Former Kings head coach Mike Brown tore into his team after another blown lead led to a loss against the Pistons on Thursday. However, Anthony Slater and Sam Amick of The Athletic write that Brown’s stern post-game news conferences began to wear on players, and that was part of the Kings’ decision to part with him.
Slater and Amick report that there was no malice or specific purpose intended with the timing of the firing, which came as Brown was getting ready for the team’s flight for their game in Los Angeles. Owner Vivek Ranadive was particularly upset with the Kings’ poor play and noted their fall from first in offense in 2022/23 to the middle of the pack last season, but the decision to let go of Brown was general manager Monte McNair‘s, according to Slater and Amick.
The Kings will have a chance to right the ship under interim replacement Doug Christie, with the team boasting the eighth-best offense in the league despite falling to 13-18.
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- There is no immediate head coaching search planned for the Kings, Slater and Amick write in the same story. After being named interim coach, Christie will have an opportunity to make a case for the permanent position. Christie’s promotion was a long time coming. Ranadive once saw Christie as a viable alternative to Alvin Gentry (who was eventually named interim coach) after Luke Walton was fired in 2021. Christie has a strong relationship with players and staff and made a lasting impression in Sacramento during his time as a player, commentator and assistant, per The Athletic.
- Choosing a starting lineup will be one of Christie’s first tasks as coach, Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee writes. The starting shooting guard position will likely come down to Malik Monk, Kevin Huerter or Keon Ellis.
- De’Aaron Fox took accountability for his defensive mistake at the end of Thursday’s loss to the Pistons, Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 Sacramento reports (Twitter link). Fox spoke in front of his teammates and took ownership during the tough slide, teammate Keegan Murray relayed.
- Warriors guard Dennis Schröder struggled through his first five games with Golden State after starting off the year hot with Brooklyn. In his last five games, Schröder averaged 8.2 points on 28.0% shooting as opposed to the 18.4 points on 45.2% shooting he posted with the Nets. However, coach Steve Kerr said he’s not worried about Schröder’s play, according to Slater (Twitter link). “You trust who the player has been. It’s a tiny sample size,” Kerr said. “He came to us at a time when we were ice cold. He needs shooting around him. He’s a pick-and-roll player. We were 7-for-38 tonight from three.”
- The Lakers are getting healthier, providing Los Angeles a reason for optimism, Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times writes. Jaxson Hayes is now day-to-day and close to returning while head coach JJ Redick said there’s hope both Christian Wood and Jarred Vanderbilt will be able to make their season debuts during an upcoming stretch that includes nine of 11 games at home.
The two players the Warriors miss the most are Otto Porter Jr and Nemanja Bjelica. OPJ was a big wing that came off the bench and provided shooting and defense. Bjelica was a big body that could also shoot. And that 2022 team also had Poole who was in theory a good shooter.
The current team only has Steph, Wiggins and Buddy as good shooters and they miss it. Moody is a good shooter imo but Steve Kerr hates the guy lol so he becomes innefective.
Heild is a bricklayer.
He has been building a brick house the last 20 games. None of the young players step up but Kuminga last night. They can complain about playing time but did they earn extra playing time? NO
Thought Moody was pretty alright especially with his 1v1 defence
Hey You’re the genius that always says Kuminga is “average”.
Wiggins isn’t a good shooter, he still hasn’t understood how to screen for Steph, and the last time he committed to being aggressive was for 4 games in the finals vs the Celtics.
I think his trade value is never coming back. Time to move on.
Lots of people keep saying it but someone really needs to let Wiggins know that he’s not a good shooter. He was slightly below average last season he’s been at least .380 or better on 5+ attempts a season from deep for 4 out of the last 5 including .424 this season. He needs to stop hitting threes if he’s going to live up to his reputation.
Taco, you nailed it. You might also add that Wiggins has shot 38% over his career as a Warrior.
BTW, if Wiggins played 34 ppg, he’d be a 20 ppg scorer.
Which brings us to how Wiggins yet another shining example of Kerr’s disastrous coaching this year. Wiggins has said repeatedly (always politely) that he prefers to play at least 34 mpg (he always played at least that in Minnesota), because he aspires to score 20 ppg and be all-defense.
Yet, Kerr plays Wiggins only 28 mpg, citing the need to continue “experimenting” to find optimal lineups. The “experimenting” dictates, among other things, that career G-Leaguer Lindy Waters must be given his 17 mpg because of his 33% 3pt and 36% FG.
its getting to the point of trading away assets and start to reload for next year. There are teams out there that would love to have Looney as a back up and if Kerr is not going to use him get a 2nd rounder back or a young player with a little potential. Without a real center the warriors are going nowhere. Same problem as the Kings no center and small ball is not working anymore.
Wiggins shot is too flat. I Don’t know why he hasn’t adapted Curry’s cookie jar on the top shelf approach. Wiggins rather throws it from the top of his head. That might not make sense to some, but I hope it does to many.
Gary, true, it’s a very flat shot 3 point shot, but you can’t criticize the result, right?
43% this season, 38% since coming to Dubs.
You may have noticed it was especially flat last year, this season less so.
It’s the big difference maker between a sharp shooter and an average shooter… Because the angle of a high arching shot makes the rim more open…
Rubio was always a flat shooter… Steph always a high arch…
Yeah, I think you see it on his free throws too. Very flat. It has to be absolutely a perfect shot to go in.
Kobe had a flat shot Gary !
Poor players didn’t like a coach who coaches. Unfortunately with all the money they make and with NIL soon the only place coaches will be able to coach is high school
> “You trust who the player has been. It’s a tiny sample size,” Kerr said.
Ok, then let’s look at Schroder’s entire career. He is 31 years old, in his 12th season. By every career stat, Schroder is a below-average starting PG.
– 14.1 ppg (17 ppg is average for starting NBA PG’s)
– 34% 3pt (36% is average for starting NBA PG’s)
– 43% fg (he’s never been considered a good shooter)
– 2.1 assist/turnover (if you’re not familiar, that’s bad)
Schroder is a plus on-ball defender, but at 6’1″, 170 lbs, every defensive analytic shows his presence made his teams worse defensively, and that includes his last stint in Brooklyn. (In the 2 years where Schroder thrived defensively, OKC in 2019-20 and LA in 2022-23, he was not used as a PG, so he could devote all energy to pressuring the ball.)
Conclusion: Schroder can help a GOOD team as a backup PG and defensive specialist, and, situationally, as a scorer. But Schroder cannot be a starter on a winning NBA team, and especially not as a SG.
(None of the above addresses the problem that shooter has never played in a movement offense, nor is a movement shooter.)
He needs a reset. Come up with a fake injury and take few games off amd come off the bench for few games.
Michol, I’m sure he’ll play better in the future.
But the real question is: does STARTING Denis Schroder alongside Steph make us BETTER ??
My take: unless Schroder is moved to backup PG soon, this season is done.
Everybody is saying, throw the rookies into the fire and play them heavy minutes so they can adapt. But that rule doesn’t apply to Dennis Schroeder?
It’s exactly what the Warriors are doing. Throw him in the fire, play him heavy minutes so he can adapt to his teammates and learn their tendencies and get comfortable.
Yesterday the rookies played more minutes and failed. I just don’t see any urgency in the defense. The offense is sitting around doing nothing. Wiggins is only good when he is very aggressive to the basket. Moody needs to learn when he gets those minutes play hard instead of sitting back and waiting for the ball come to him.
Gary,
Sure, Schroder can learn his new teammates, but isn’t the bigger job for his teammates to adjust to a completely different read-and-react? That’s the kind of thing you do with young players pre-season, not in the middle of a brutal losing streak.
In the words of John Wooden: coaching a struggling team is about simplifying. But Steve Kerr says he still needs to try some new rotations. And, in parallel, Kerr would like his young players to learn a new offense, and from a new PG. Simple, right?
When asked when all the changes will end, Kerr responds that “I don’t know how or when, but I believe it will” — the worst answer any leader can offer in a crisis.
BTW, did you know that this lineup was the 2nd best in the NBA in the 2nd half of last season:
JK, Wiggs, Green, Podz, Steph.
This was GSW’s 2nd best lineup last season:
JK, TJD, Green, Podz, Steph.
You keep ignoring the facts with your JK/Wiggs/Green/Podz/Steph lineup. It was last year. JK has been up down. Podz has been in a slump. Green gets beatup as the 5. TJD has struggled defensively this year.
Giants74, Like Kerr himself says: play the same players together consistently, they do better. When you don’t, they play worse. That’s what every basketball coach (except Kerr) tries to do.
When you play Kuminga less than 20 minutes a game, and without a PG, he is much less productive. Same with TJD. The last few games, we see what happens when TJD and JK play together in proper rotations.
Did you notice that Kuminga is playing like a superstar without shooting more than 3-4 per game?
Probably not. Tell you what definitely won’t help if warriors do get to the playoffs….closing line up of Steph and Dennis. Could be useful from time to time on the offensive end, hasn’t yet. Defensively….no thanks.
Seasons already done your record is something like 4-16 in your last 20 ….
Is today the day Bron equals MJ’s 30 point games? Why aren’t the media making a big deal out of this, doesn’t it fit a curtain GOAT narrative lol.
I wouldn’t mind if the Warriors don’t make the playoffs. Tankathon has them drafting Derik Queen at this spot. Maybe they’ll drop far enough to draft Malauch.
Warriors vs Lakers is gonna be a fun play in game…
Except the Lakers arent going there…
Don’t they play every year in the play in…same boring match up if you ask me.
Kings have been bad at defense for over a year. They didn’t like Brown trying to hold them accountable? They are going back to their losing ways. They want to be coddled into playing defense?
Brown has been throwing guys under the bus since November to try and deflect criticism from his inability to make adjustments.
Guys don’t want to play for someone like that. Especially when they know the best lineup isn’t seeing the court.
Add the fact that Monte needs to convince Fox to stay or he’s fired (probably fired regardless) and Browns firing was inevitable.
Fox needs to be traded. This team has 3 ball hog guards on it, making them ineffective. Fox isn’t a max player, but he wants that paycheck. Dump him, get more 1st round picks, balance the team, and we will win more games.
I think Wiggins is the missing piece, I don t think his usage isn’t high enough. When he is on his game the Warriors are a fat better team. He’s not aggressive enough this lead to his teammates not even looking for Honestly Wiggins & Kuminga can hold it down, just need another big to help on the glass. Draymond is 4pts, 2 techs, 3 rebs now. I think Curry s knee is bothering him more than we think.
Executive, keep coming back because we need posters that understand the game!
you are exactly right about Wiggins not playing enough, and it’s cost us badly. He should be playing 34 mpg at least, not 28 mpg.
Those minutes that the rest of the world believes should go to Wiggins and Kuminga are being given to lesser players – i.e. to G-Leaguer Lindy Waters at 17 mpg, etc.
Yeah, an over-average big plus greater roles to Kuminga and Wiggins would make a HUGE difference.