Kings coach Mike Brown out vs. Nuggets after entering NBA health and safety protocols
Kings coach Mike Brown will miss Tuesday’s game against the Denver Nuggets after entering NBA health and safety protocols.
The team said Brown will return to the team upon receiving clearance under current NBA guidelines. Associate head coach Jordi Fernandez will serve as acting head coach when the Kings (17-14) play host to the Nuggets (21-11) on Tuesday at Golden 1 Center.
Fernandez worked as an assistant under Nuggets coach Michael Malone from 2016-22. Fernandez acted as the Kings’ head coach when Brown was ejected from a Dec. 14 game against the Toronto Raptors.
The Kings also could be without two-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis, who was diagnosed with an avulsion fracture of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb. Sabonis will attempt to play through the injury, but he is listed as questionable for Tuesday’s game against Denver.
The Kings will play the Nuggets again Wednesday as part of a six-game homestand. They will face the Utah Jazz on Friday before going on the road to face the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday and Jazz on Tuesday.
Brown is in his first season with the Kings after spending six years as Steve Kerr’s lead assistant with the Golden State Warriors. He led the Kings to their best start in nearly 20 years as they seek to end a 16-year playoff drought.
The NBA introduced the health and safety protocol system in 2020 in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic after a COVID-19 outbreak forced the league to postpone its season.
