The fallout from the Sacramento Kings firing head coach Mike Brown is still taking shape, as the reaction around the league has been surprise — or maybe not so surprised if you’re Nuggets coach Michael Malone — at the dismissal of the unanimous Coach of the Year just two seasons ago.
The Kings have gotten off to an abysmal 13-19 start that can’t be explained away with injuries like the Philadelphia 76ers can lean on. With pressure mounting to turn things around, especially as rumors about De’Aaron Fox’s future with the team headline daytime sports shows, the front office felt it was time to hear from a different coach on the sidelines.
In the 24 hours leading up to Brown’s dismissal, he singled out Fox for messing up a key defensive play that led to a Sacramento loss to the Pistons. Brown’s public criticism of Fox and the team reportedly went into the decision of his firing, per The Athletic. It wasn’t just that press conference that did it, but several instances where Brown was publicly critical of players, too. “Stern news conferences were beginning to wear on some players,” according to The Athletic.
But Fox, who initially gave a rather nonchalant response to Brown’s firing for someone who found out the minute before news broke, is setting the record straight several days later.
“I feel like there’s this perception that people thought that we were at odds,” Fox told ESPN. “You can ask anybody in this organization: me and Mike have never even had an argument. We could disagree with something. We talked about it and it was gone.”
When the Kings gave Brown a contract extension this past summer, Fox was consulted on the matter beforehand, saying “I don’t want another coach.” That suggests that Fox fully backed Brown, and still does even now after his dismissal. The All-Star guard reiterated Monday that there was no issue between him and Brown. “There was never any push back about anything,” he posted on social media. “This narrative of us butting heads or me going to management saying anything is bulls—. So you can run with that if you want to.”
Brown’s firing came from general manager Monte McNair, per The Athletic, but was given the green light from team owner Vivek Ranadive. Fox, Sabonis and DeMar DeRozan were reportedly not consulted on the decision, per ESPN.
There’s been criticism on social media about Sacramento’s handling of the whole situation, with Brown being let go shortly after leading the Kings in practice and talking to media. While Brown’s public criticism has been reported as a reason for his firing, by Fox’s own words, as well as recent reports, his dismissal had little to no backing from the players.
With Brown gone, assistant coach Doug Christie has been named interim, and will remain in charge for the rest of the season. We’ll see if Christie is the needed change for a Kings team that is currently on a six-game losing streak, because if he’s not, this decision by Sacramento’s front office will look even worse further down the line.
