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The Sacramento Kings made a big decision last week and fired Mike Brown after having a disappointing start to the season. There have been a lot of rumors surrounding the Kings, most notably De'Aaron Fox, who may not decide to sign an extension with the team beyond this season. Some thought the firing of Brown may have helped Fox's chances of staying, but it may be the other way around, according to The Athletic's Sam Amick.
“The writing is still on the wall, only in bigger and bolder letters now. And if anything, the Kangz-y nature of the Brown-to-Christie move might have made it even easier for Fox to eventually push his way out,” Amick wrote. “When the Kings fired Brown on Friday, letting him conduct practice and media duties before informing him of the decision via phone as he drove to the airport for the team’s road trip, there was no shortage of social media sleuths who assumed that the franchise guard was at fault. Not only was Fox’s frustration with his Kings existence already well known, but he had been the last one seen speaking to Brown in any substantive way after practice — and before that final call from the team’s front office was made.”
Will Kings have better chance at keeping De'Aaron Fox?
De'Aaron Fox has spoken out already about not being the reason that Mike Brown was fired, but people think the issues steemed further than the night they lost against the Detroit Pistons.
“Add in the fact that Brown had been highly critical of Fox the night before, when Fox’s defensive lapse against Detroit cost the Kings the game and sparked criticism from his coach in the postgame news conference, and all the signs seemed to be pointing in one direction,” Amick said. “Fox has defended himself in recent days, both on X and in an interview with ESPN. League sources confirmed his stance, with Brown himself known to believe that Fox had nothing to do with the decision and that Ranadivé was the driving force behind it.”
The Kings are starting to gain some steam now as they're on a two-game winning streak, and they're still in the race to get in the play-in spot if they keep winning. It's never been about the lack of talent for the Kings, but their defense and continuity have been the biggest problems this year. As the season progresses, it'll be interesting to see if the team has made any substantial progress or if they're worse.
