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It came as a shock to most when the Sacramento Kings fired head coach Mike Brown in the midst of a disappointing season after a few years of productive basketball. As Kings fans have been divided if the firing was a good decision or not, some are pondering why it was made in the first place.
As reported by The Athletic, it would be the “stern news conferences” by Brown that were starting to “wear on some players” which could have led to the abrupt firing of the head coach. In his last postgame presser, he would talk about star De'Aaron Fox in the midst of rumors of the guard going through thoughts about his future with the team.
The two even had an extended talk after last Friday's practice where Brown was fired very soon after.
“But the stern news conferences were beginning to wear on some players, team sources said, and were part of the decision to part ways with Brown,” Anthony Slater and Sam Amick wrote. “His last postgame news conference, directed squarely at the team’s star guard, was delivered in the same week Fox appeared to be increasingly thinking about a future elsewhere.”
“Fox gave a dismissive news conference of his own after the gaffe, skirting the questions and speaking for less than two minutes in all,” The Athletic continued. “Reporters spotted Brown after Friday’s practice in an extended discussion with Fox. He was dismissed about 90 minutes later.”
What Mike Brown said in his final Kings post-game press conference
There have been many coaches in the league that have expressed their disappointment in the firing of Brown, including Denver Nuggets' Mike Malone who said the Kings had “no class, no balls.” In the aforementioned post-game presser, which would be his final one with the team, Brown discussed “anyone that's close” and knowing “who is truly in the foxhole with you.”
“When you go through adverse times, you know who was truly there for you,” Brown said. “People will jump off the bandwagon quick. The support, wherever it may come from, it may not always be there. But that’s part of what I have to deal with, not just from myself but holding everyone together. I’m OK with anybody criticizing me. I get paid to handle that. I get paid to get us through this.”
“But whether it’s anyone that’s close — staff, players, friends, family — you’ll be able to tell who jumped off when we had some trying times,” Brown continued. “You always remember that as you go forward because you know who is truly in the foxhole with you and who is not. But at the end of the day, you best believe I’m going to handle all the smoke no matter where that smoke comes from. That’s what I’m paid to do.”
At any rate, it will be assistant coach Doug Christie who will serve as interim Kings' head coach in the meantime as the team is 13-18 which puts them 12th in the Western Conference. The Kings next face the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night.
