In a chat with reporters after the Sacramento Kings‘ latest coaching change, star point guard De’Aaron Fox opened up on whether the players feel any guilt for the recent turn of events. Unsurprisingly, Fox denied taking any blame and he explained that it’s just the nature of the business.
“I wouldn’t use the word ‘guilt.’ That’s the nature of the job that we have. He signed his extension this summer, and we thought we would be together a whole lot longer,” said Fox via Kirsten Moran-Kellar. “But that’s the decision that they made. But at the end of the day too, he’s still getting paid. A great part of being an NBA player and an NBA coach is that those things can happen, but contracts are guaranteed.”
The Sacramento Kings just recently decided to fire head coach Mike Brown, who had been with the team since May of 2022. After years of mediocrity, he helped the Kings to a respectable place in the Western Conference. In the 2022-23 season, his first as their coach, he led them to their best record in years (48-34) to secure the third seed in the West. They even gave the Warriors a tough fight in the first round before being eliminated in 7 games.
But sadly, it’s been downhill ever since for the franchise. Last season, they fell from 3rd in the West down to 9th and they couldn’t make it out of the play-in tournament. In the 2024-25 season so far, they’ve been even worse.
Currently, the Kings are 12th in the West and a shell of the team they were two seasons ago. They’ve seriously declined as a team and there was a growing sense that something needed to change. The last straw for Mike Brown was a loss to the Detroit Pistons on Thursday, which marked their 5th straight defeat.
In the aftermath of the firing, several prominent NBA coaches spoke out in defense of Brown, but it’s not entirely shocking that he was let go. In today’s NBA, coaches are often under more pressure than the players perform and when the team fails to meet expectations, the coach is often the first one blamed by the fans and front office.
Fortunately, as Fox pointed out, Brown will still get what he’s owed after signing a 3-year, $25.5 million back in June. But for a Kings franchise that has lacked continuity, this latest coaching change threatens to further disrupt everything they’ve built in this current basketball era.
The only way for the Kings to avoid disaster is by finding the right replacement for Brown. With a nearly limitless pool of candidates, it’s impossible to say who they will choose but it needs to be someone who can speak to the players and instill a system that brings out the best in their stars.
As for De’Aaron Fox, he’s not concerning himself with the King’s ongoing coaching search. Instead, he is focused on turning this season around and there is still so much work to be done. This season, through 31 games, Fox is averaging 26.2 points, 6.1 assists, and 5.0 rebounds on 48.2% shooting.
The next game for the Kings is tonight, December 28th, against the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com arena (10:30 PM EST). On Monday, December 30th, they host the Dallas Mavericks at Golden 1 Center at 10:00 PM EST. On Wednesday, January 1st, the Sacramento Kings play the Philadelphia 76ers at Golden 1 Center at 10:00 PM EST.
Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We appreciate your support.
