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.
Mike Brown
Age: 52
Current Role: Assistant Coach, Golden State Warriors
Resume: NBA Assistant (Wizards, Spurs, Pacers) 1997-2005, Head Coach Cleveland Cavaliers 2005-2010, Head Coach Los Angeles Lakers 2011-2012, Head Coach Cleveland Cavaliers 2013-2014, Assistant Coach Golden State Warriors 2016-present, Head Coach Nigerian National basketball team 2020-present
From Jill:
Mike Brown the league traveler. Brown started his career as an assistant for the Wizards before moving onto the Spurs and Pacers benches. He was given his first opportunity as a head coach at the age of 35 with the Cleveland Cavaliers. In his 18 years as a defensive coordinator on the bench, Mike’s teams have only finished twice below league average. Now sitting at the age of 52, he has spent more than half his life on an NBA bench.
Jill also did a deep dive on Mike Brown that you can listen to here.
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I’ve joked in the Kings Herald Slack for months now that the Kings would end up settling on Mike Brown as the next head coach. It just feels like a very Kangz move, hiring a coach who checks a lot of boxes on paper (including a connection to Vivek’s beloved Warriors) but wouldn’t really excite the fanbase.
It’s hard to put into words why I can’t get excited about Brown as a candidate. He’s been coaching in the NBA since before the Kings glory years, he’s from the Popovich coaching tree, he has a career winning percentage of 61.6%, and Brown seems to be one of those guys in the league that pretty much everyone likes and gets along with.
I just don’t know how much he raises the bar for the Kings.
Mike Brown has succeeded with teams built around LeBron or Kobe. He didn’t win a championship with either, and his one stint without an elite player resulted in a 33-49 record and being let go after a single season. Was his final Cavaliers roster good? Not really. You could even argue that Brown overachieved with it, but he was still dismissed based on those results.
If the Kings hired Mike Brown as a lead assistant for the Kings next head coach, I’d be thrilled. He seems like an elite assistant and a great guy to have around your team. This, of course, won’t happen. There’s no reason for Brown to leave the Warriors bench for the Kings bench unless its a promotion. But I’d be far more excited about Brown in that role than I would be if he was the Kings next head coach.
Brown has a strong pedigree, he just isn’t terribly exciting. Something I said about Mike D’Antoni is also true about Brown: it speaks to the overall quality of candidates that the Kings are interviewing that a coach with Brown’s resume is considered a mid-tier option in this pool. Personally, I’d have him below Mike D’Antoni and below first-time options like Ham, Hardy, and Lee. Mike Brown wouldn’t excite me much if he was the next Kings coach, but I also don’t think he’d be a complete disaster.
Up next: Will Hardy
Previously: Steve Clifford
Wouldn’t be the highest on my list, but if he got the job, I wouldn’t mind it. It’s not Mark Jackson!
I don’t totally get the lack of enthusiasm for Mike Brown.
I think he would be a solid hire for the Kings. Of all the so-called “retreads,” he is who I would pick 1st, 2nd and 3rd.
This is an opinion I just can’t wrap my head around. He seems like the exact opposite of a Kangz move.
He seems like the model of reasonableness – solid track record, stable human being, no crazy baggage, solid defense pedigree, not the GM’s pal.
What am I missing here?
i don’t think you are missing anything. He is stable.
Brown once held the “elite” title of being the only head coach to miss the playoffs with LeBron James. He has since been joined by Luke Walton and Frank Vogel. He’s in my D’Antoni/Clifford retread pile, in that he neither excites or enrages me.
I think that the Kings organization is doing the right thing by starting the process of hiring a new head coach now, and I like the blend of coaches that they have here (Mark Jackson notwithstanding). I would have liked to have seen Atkinson and Vanderpool on the list as well, but it is quite possible that neither are interested in the position. All of that said, it is difficult to envision any coach substantially improving the existing roster. My enthusiasm for the new hire will be subject to the Kings adding a player to the roster that is instantly a top three contributor from baseline to baseline.
Anyone knows if the FO had completed some of the interviews yet ?
(Especially for those assistant coaches still with the Playoff team)
Tops on my retread list, but still around 4th on my list of the rumored names. Atkinson might be the only other retread that may top him, but he’s not rumored to be on the list.
It’s an interesting dynamic. On the one hand, a guy like Brown might fit the timeline of this front office better. On the other hand, if one of the young guns is more malleable to taking directives and input from the front office, that might be appealing to McNair and Co.
Did you mean to say above Mike D’Antoni? Lol.
I feel like Mike Brown is not the sexy pick, but may end up being the right one. Are there better candidates? Most likely. Are there worse coaches? Most definitely. If Mike Brown is hired as a consolation prize of sorts after striking out on someone like Ham, I don’t think this organization would be negatively impacted.
Echoing sentiment, wouldn’t be thrilled but wouldn’t hate it as much as I initially thought.
I think our players would respect him initially and would learn how to play passable defense (hopefully) under his direction. But the fact he hasn’t been able to find success without a superstar is somewhat concerning. I think we’d see some improvements but I’d hope management would find an offensive x’s and o’s guy to help the team play more cohesive vs running ISOs and the 1-4 flat (SKINNY JEANS!!!!)
would’ve preferred Brown over Walton or Gentry. But that’s not saying much. He’d be at the top of my retread list if I had one.
I would be completely fine with Mike Brown. Even excited to have a defensive minded guy with that much experience. He has the respect and reputation that could and should allow for the kings to build something.
Badge Legend