The Sacramento Kings coaching search is over. The job had been open since April 14th , when the Kings fired George Karl after one and half seasons. Karl coached them to a combined record of 44-68 and missed the playoffs. They hired Dave Joerger earlier this week. Is this the right move for the franchise?
The Kings were looking for an NBA coach with head coaching experience. They interviewed Sam Mitchell, Vinny Del Negro, Mike Woodson, David Blatt, Mark Jackson, Jeff Hornacek and Nate McMillan. In the end they decided to go with Joerger.
Joerger had been the Memphis Grizzlies coach the past three years. In 2014, the Grizzlies went 50-32 and made the playoffs. They lost in the first-round to the Oklahoma City Thunder 4 games to 3. The next season they improved to 55-27. Memphis was the five seed in the West, beating the Portland Trailblazers in the first-round before falling to the Golden State Warriors in six games. This year Memphis ended the season with a record of 42-40. They made the playoffs as the 7th seed but got swept by the San Antonio Spurs.
Joerger was available after he was fired by the Grizzlies on May 7th. He didn’t see eye to eye with upper management. Joerger wasn’t fully interested in being with the team and sought permission to interview for the Kings’ front-office vacancy that went to Ken Catanella. The Grizzlies had no choice but to let him go.
The Sacramento Kings agreed to a four year deal worth $16 million with Joerger . He is a knowledgeable NBA head coach. Joerger has shown he can coach a team to the NBA playoffs. The Kings haven’t been to the playoffs in ten years.
According to ESPN, Joerger said, “The coach and the general manager are absolutely on the same team. And going forward like this, our front office, our coaching staff, that’s going to go all the way through the organization.”
The Kings must be patient with Joerger because it may take a few years for the players to learn his system. The Kings have the right coach in place to make them a winner. They should be a better team next year even if they don’t progress in the standings.
How do you feel about Dave Joerger as the Head Coach of the Sacramento Kings?
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