Will Fox, Sabonis have input on Kings’ coaching search? Here are six potential candidates
Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox and center Domantas Sabonis met with the media for exit interviews Monday just moments after interim coach Alvin Gentry was relieved of his coaching duties.
The Kings will conduct a comprehensive search for a new head coach after missing the playoffs for an NBA-record 16th consecutive season. A number of names have already surfaced as potential candidates.
Sabonis, a 25-year-old two-time All-Star who came to Sacramento in the February trade that sent Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield to the Indiana Pacers, said he would like to have input on the coaching search. Sabonis has two years remaining on a four-year, $74.9 million contract. He will be eligible for an extension next summer and has signaled a willingness to stay in Sacramento long term.
“I would like to be part of it and talk to everyone,” Sabonis said. “Give them my input, what I think, what I’ve seen, what could work, what could help.”
Fox, a 24-year-old point guard who came out of Kentucky as the No. 5 pick in the 2017 NBA draft, reaffirmed his commitment to the Kings, saying he wants to be part of the team that brings winning basketball back to Sacramento.
The Kings have employed 11 head coaches in 16 years since Rick Adelman led them to their last playoff appearance in 2006. Fox, who will be playing for his fourth head coach in six seasons, said he hopes general manager Monte McNair can find someone who will provide “structure” and long-term stability.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say I want input or anything like that, but I guess just being in the loop, I guess I would call it,” Fox said. “I just hope we find somebody we can have for a long time and continue to help us develop into a winning team.”
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the search is expected to include candidates with a “history of turning lottery teams into playoff teams.” Here are six candidates who could be considered based on that criteria:
Kenny Atkinson
Atkinson, 54, is an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors. He previously served as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets from 2016-20.
Atkinson worked as an assistant under Mike D’Antoni with the New York Knicks (2008-12), Mike Budenholzer with the Atlanta Hawks (2012-16) and Tyronne Lue with the Los Angeles Clippers (2020-21) before taking the job in Brooklyn.
The Nets went 20-62 in his first season and 28-54 in his second, missing the playoffs both years. Atkinson orchestrated a 14-game improvement in 2018-19 as the Nets went 42-40 to reach the playoffs.
The Nets parted ways with Atkinson after he posted a 118-190 (.383) record in four seasons. There were reports that Nets stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving wanted Atkinson fired, but Irving has said that is “completely false.”
Mike Brown
Renowned as one of the league’s finest defensive minds, Brown, 52, has been part of Steve Kerr’s coaching staff as associate head coach of the Warriors since 2016. He previously worked as an assistant with the Washington Wizards (1997-99), San Antonio Spurs (2000-03) and Indiana Pacers (2003-05) before landing his first head coaching job with the Cleveland Cavaliers (2005-10) at the age of 35.
In 2005-06, Brown guided the LeBron James-led Cavaliers to a 50-win season and their first playoff appearance since 1998. Brown took the Cavaliers to the playoffs five times in five seasons, including a run to the NBA Finals in 2006-07. Brown succeeded Phil Jackson as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers from 2011-13. He led the Lakers to the conference semifinals in his first season, but he was fired after the Lakers went 1-4 to start his second season.
Brown returned to the Cavaliers in 2013-14, but he was fired after a 33-49 season. He has a 347-216 (.616) record as a head coach. He was named NBA Coach of the Year in 2009 and has won three NBA championships as an assistant, one with the Spurs and two with the Warriors.
Steve Clifford
Clifford, 60, served as head coach of the Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets from 2013-18 and Orlando Magic from 2018-21. He also had stints as an assistant coach with the New York Knicks (2001-03), Houston Rockets (2003-07), Magic (2007-12) and Lakers (2012-13).
Clifford established a defensive mindset in Charlotte, helping the Bobcats/Hornets go from one of the worst defensive teams in the league to one of the top five. He engineered a 22-game improvement in his first season, leading the Bobcats to the playoffs in 2014. Charlotte won 48 games to reach the playoffs again in 2015-16.
Clifford’s teams reached the playoffs four times in his eight seasons in Charlotte and Orlando, but never advanced beyond the first round. He compiled a record of 292-345 (.458).
Mike D’Antoni
D’Antoni, 70, played for the Kansas City-Omaha Kings from 1973-75. He began his NBA coaching career with the Denver Nuggets, serving as an assistant in 1997-98 and head coach in 1998-99. He later worked as an assistant with the Portland Trail Blazers (2000-01) and Phoenix Suns (2002-03) before taking over as head coach in Phoenix from 2003-08.
D’Antoni was head coach of the Knicks from 2008-12 and Lakers from 2012-14. He served as associate head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers in 2015-16 before becoming head coach of the Rockets from 2016-20. McNair was an assistant general manager in Houston at that time as D’Antoni led the Rockets to three conference semifinals and one appearance in the conference finals.
D’Antoni, known for his fast-paced, run-and-gun offenses, was named NBA Coach of the Year in 2005 with the Suns and 2017 with the Rockets. He has a career record of 672-527 (.560).
Terry Stotts
Stotts, 64, worked under former Kings coach George Karl at various stops and bounced around the league for 20 years before spending most of the past decade in Portland.
Stotts played for Karl in the Continental Basketball Association and joined his staff as an assistant with the Albany Patroons in 1990. He later accompanied Karl to Milwaukee to join his staff with the Bucks (1998-02). Stotts went to Atlanta as an assistant in 2002 and was promoted to head coach when Lon Kruger was fired 27 games into the season.
Stotts worked as an assistant with the Warriors in 2004-05, as head coach of the Bucks from 2005-07 and as an assistant with the Dallas Mavericks from 2008-2012.
The Blazers hired Stotts as their head coach in 2012. They won just 33 games in his first season, but they improved to 54 wins the following season, making the first of eight consecutive playoff appearances. That run included three 50-win seasons and one trip to the conference finals, but the Blazers were knocked out in the first round five times.
Stotts has a career record of 517-486 (.515).
Frank Vogel
Vogel, 48, is available after being fired by the Lakers on Monday. He led the Lakers to an NBA championship in 2020 after a six-year playoff absence, but they were eliminated in the first round in 2021 and failed to reach the playoffs after going 33-49 this season.
Vogel spent several years as an assistant with the Boston Celtics (2001-04), 76ers (2004-05) and Pacers (2007-11). Vogel led the Pacers to the playoffs for the first time since 2006 after being named interim coach in the middle of the 2010-11 season. He was officially named head coach the following summer.
Vogel spend six seasons as head coach in Indiana. The Pacers made five playoff appearances, including two trips to the conference finals.
Vogel won a total of 54 games over two seasons as head coach of the Magic from 2016-18. He joined the Lakers in 2019, leading them to a 52-win season and an NBA championship in his first season. His last two seasons in Los Angeles didn’t go so well with James and Anthony Davis missing significant time due to injuries.
This story was originally published April 11, 2022 at 3:13 PM.
