How the rift deepened in power struggle between Kings coach and assistant GM

The Kings were preparing to play a nationally televised game against the top team in the Western Conference on Thursday when an apparent power struggle between coach Dave Joerger and at least one member of the team’s front office bubbled back to the surface.

Sources told The Athletic’s Sam Amick that Joerger made it known he did not want assistant general manager Brandon Williams at the team’s morning shoot-around at Golden 1 Center. Williams, who returned to the team Wednesday after nearly two weeks away, subsequently left the shoot-around with general manager Vlade Divac as a result of Joerger’s request, according to the report.

Divac addressed the situation in a statement released Thursday afternoon.

“I have advised my front office and coaching staff to not focus on drama and rumors, but instead to focus on continuing to develop our young and exciting team,” Divac said. “And that’s what we’re going to do.”

The Kings (10-11) later suffered their third consecutive loss, falling 133-121 to the Los Angeles Clippers (15-6) in a game that was televised by TNT.

One source told The Athletic that Joerger’s decision to have Williams removed from the team’s shoot-around was a “one-time” move intended to send a message of strength and unity to his players.

Joerger reportedly believes Williams — who once played for Joerger in the Continental Basketball Association — has been searching for a new coach to replace him since last season. The Athletic reported that Joerger also believes Williams was the source of a previous Yahoo Sports story that suggested his job could be in jeopardy due to philosophical differences with the front office regarding the handling of rookie Marvin Bagley III. Bagley averaged 21.3 minutes per game over the first 15 games of the season, but his playing time has increased to 28.5 minutes per game in the last six contests.

On the night the Yahoo story was published, Divac released a statement saying Joerger “has our full support and confidence,” a message that was intended to dispel the notion that Joerger was in danger of losing his job.

Joerger, who was hired by the Kings in 2016, is in the third year of a four-year contract. He has overseen a surprising turnaround this season while implementing an uptempo offense designed to suit a young, athletic roster. The Kings won six of their first nine games and had an 8-7 record before the Yahoo story was published Nov. 17, but they are 2-4 since then.

Joerger offered a guarded response to a question about his relationship with Williams before Thursday’s game, but he was more direct when asked if the situation was distracting him from his work with the team.

“When you sign up and you want to be in this business, this is a part of it — winning, losing, being out in front of the media three times a day, making decisions,” Joerger said. “I love the last two minutes of a game more than anybody around. I think that’s my drug and my thrill, and for that you get to deal with some stuff. And I’m OK.”

The Kings hired Williams in 2017 after former vice president of basketball operations Scott Perry left to become the general manager of the New York Knicks. Williams previously served as chief of staff for the Philadelphia 76ers.

Williams played college basketball at Davidson and appeared in 18 NBA games with the Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs and Atlanta Hawks from 1998-2003. Later, Williams played for a Sioux Falls Skyforce team — coached by Joerger — that won the CBA championship in 2004-05.

When his playing career ended, the NBA offered Williams a job in player development. He spent nine years in the league office, earning a series of promotions under former commissioner David Stern and his successor, Adam Silver.

“I had the benefit of working directly with Brandon and know firsthand why his basketball acumen, experience and management skills are well regarded around the league,” Silver wrote in an email to The Bee in 2017. “He’ll be a terrific addition to the Kings organization.”

Williams has not publicly addressed the rift between himself and Joerger and was not seen inside Golden 1 Center on Thursday night, but he explained his role with the organization in an interview with The Bee after he was hired in 2017.

“One of the things I bring to the Kings is a level of experience in organizing,” Williams said. “At some point, our job is to provide the chief decision maker (Divac) with the key information, right? If you look at it vertically, there is analytics, strategy, salary cap, personnel and day-to-day operations. So my job is to oversee day-to-day matters and serve up information that allows Vlade to make decisions.”

Joerger told The Bee he was happy to have Williams on board when Williams was hired, but those comments are dripping with irony in light of recent developments.

“Brandon and I kept in touch and you could always tell he was going to be successful,” Joerger said shortly after Williams was hired. “Just the way he carries himself. He’s honest, upfront, professional. He interacts with people really well. And he never burns any bridges. We’re lucky to have him.”

This story was originally published November 29, 2018 at 3:57 PM.