By Jordan Long
The Sacramento Kings found their new Head Coach. This leaves the Charlotte Hornets and the L.A. Lakers as the only two current teams still searching for their next Head Coach. The Kings hired Mike Brown.
The Kings fired Luke Walton 17 games into the year after a 6-11 start. Walton was a disappointing 68-93 in his 161 games as Sacramento’s Head Coach, a winning percentage of .422. The Kings finished the season with Alvin Gentry as the interim Head Coach. His results weren’t much better, coaching the Kings to a 24-41 record. The Kings ended with an overall record of 30-52 missing the postseason once again.
The Kings decided to let Gentry go since the results weren’t there. They were looking for a Head Coach who had experience in the NBA. Sacramento decided Mike Brown was the right man for the job. He is currently an assistant coach on Steve Kerr’s staff in Golden State.
According to eastbaytimes.com, Steve Kerr said, “I don’t even know where to begin. What Mike has done for me, for this organization in his six years here, just an incredible contribution, he’s an amazing coach, amazing friend. And Sacramento made a great choice.”
Brown has been an NBA Head Coach in this league before, bringing in 563 games of experience. He was with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the L.A. Lakers. In Cleveland he lasted from 2005 to 2010 and was hired for one more year in the 2013-2014 season. Brown was in L.A. from 2011 to 5 games into the 2012-2013 season. Brown’s overall coaching record is 347-216, a winning percentage of .616. For the past 6 seasons he has been an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors.
Brown coached his teams into the playoffs 6 times. The furthest he advanced was the NBA Finals in 2007 with Cleveland. Unfortunately Cleveland was swept by the San Antonio Spurs. At least he has the experience of coaching a team far in the postseason.
The Kings have a great coach to take over the franchise. They have to be patient. The front office can’t fire Brown after 1 or 2 seasons because that is not enough. The players need more time to understand Brown’s system. The Kings typically don’t let their coaches stay that long because one awful year and they are fired. That needs to change.
Brown seems like the right man for the job. He has the NBA knowledge to turn this franchise back into a winner. He just needs the time to do so. The Kings haven’t made the playoffs since 2006 when they were knocked off by the San Antonio Spurs. They anticipate Brown will end the longest playoff drought in the NBA, even if it is a first-round exit.
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