By Mark Haynes | OBSERVER Correspondent
Following a disheartening and lackluster performance against the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night, the Sacramento Kings have decided to part ways with head coach Mike Brown.
This surprising turn of events comes amid a troubling five-game home losing streak, the longest in Brown’s time with the Kings.
After losing to the Pistons in a 114-113 nail-biter, Brown did not hesitate to call out his team, especially his star guard De’Aaron Fox, who fouled Jaden Ivey on a three-point attempt that led to him knocking down a game-winning free throw when the Kings were winning 113-110 with 10 seconds to go in the fourth quarter.
“You should be hugged up to your man at the three-point line,” a frustrated Brown said. “Everybody should, and why there was a closeout by Fox, I’m not sure. I have to go back and watch the tape. We told our guys, you can’t give up a three, can’t give up a three, can’t give up a three! Stay connected.”
Following Brown’s remarks during the postgame interview, speculation erupted across social media about the possibility of the Kings trading their star player, Fox. The commotion created enough rumors and pressure on the front office that they ended Brown’s tenure with the team even after agreeing on a three-year contract extension just this summer.
Brown’s tenure as head coach of the Kings finalized with 107 wins and 88 losses. In his first season with the team in 2023, he won the Coach of the Year award after leading the organization to its first postseason appearance in nearly two decades.
With Brown’s departure, assistant coach and Kings legend Doug Christie will take the reins as the interim head coach. His first game in this role will be on Saturday, December 28, against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, a team that has defeated the Kings twice during their current five-game losing streak.