Report: Kings hiring Hornets assistant Jay Triano; keeping Doug Christie on coaching staff
.jpg "Sacramento Kings assistant coach Doug Christie and guard Donte DiVincenzo (0) joke around during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Phoenix Suns, Sunday, April 10, 2022, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)")
The Kings appear to be building out their coaching staff while they wait for newly hired head coach Mike Brown to fulfill his duties with the Golden State Warriors.
The team recently announced the hiring of Denver Nuggets assistant Jordi Fernandez as associate head coach, making him Brown’s lead assistant. The Kings won’t confirm other additions to Brown’s staff at this time, but Marc Stein of Substack reports it will include Charlotte Hornets assistant Jay Triano and Kings great Doug Christie, the first known holdover from last year’s staff.
Triano, 63, is a veteran coach with 20 years of NBA experience. He started as an assistant with the Toronto Raptors from 2002-08, serving under Lenny Wilkens, Kevin O’Neill and Sam Mitchell.
The Raptors named Triano interim head coach when Mitchell was fired in 2008. Making him the first Canadian head coach in NBA history. Triano officially took over as head coach the following year and led Toronto to a 40-42 record, but he was fired in 2011 after compiling a 108-200 record over three losing seasons.
Triano went on to serve as an assistant with the Portland Trail Blazers under former coach Terry Stotts from 2012-16. Triano joined Earl Watson’s staff as associate head coach of the Phoenix Suns in 2016-17.
The Suns named Triano interim head coach when Watson was fired three games into the 2017-18 season. Triano led Phoenix to a 117-115 victory over the Kings in his first game, but the Suns let him go after they finished the season with a 21-61 record.
Triano immediately resurfaced when the Hornets hired him as James Borrego’s lead assistant in May 2018, a position Triano held for the past four seasons.
Christie, 52, needs no introduction in Sacramento, where he remains a fan favorite and one of the most beloved players in franchise history. Stein reported that keeping Christie on staff was stipulated as a top priority during the team’s coaching search, which ended when the Kings reached a four-year deal with Brown on May 9.
Christie played for the Kings from 2000-05 during the team’s glory days under former coach Rick Adelman. During that span, Christie was a four-time NBA All-Defensive Team selection, including a First Team selection in 2003.
Christie logged 15 seasons in the NBA before retiring in 2007. He co-hosted “The Grant Napear Show with Doug Christie” for several years on Sports 1140 KHTK and joined Napear as a color analyst on Kings television broadcasts on NBC Sports California from 2018-21.
Christie left his broadcasting jobs to join former Kings coach Luke Walton’s coaching staff in August 2021. Christie served as acting head coach last season when interim coach Alvin Gentry was out due to COVID-19.
This story was originally published May 22, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
