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The Sacramento Kings’ proverbial revolving door of head coaches swung around last week, with former head coach Mike Brown relieved of his duties. Is this a concerning trend under chairman Vivek Ranadive? In his 12 years with the Kings, Ranadive has hired seven head coaches, including Brown, who agreed to a three-year extension over the summer. Then, he was fired 32 games into the regular season.
Many wonder if De’Aaron Fox’s looming contract extension and a below-500 record led to Brown’s firing. It’s been nearly a week since he was let go, and interim head coach Doug Christie has won two of the Kings’ last three games. Yet, no one’s explained what led to the decision, which is a move that could backfire if Sacramento doesn’t turn its season around, per The Athletic’s Sam Amick.
“All this time later, Fox is still facing speculation — both within the league and in the media — that he played a pivotal part in the decision,” Amick said. “Yet, according to team and league sources, he did not. And since the Kings haven’t held a news conference to discuss such matters, with Ranadivé the one who should take accountability for the choice rather than general manager Monte McNair, the rumor has lived on amid all this organizational silence.
“As if Fox’s situation wasn’t sensitive enough already, with strong indications that his long-term future in Sacramento is in serious peril, it appears the handling of the coaching change has only made matters worse.”
Fox scored a season-high 35 points in an impressive 113-107 win against the Philadelphia 76ers. The Kings erased a nine-point deficit in the final 3:00 of the fourth quarter, securing the win with a 15-0 run. This win was keyed by consecutive defensive stops and fluid offensive execution, a trend Christie and the Kings hope will continue.
With Randive back in his courtside seat at the Golden 1 Arena, all eyes are on the Kings’ rest of the 2024-25 campaign to see if Brown’s firing will turn things around.
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Doug Christie’s take after second win since Mike Brown’s firing
Kings' Vivek Ranadive watched interim head coach Doug Christie seek consistency for the Kings. In the face of adversity, De’Aaron Fox scored 15 of 35 points in the final frame to secure Christie’s second win as interim head coach.
After the game, he said it’s the kind of fight he hopes to see more often, per Sactown1140’s Branden Nunes.
“Super proud of our guys. That is the type of fight that we expect on a night-to-night basis,” Christie said.
The Kings will go for their third consecutive win when they take on the Grizzlies on Friday.
