Kings news: Mike D'Antoni, Mark Jackson among laundry list of candidates for head coaching job

The Sacramento Kings are reportedly interviewing Mike D'Antoni and Mark Jackson, among others, for their head coaching job.

The Sacramento Kings moved on from Alvin Gentry as head coach after he took over for Luke Walton during the 2021-22 season, and now they're engaged in a coaching search for the next man to try to end their lengthy postseason drought. Mike D'Antoni and Mark Jackson are just two of the names coming to the forefront, per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, and ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports a list of assistant coaches who will interview:

ESPN Sources: The Sacramento Kings have secured permission to interview several assistants for their head coaching job, including Golden State’s Mike Brown, Brooklyn consultant Steve Clifford, Milwaukee’s Darvin Ham and Charles Lee, and Boston’s Will Hardy.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 22, 2022

*Watch NBA games LIVE with fuboTV (click for free trial)*

D'Antoni is an intriguing candidate for Sacramento. The Kings have a speedy point guard in De'Aaron Fox running the show, and he could be a great fit for D'Antoni's offense. The 70-year-old was last a head coach for the Houston Rockets in 2020. He then spent a season as an assistant with the Brooklyn Nets and was most recently hired last summer as a coaching consultant for New Orleans Pelicans head coach Willie Green.

Jackson's name constantly comes up in coaching searches, but he hasn't been a head man on the bench since his days with the Golden State Warriors. That was way back in 2014 when he was replaced by Steve Kerr and the rest was history. Jackson is currently an analyst for ESPN.

The Kings went 30-52 in 2021-22, yet another disappointing campaign in a long list of them. Walton was fired in November and then replaced by Gentry, who wasn't able to turn the ship around. Sacramento made a blockbuster trade ahead of the deadline, sending out prized youngster Tyrese Haliburton in a deal that brought Domantas Sabonis to California.

The Kings haven't been in the playoffs since 2006 when Rick Adelman was the head coach. Maybe the next person leading the charge will be able to change their fortunes. They're certainly due.