Sacramento Kings ownership is reportedly unhappy with head coach Mike Brown following the team’s inability to replicate the success of the 2022-23 season, according to James Ham.
Despite a respectable 46-36 record in Brown’s second year, the Kings failed to make the playoffs, losing in the second play-in tournament game.
“Brown backed up year one with a 46-36 record in year two, but the Kings fell short of the playoffs, falling in the second of two play-in tournament games,” Ham wrote. “The failure to repeat the success of the previous year hasn’t sat well with ownership, according to sources. This shouldn’t be a complicated matter, but like everything else in Sacramento, it is.”
In the 2022-23 season, Brown led the Kings to a No. 3 seed in the Western Conference with a 48-34 record.
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Despite winning just two fewer games in the 2023-24 season, the Kings ended up in the No. 9 vs. No. 10 matchup in the play-in tournament, where they defeated the Golden State Warriors but then lost to the New Orleans Pelicans, missing the playoffs for the 17th time in 18 seasons.
Before hiring Brown ahead of the 2022-23 season, Sacramento had not finished above .500 since the 2005-06 season, which was also the last time they made the playoffs.
Brown’s immediate impact led to him being named NBA Coach of the Year.
According to Yahoo! Sports’ Jake Fischer, Brown might be looking at a significant contract extension due to recent coaching deals in the league.
Fischer noted that the outcomes of coaching contracts for Jason Kidd and new Phoenix Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer could influence Brown’s negotiations, with sources indicating that Brown’s extension talks could center around an eight-figure annual salary.
“The outcome of the [Los Angeles] Lakers’ process, and the rest of this unfolding coaching cycle — which has already included paydays for Jason Kidd and new [Phoenix] Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer — will also provide added context for Mike Brown’s contract extension conversations in Sacramento,” Fischer wrote. “With Brown’s Coach of the Year credentials and the new benchmarks for coaching salaries after Monty Williams landed $70-plus million from Detroit and Budenholzer’s recent $10 million average annual salary, Brown’s talks are expected to center around a similar eight-figure threshold as well, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Tom Thibodeau’s own extension number in New York, sources said, is anticipated to finish in that same ballpark.”
Despite the Kings’ minor regression, the increased competitiveness of the Western Conference in the 2023-24 season contributed to their struggles.
Teams like the Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, Dallas Mavericks, and Los Angeles Clippers all won at least 50 games, whereas only Denver and the Memphis Grizzlies achieved that feat the previous season.
Brown and the Kings are certainly aiming for a return to the playoffs next season, but the future of the former Coach of the Year with Sacramento remains uncertain as ownership evaluates the team’s recent performance.
