Rocio Robles
After firing head coach Alvin Gentry this April, the Sacramento Kings have a vacancy in their organization. The team has been scouring the league for his replacement, and has already planned meetings with several potential prospects for the upcoming NBA season in 2022/23.
The team has gained permissions to interview several assistant coaches including Mike Brown of the Golden State Warriors, Brooklyn consultant Steve Clifford, Darvin Ham and Charles Lee of the Milwaukee Bucks, and Will Hardy of the Boston Celtics.
In addition to them, it was revealed that the Sacramento Kings may interview former Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson and longtime head coach Mike D’Antoni.
Given that Jackson hasn’t coached in the NBA since 2014, and D’Antoni’s last head coaching job was with the Houston Rockets from 2016 to 2020, both names stand out.
While the pool of candidates for the position is quite large, Sacramento Kings general manager Monte McNair is expected to rule them out one at a time as interviews are conducted, although the criteria for selecting a new head coach is still uncertain.
Same old story for the Sacramento Kings
The search for a new coach has been an ongoing issue for the Sacramento Kings since Rick Adelman left his position in 2006 after spending eight years with the institution. Now, the Sacramento Kings will look to hire a ninth coach (excluding those who served interim duties) since Adelman’s departure. None of the last eight have lasted four full seasons, and none of them managed to lead the team to the postseason.
In fact, the KIngs boast the longest postseason drought in the entire NBA, failing to make the playoffs in the last 16 seasons. In addition, the Kings have not won 40 games in a single season since 2005/06 — the last under Rick Adelman. They can’t say they haven’t tried, for there have been times when they’ve abandoned projects in an attempt to break the curse, but to no avail.
This kind of instability raises the question of who would be interested in a team that appears aimless, despite the presence of two talented players like Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox. In fact, this very long list of candidates shows that even the Kings don’t know what they are looking for, as it has many contrasting profiles.
Mike Brown has reached the NBA Finals. Mike D’Antoni has been through numerous teams in the league with relative success. Steve Clifford has never won a postseason series. Ham, Lee and Hardy have no experience as head coaches. Undoubtedly, a clear example of what the franchise has been in recent years.
