The Sacramento Kings were one of three NBA teams to have a head coach vacancy following this regular season, with the Lakers and Hornets also joining the coaching carousel, and have been the most active to this point in conducting interviews and narrowing their search.
On Sunday night, word broke that the Kings had found their next head coach just down the road in San Francisco, as ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Warriors assistant Mike Brown had agreed to a four-year deal with the Kings.
The Sacramento Kings have agreed with Golden State assistant Mike Brown on a four-year contract to become the franchise’s next coach, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 8, 2022
Can confirm Mike Brown is the Kings’ pick to be their next coach. ESPN first.https://t.co/2c5tSL0UzU
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) May 8, 2022
Brown has been a head coach on three occasions, twice in Cleveland and once in Los Angeles with the Lakers, compiling a 347-216 record in seven-plus seasons at the helm. Brown has been an assistant in Golden State ever since the 2016-17 season, winning championships with the Warriors where current Kings owner Vivek Ranadive was formerly a minority stakeholder in the team — and he was seen courtside on Saturday night for the Warriors win over Memphis.
Whether Brown can find success with the Kings and snap the NBA’s longest postseason drought remains to be seen, and will likely come down to personnel and whether Sacramento can put together a coherent roster, finally. But his initial task will be making the De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis pairing as successful as possible, while trying to coax a decent defense out of a team that has struggled mightily on that end for many years.
Brown got the nod in Sacramento over ESPN’s Mark Jackson, who has likewise interviewed with the Lakers as he looks to leave the booth for the sidelines once again after his three-year tenure in Golden State from 2012-14.