The Kings today announced several staff updates and promotions for the upcoming season.
Full press release below:
Brendan Suhr joins the Kings as an assistant coach, bringing more than four decades of coaching experience across the NBA and collegiate ranks. Suhr was a member of the Detroit Pistons coaching staff that won back-to-back NBA championships in 1989 and 1990 and has also held assistant coaching roles with the Atlanta Hawks, New Jersey Nets, Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic and New York Knicks. At the collegiate level, he has coached at Detroit Mercy, Fairfield, UCF, LSU and Stetson and served on the coaching staff for the gold medal-winning 1992 U.S. Men’s Olympic Basketball Team. In addition to his coaching career, Suhr founded Coaching U in 2008 and has served as a leadership consultant for the National Basketball Players Association for more than a decade.
DJ Ham has been elevated to assistant coach after spending one season as the head of player development for the Kings. He previously served as a video assistant/player development coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers (2024-25) and an assistant coach/director of player development for the Cleveland Charge, the Cavaliers G League affiliate. Before his time in Cleveland, he was an assistant coach at his alma mater, Northwood University. After completing his four-year collegiate career with the Timberwolves, Ham played professionally in Germany for a year before beginning his coaching career in the high school and collegiate ranks.
Joe Ajike joins Sacramento’s coaching staff as the team’s head of player development. Before joining the Kings, Ajike spent the 2025-26 season as head of player development for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the G League affiliate of the Houston Rockets. He previously spent four seasons with the Washington Wizards, most recently as player development manager from 2023-25, after joining the organization in 2021 in a player development and video role. Prior to joining the NBA, Ajike served as a graduate assistant for the University of Miami men’s basketball program. He played collegiately at Rider University where he graduated in 2018.
Jason Maxiell enters his second season with the Kings organization and his first as a player development coach. He spent the 2025-26 season as an assistant coach with the Stockton Kings, the Sacramento Kings G League affiliate. Originally selected by the Detroit Pistons with the 26th overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, Maxiell’s NBA career spanned over 10 seasons with three teams, Detroit (2005-13), the Orlando Magic (2013-14) and the Charlotte Hornets (2014-15), appearing in three Eastern Conference Finals runs with the Pistons from 2006-09. Prior to the NBA, Maxiell spent four seasons at the University of Cincinnati (2001-05) where he earned All-Conference Second Team honors (2003-05), CUSA All-Freshmen honors (2001-02) and Sixth Man of the Year honors (2001-02).
Wyatt Lohaus comes to Sacramento as an assistant video coordinator after spending the 2025-26 season as a fellow with the Mississippi State men’s basketball staff. Previously, he served as a coach at the 212 Basketball Academy in Iowa during the 2024-25 season. Prior to coaching, Lohaus played professional basketball overseas for two seasons after competing collegiately at Northern Iowa where he earned his bachelor’s degree in movement and exercise science.
Drake LaMont enters his first season with the Kings as an assistant video coordinator and his third season in the NBA. He most recently spent two seasons from 2023-25 with the Washington Wizards as a coaching associate/assistant video coordinator. LaMont also worked with the Dallas Mavericks as a player development intern during the 2019-20 season. Prior to coaching at the professional level, he held graduate assistant roles at the Texas Tech (2020-21) and the University of Texas (2021-23) after playing collegiately at Western Michigan University from 2014-18.
The Kings also announced the promotions of Daniel Hixon (Manager of Scouting), Julius Lewis (Assistant Director of Team Security) and Nicolas Liagridonis (Basketball Data Scientist/G League Personnel Coordinator) along with the following staff additions: Kathy Evans (Director of Basketball Data Science), Imhotep “Tap” George (Coaching Associate) and Brandon Lewis (Senior Basketball Software Engineer).
Suhr is the biggest addition as he comes with a ton of experience, but he’s also 75 years old and last coached in the NBA back in 2007. Jason Maxiell is another interesting addition, as many of you might remember him as a player. Maxiell carved out a 10-year career as a defensive minded big man who did the dirty work. DJ Ham is the son of Milwaukee Bucks assistant and former player Darvin Ham. Another fun note is that new assistant video coordinator Wyatt Lohaus is the son of former Kings forward Brad Lohaus (who played 29 games for the Kings back in the 1988-89 season).
Kings media day will take place towards the end of the month with training camp and preseason soon after. The Kings are next back in action just under a month from now on October 5th, when they take on the Lakers in Sacramento for their first preseason matchup.
Possibly worth noting that Perry was in the Pistons front office with Dumars that drafted Maxiell in 2005. I’m assuming he also had a say on him being an assistant coach in Stockton. He likely has a good pulse on the man.
So who replaces Doug this season? We know it’s inevitable. Probably Woodson as the interim, with some of Perry’s new hires waiting in the wings.
If they aren’t hot out the gate, do it sooner rather than later. I’m tired of GMs and coaches leapfrogging each other here.
You have to assume so, because Maxiel is probably too old for Anjali, right? Right!?
Does every hire Perry makes have to have worked with him in the past
Suhr is 75
If he isn’t hiring his mates, he is hiring children of his mates
We have an old GM and and older first time coach. Why not go out at hire some young staff members with ideas and energy to get this team out of the mire they are in
Going all in on youth should not just mean Acuff by himself, (yes there were other draft picks this year) but all hope seems to be passed on to him, which might be unwise to pin everything to a 19 year old
Why not get a young and emerging coach?
That was the point I was trying to make, apparently poorly.
My point is neither Perry or Christie are young, I just think both are trying hard but I really think for this team to get better they need to open to new ideas, players ways to improve the roster.
All I’ve seen is a shrug of eh its tough to make deals and noone wants our players.
If we had Presti or someone like Hinkie they would have thought outside the box to make moves
Question, for you all Ifr the front office gets Duren what kind of deal would you be willing to accept, it seems that if you are paying him $40 mill a year (more than he is worth imho) once Lavine’s deal is up, won’t the Kings still be up against the cap, and this team won’t really be much better, when they really need to turn a lot of this roster open in find league average starting talent?
Tell me that Doug Christie is safe until the end of the season without telling me Doug Christie is safe until the end of the season.
You didn’t expect them to fire the tank commander mid season did you? They might fire him just before the end of the season to get a jump on the coaching search, but we likely have Doug for most if not all of the upcoming season.
Doug has long been Matina’s choice to run the team. I’m of the opinion that he’s in that seat for years, regardless of the results, until there’s a substantial regime change.
And that isn’t coming anytime soon, either.
Looks like Ben and Elfrid will be competing for the back up PG during training camp. Vivek got his mancrush…again.
First to make a jumper gets the job!!!
Brendan Suhr? What Bill Raftery, Jim Boeheim, and Bobby Knight weren’t available?
Badge Legend