The Sacramento Kings may have resorted back to old franchise habits on Friday when they decided to relieve head coach Mike Brown of his duties amid their five-game losing streak that was punctuated by a heartbreaking defeat to the Detroit Pistons courtesy of a game-winning and-one triple from Jaden Ivey. Brown most recently won the NBA’s Coach of the Year award in 2023 after helping lead the Kings back to the playoffs — their first trip to the postseason in 17 years.
Alas, in a business where results dictate everything, there was bound to be someone scapegoated for the Kings’ struggles as of late — and that person ended up being Brown. And Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, who had Brown in his coaching staff from 2016 to 2022, echoed the sentiment nearly everyone has in the aftermath of this shocking firing.
“Very disappointed to hear the news. Mike is a good friend, a good coach. It just seems so shocking when a guy is unanimous coach of the year a year and a half ago. When you think about where that franchise was before Mike got there, where they’ve been the last couple years, the job he and his staff have done, it’s really shocking,” Kerr said, via Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
https://twitter.com/anthonyVslater/status/1872826988056199518
It just seems harsh towards Brown that the Kings would let go of him at the first period of extended adversity; he could only do so much in maximizing Sacramento’s limited roster. But for the Warriors head coach, he knows that this is the nature of the business, as heartbreaking as everything may be.
“We all kinda know that this is the nature of the business,” Kerr added. “I know they’ve been in a tough spell. But this is the NBA. We all go through tough spells.”
Kings back to their old ways?
During the 2022-23 season, it looked as though a culture shift was happening for the Kings. For the first time in a while, they were playing exciting basketball that resulted in wins. They even won the Pacific Division and had the entire NBA fanbase rallying behind them during their impressive Light the Beam season.
Alas, the Kings failed to make the playoffs last season (despite winning 46 games in a loaded Western Conference), and they felt as though they had to make a huge addition in free agency, signing DeMar DeRozan. This hasn’t had the intended effect, however, and the team has fallen apart due to its shaky defense and horrific depth. And instead of rectifying their roster situation, they let go of the coach that aided in the franchise’s turnaround.
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