Mike Brown gives Kings experience and credibility — as long as Vivek stays out of the way
Mike Brown has coached LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry. He’s worked under Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, Warriors coach Steve Kerr and current Pacers coach Rick Carlisle. He’s won a coach of the year award. He’s been in the bright lights of Los Angeles’ forum blue and gold, dynastic Golden State and LeBron-era Cleveland.
In some ways, he’s overqualified to coach the Sacramento Kings.
It appears the Kings made a perfectly reasonable hire over the weekend as they look to stop one of the most embarrassing playoff droughts in American sports. It’s been 16 years and possibly counting since Sacramento played a game after the regular season. ESPN first reported the Kings’ hiring of Brown, who’s currently working as Kerr’s top Warriors assistant during the playoffs.
This hire is about credibility for an organization that’s searched for it constantly.
The Kings have been flapping in the breezes of awful to mediocre while trying to piece together a playoff-caliber roster. It’s all come with a coaching staff that never quite meshed with general manager Monte McNair, who inherited Luke Walton as coach before firing him in November, only to be left with interim coach Alvin Gentry, whom McNair never considered a viable long-term candidate. This is the first coaching hire McNair’s been able to call his own since taking the job in 2020.
So back to the well the Kings go with former Warriors assistants. That won’t be something many Sacramento fans will be thrilled about given the track record. But McNair had to find something different about Brown that sets him apart from Walton — beyond the more extensive resume.
Perhaps one appeal is Brown’s willingness to adapt.
When Brown stepped in for Kerr during the 2017 playoffs — a team that had Durant, Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, all at the peaks of their careers — Brown went away from the type of share-the-rock offense the Warriors were known for.
Brown decided the Warriors would score plenty of points by giving the ball to Durant and letting him go in pick-and-rolls. The Warriors, of course, torched the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals before dispatching the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games. The Warriors were 12-0 with Brown subbing for Kerr in those playoffs while Kerr was out with an illness.
According to an ESPN story, Brown was taken aback by Kerr’s approach to coaching the Warriors. Kerr often wanted feedback from players and get his top stars involved in making important decisions. Brown then realized he might have driven his Lakers and Cavaliers teams too hard. Having an understanding of that balance is paramount in today’s player-centric, hyper-dramatic NBA.
To be clear, these Kings are not the Warriors. Coaching those Warriors was a breeze, even in the playoffs.
But Browns’ experience in high-profile situations means there won’t be anything that happens during his time in Sacramento that’s too big for him. He’s coached in the finals, he’s coached superstars while dealing with drama and feuds. With all due respect to Domantas Sabonis, there won’t be the same type of star management involved at Brown’s next stop than when he coached LeBron, Kobe, Steph or Durant.
The Kings’ issues over the last two decades are small potatoes compared to Brown being fired while coaching Bryant, Steve Nash and Dwight Howard or watching the relationship with Durant and the Warriors corrode for all the world to see. Brown initially shouldn’t have to worry about being the scapegoat like he did when he was fired by the Lakers five games into the 2012-13 season, or when he was ceremoniously fired by Cleveland the same offseason LeBron took his talents to South Beach.
Maybe that’s why Brown was interested in the Kings job.
He has an opportunity to fly under the radar to rebuild a team with promising young players. Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox could develop into a high-level pairing. Davion Mitchell is a defensive coach’s dream. Brown could also land a favorable pick in the lottery knowing McNair does some of his best work in the draft.
What about culture? Brown’s second NBA job came with Popovich’s Spurs in 2000 to 2003. He got to see Tim Duncan set the tone for the entire organization up close, in a similar way he’s been able to observe the Warriors through their championship runs over the last six seasons.
According to multiple reports, Brown was a finalist along with another former Warriors staffer, Mark Jackson, who has been a polarizing figure since he was fired by Golden State after their exit in the first-round of the playoffs in 2014. The rumor mill suggested Kings owner Vivek Ranadive’s choice was Jackson, which made Kings fans nervous over the hiring of their next coach.
So while hiring Brown is a step toward credibility, so is going with a head coach who wasn’t Ranadive’s first choice. Because Ranadive has been the common denominator for all the Kings’ failings since he bought the team in 2013.
Brown’s resume suggests he’s a strong hire. McNair’s ability to identify players like Tyrese Haliburton and Davion Mitchell suggest roster improvements could keep coming, particularly if the Kings get lucky in the lottery. Those are the positive signs for Sacramento.
But they can only take root if Ranadive takes a step back and allows them to. That could define Brown’s success with the Kings more than anything else.
