In the aftermath of the Sacramento Kings parting ways with head coach Mike Brown, a wave of reactions flooded the NBA community. Most notably, two well-respected veteran coaches (Michael Malone and Steve Kerr) put the Kings on blast for the move and expressed confusion over being blamed for their ongoing struggles.
“At first, I was really shocked and surprised. And then I caught myself and said ‘Why am I shocked and surprised?’ for two reasons. One, as an NBA head coach, ultimately, you’re gonna get the blame. When you win, it’s gonna go to Sabonis and Fox, when you lose it’s gonna go to Mike Brown,” said Malone. “That’s the way it works. And two, who he works for. So I’m not surprised that Mike Brown got fired because I got fired by the same person. And what pissed me off about it was that they lost last night. The fifth game in a row I believe, tough loss. They had practice this morning, he does the postgame media, and he’s in his car going to the airport to fly to LA and they call him on the phone No class. No balls.”
Mike Brown finished a post-practice media session when he was fired over the phone. He was on his way to the airport for the next game when he received the call, which is rather classless and borderline disrespectful for one of their most successful coaches in franchise history.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr also had a lot to say on the matter and, like Malone, he aggressively came to the defense of Mike Brown.
“Very disappointed to hear the news,” said Kerr. “Mike is a great friend, a great coach. I talked to him and we all kind of know that this is the nature of the business. But it just seems so shocking when a guy is the unanimous coach of the year a year and a half ago and when you think about where that franchise was before Mike got there, where they’ve been the last couple of years, the job he and his staff have done, it’s shocking. And I know they’ve been in a tough spell but this is the NBA and we all go through tough spells and I just know I feel very fortunate to work in an organization that values continuity and that allows our team and our staff to get through the rough patches.”
Mike Brown helped raise the Kings out of irrelevancy. Under his leadership, De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis were able to thrive as teammates and take the Kings to new heights in the Western Conference. But now, after the first sign of trouble, the Kings betrayed Brown and cast their loyalty aside for the sake of trying something new.
Too often in the NBA, coaches are the first ones to be blamed when the issues run much deeper. In the case of the Kings, most experts and critics can agree that it’s their roster that needs tuning, not their coaching department.
With two of the league’s most accomplished coaches advocating for Brown, it’s clear that he was well respected in the industry and it won’t be long before he finds another coaching gig, whether it’s as an assistant or another head coaching role.
In the meantime, the Kings will tap Doug Christie as the interim coach as they search for a more permanent candidate for the position. Of course, no matter who they bring in, it’s unlikely to be enough to drastically change their trajectory unless it also comes with a major roster overhaul.
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