The Sacramento Kings ended the season with a record of 33-49, a full 8 games behind 8th place Houston. The Kings decided to fire Head Coach George Karl on April 14. Karl was the head coach the last two seasons with an overall record of 44-68. The Kings failed to reach the playoffs for the 10th season in a row. Sacramento will start to interview for their coaching vacancy this week. They have two candidates who they will talk to, David Blatt and Patrick Ewing.
Patrick Ewing has never been an NBA head coach but served as an assistant head coach and an associate head coach. He started his coaching career with the Houston Rockets from 2003 to 2007. Ewing moved on to Orlando for the 2007 season and stayed there until 2012. The last three seasons he has been the Associate Head Coach of the Charlotte Hornets. He knows the game of basketball well since he played in the league for 15 seasons. If the Kings hire Ewing, they would need to let him have a few years to be a coach. One year isn’t enough time to turn the team around
If the Kings want a more experienced coach then David Blatt is the answer. Blatt coached the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2015 to an impressive 53-29 record. They reached the NBA Finals before losing to the Golden State Warriors. Blatt lasted 41 games this season before Cleveland decided to go a different direction. He has shown he can handle a superstar and the Kings have one in DeMarcus Cousins.
The biggest hurdle with the Kings’ job is the ownership. They haven’t permitted a head coach to be there more than two years since Paul Westphal was the coach for three years from 2009 to 2012. The Kings must allow the next coach three or four years. One or two years isn’t enough time to turn a team around. Ownership has to be more patient with the next head coach otherwise they could fire him and be in the same situation they are this offseason.
Who should the Kings hire as their next head coach?
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