Every once in a while, the Sacramento Kings do something that reminds you exactly who they are, with the firing of Mike Brown being the latest example.
At first glance, the Kings’ 13-18 record this season is disappointing, marked by their stunning fourth-quarter collapse against the surging Detroit Pistons on Thursday night. De’Aaron Fox was caught sleeping on the decisive possession by leaving Jaden Ivey open for a three-pointer when that was the only thing that could hurt them; only fouling Ivey would make things worse.
And that’s exactly what Fox did, creating the improbable four-point play that completed the Pistons’ comeback.
As implausible as that ending was, it was even more unthinkable that the Kings apparently fired Brown on his way to the airport in the afternoon, rather than during normal business hours.
But of course, it’s the Sacramento Kings, the franchise that fired Michael Malone a decade ago, right around this time of year. The same Michael Malone who became a championship-winning head coach in Denver and one of the most stable head coaches in this irritating NBA.
“Classless. No balls,” Malone said upon hearing the news about Brown, a direct shot at Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé.
It was just a few months ago that the Kings gave Brown a three-year extension worth around $25 million, which is generally seen as an endorsement from the front office and ownership, and losing 12 of 17 games shouldn’t be enough to make him move. . a stable franchise in that square.
Apparently in that part of California the squares are sometimes Bermuda Triangles. Brown took a franchise that has been rudderless for most of its NBA existence and gave it an identity, winning Coach of the Year honors two seasons ago by leading the Kings to third place in the Wild West.
The Kings added veteran DeMar DeRozan, one of the league’s top players, to Fox, who won the award in 2023. That would seem like a recipe for the Kings to immediately become one of the best late-breaking teams in the league. league.
But that wasn’t the case, as the Kings have played the most decisive games in the league to date (defined as a game that finishes within five points), but have only gone 6-13 in those games. . However, seeing as Fox made the mistake of his life last night and escalated the situation with a foul, how could anyone blame Brown for that? Especially when he explicitly explained it in his postgame press conference, that the plan was to hug each player around the 3-point line and, if the opportunity presented itself, draw a foul if someone had their back to the basket and was not close to the shot. motion.
That’s a solid strategy.
Fox declined to comment after the game, and appeared to be shirking responsibility at the time; maybe there was something more complicated going on, but the bottom line is he made a mistake and not owning it right now is a bad look for a team. that has had too many serious defeats in a third of this season.
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It was going to take time to add DeRozan to this mix, particularly when it hasn’t been easy to find space with a pair of primary shooters in Keegan Murray and Malik Monk not performing by their career numbers.
Space is the most valued entity in today’s game, and without it, it is difficult for teams to function late, and if you can’t be trusted to shoot, teams will load up on impact players to cause confusion.
Time is the most valuable commodity on the sidelines, and patience is not far behind. But it was a short time for an unsuccessful franchise.
And since the Kings didn’t bother to fire Brown until he went through practice and a media session, it gave him a chance to discuss leadership as he sees it, almost issuing a plea to Fox.
“And showing that you’re human means that sometimes you have to show that you’re vulnerable,” Brown said. “At the end of the day, it’s not just Fox. It’s everyone. It’s Fox, it’s (Domantas Sabonis), it’s Malik. You know, being able to say, ‘Hey, you know what? I made a mistake here. I made a mistake there. That doesn’t mean everything depends on them, but simply recognizing: ‘I am human.’ I made a mistake. I can be better and I will be better.” That is something you learn through experience.
“You learn by observing others and being around other people who are good at taking responsibility, because it’s not easy. You know, you have the pressure of the world on you. And, like I said before, there is a lot of smoke there and not many people want to handle it or know how to handle it.”
The Kings didn’t want the smoke Brown was referring to, so they fired him. That’s what happens in today’s NBA with coaches, and make no mistake, they are not without fail. They understand what this job entails and know that it is much easier to fire the coach than to deal with some problems with the players.
“As an NBA coach, ultimately you’re going to get blamed,” Malone said before the Nuggets played the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night. “When they win, (credit) will go to Sabonis and Fox and when they lose, it will go to Mike Brown. That’s how it works. And two, who he (Ranadivé) works for.”
Fox has made things a little awkward with the Kings, as he is under contract for just one year after this one and turned down an extension before this season began. Clearly, it’s better for him to wait so he can sign a supermax deal next summer, but in the meantime it gives him tremendous leverage, especially since the Kings are desperate to retain their hometown star, choosing him over Tyrese Haliburton a couple of times. years ago when moving Haliburton for Sabonis.
That was a cog in driving their rebuild, and bringing in Brown was the catalyst for changing the culture. He went viral in his first weeks as coach when he not only implored his players to return to defense during training camp, but demonstrated it himself, no small feat for a man over 50.
Brown didn’t suddenly lose the ability to coach over the course of a few months, nor does any coach who is fired at the start of a season. Nick Nurse is going through a disastrous stretch in Philadelphia, but so far his key card still works, and the 76ers are far from an efficiently managed team.
The Kings fired Brown because they didn’t like the direction of the team over the past few months. Good. But does anyone trust them and their vision for the direction the team will take in the future?