than 4 seasons.. Usually they get fired either on their 2nd – 3rd seasons..

If they hire Lee, Ham or Hardy. They might get a honeymoon period on their 1st season and even their 2nd season.. But you can bet going to their 3rd season, their seat would get warmer and chatter gets louder about them being replaced if they dot get good results..

And lone behold, Vivek fires Monte and the coach.. and we’re back to square one for the nth time.. KANGZ!!

SBKangz
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April 25, 2022 9:30 pm
Reply to  RAP87

The reason they keep getting fired is that we suck. I think it’s pretty normal for a coach to be feeling the heat in season 3 if their team sucks…it’s not all the coaches fault clearly and hopefully Vivek let’s MM do his thing and pick a real coach, but not holding out much hope! At least there is an honest to goodness interview process this time…Progress!!

Mike120
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April 25, 2022 6:47 pm

I appreciate all these write ups. I don’t have a favorite for the job but I do know I’m not interested in any retread coaches. Would rather take a chance on a fresh face. And I never understood the idea that you needed an old retread as lead assistant. I feel like that would undermine the HC. Any first time NBA HC will have already been an assistant or a college HC so why bring the old guy who’s no longer good enough for the lead job.

AnybodyButBagley
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April 25, 2022 8:25 pm

Know nothing about him. His resume is good and he is young. KAnGZ can ruin him. He should run fast.

Last edited 1 year ago by AnybodyButBagley
ArcoThunder
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April 25, 2022 9:13 pm

Anybody but Ty Ty at 7

AnybodyButBagley
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April 25, 2022 10:28 pm
Reply to  ArcoThunder

Honest question……..who the f*#@k is TyTy?

Can he play defense better than Fox?

ArcoThunder
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April 26, 2022 1:20 pm

Ty Ty is a PG from Kentucky that many trolling draft predictor’s are having us select at #7. In several other mock drafts Ty Ty is going in the mid to high teens.

if Monte selects a PG outside of the 5 players most people has as the consensus top 5 I’ll lose hope and confidence in Monte. It’s already not incredibly high but he’s slowly getting me to believe in him. If he selects the best PG in the draft according to the consensus overall view I’d still feel weird about it and would start calling for Fox to be traded immediately. If he picks Ty Ty and 7 I have no clue what our GM is thinking. There’s plenty of guys that have just as much talent and upside as Ty Ty that don’t play PG and we already have fox and Mitchell.

AnybodyButBagley
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April 26, 2022 4:05 pm
Reply to  ArcoThunder

Thanks for the info and I agree. Monte is an enigma at this point.

Ellis5
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April 26, 2022 12:22 am

No Van Gundy interview?

Klam
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April 26, 2022 8:24 am
Reply to  Ellis5

Van Gundy forgot to fax his interview notes at Kinko’s.

Last edited 1 year ago by Klam
KingOfTheMonsters
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April 26, 2022 10:32 am

nice write up.

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