By Jordan Long
The Sacramento Kings finished the year at 30-52, missing the postseason for the 16th straight year, the longest playoff drought in NBA history. The last time the Kings earned a playoff spot was in 2006 when they lost to the San Antonio Spurs in 6 games of the 1st-round. Now they are searching for a new Head Coach yet again.
The King started the year with Luke Walton as their Head Coach. He was fired after the Kings started the year 6-11. This needed to happen. Walton had his chance to lead the team since the beginning of the 2019 season. The Kings were a disappointing 68-93 under him, a winning percentage of .422.
Once Walton was let go, they turned to Alvin Gentry as the interim Head Coach. His results were about the same as Walton’s. He couldn’t turn the team around to even reach the Play-In Tournament part of the NBA’s postseason. The team went 24-41 under Gentry but it wasn’t enough for Gentry to show he should be the Head Coach long term.
According to ESPN.com, General Manager Monte McNair said, “The entire Kings organization is grateful for the leadership of Alvin Gentry, who stepped up when he got the call midseason. We appreciate his leadership on and off the court.”
The Kings will start a coaching search yet again. The names that Sacramento could consider for the job are Kenny Atkinson, Steve Clifford, Mark Jackson, and Mike Brown among others for the job.
Atkinson, Clifford, Jackson, and Brown have all been NBA Head coaches in this league before. Atkinson was the Head Coach of the Brooklyn Nets from 2016 to 2020. The Nets weren’t competitive with him with an overall record of 118-190, a winning percentage of .383. The only year they made the postseason was in 2019 when they lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in 5 games. This season Atkinson is an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors. Atkinson might not be the right coach for the team.
Clifford was a Head Coach for 8 years with two different franchises, Charlotte and Orlando. He was with Charlotte from 2013 to 2018. Clifford was in Orlando from 2018 to 2021. His overall record in the NBA is 292-345, a winning percentage of .458. His teams earned a playoff spot 4 times but they were all losses in the first round. At least he coached a team to the postseason and it is possible Clifford could do the same thing with the Kings.
Jackson is one of the better candidates out there. He coached the Golden State Warriors from 2011 to 2014. The Warriors were very successful under him, going 121-109, a winning percentage of .526. Golden State was in the playoffs in 2013 and 2014. For whatever reason, Golden State parted ways with Jackson following the 2014 playoff run that ended in the first-round. At the time it didn’t make sense since he was a good coach for the team.
Jackson is a great coach. The only downside is he hasn’t been a part of the NBA as a Head Coach or an assistant for the past 8 years which may take him out of the running. Jackson though has stayed near the NBA as an announcer for ESPN. He knows the game but even so that may not be enough for him to be the next Head Coach of the Kings.
Brown is the most successful of all of these names. He was with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the L.A. Lakers from 2005 to 2014. Brown had two stints with Cleveland from 2005 to 2010 and coached them for the 2014 season. He was with the Lakers from 2011 to 5 games into the 2012-2013 season. Overall his record stands at 347-216, a winning percentage of .616. His teams earned a playoff spot 6 times. Cleveland managed to go all the way to the NBA Finals in 2007. Unfortunately, they were swept by the San Antonio Spurs.
Since 2016, Brown has been an assistant on Steve Kerr’s staff in Golden State. Brown should have the opportunity to be a Head coach in this league once again.
Sacramento will do what is best for their team. They would like to find a coach who can lead this franchise to the postseason. The front office must be more patient. They can’t can a coach after a few years because then they will be back in the same spot. Let the next Head Coach stay around for a while so that the players can understand their system. Hopefully, the Kings will do that.
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