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Several NBA head coaches voiced frustration regarding Mike Brown’s firing
Several NBA head coaches voiced frustration regarding Mike Brown’s firing
In the midst of a porous stretch where they were losers of 12 of their previous 17, the Sacramento Kings fired head coach Mike Brown–mere months after rewarding him with a three-year extension.
Brown has had multiple stints as head coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers and Kings, helping snap their near-two-decade-long postseason drought in 2022-23, his first year on the job.
Multiple of the league’s most respected head coaches spoke about his firing over the last 24-plus hours–and none of them appeared happy. What did they have to say? Let’s go into it!
Michael Malone (Denver Nuggets; former Kings HC):
“At first I was really shocked, really surprised,” Malone said. “I’m not surprised that Mike Brown got fired, because I got fired by the same person. And what really pissed me off about it was the fact that they lost [Thursday] night, fifth game in a row, I believe. Tough loss. … They had practiced this morning. He does his postgame media, and he’s in his car going to the airport to fly to L.A. and they call him on the phone. No class, no balls. That’s what I’ll say about that.”
Rick Carlisle (Indiana Pacers):
“The firing of Mike Brown today was just shocking to me,” Carlisle said. “I had the privilege of working with Mike when I was in Indiana coaching the first time. I view him as one of the standard bearers for integrity for our profession, and I’m just absolutely shocked that that decision was made.”
Jamahl Mosley (Orlando Magic):
“He compiled a record of 107-88 while he was there,” Mosley said. “He changed a bit of that culture in what he was doing. And I say these things not as a fellow coach–I say this as a close friend. He’s been a mentor of mine. And I know how good he is, and I know how he cares, and I know how he’s helped pave the way for so many of us that are in this game right now. It stings because of the man I know he is, and what he represents, and what he’s done for this game, and for so many of us that are sitting in these seats right now.”
Steve Kerr (Warriors):
“We all kind of know, this is the nature of the business,” Kerr said. “It just seems so shocking when a guy’s the unanimous Coach of the Year a year and a half ago. And when you think about where that franchise was before Mike got there, where they’ve been the last couple years, the job he and his staff have done, it’s really shocking. And I know they’ve been in a tough spell, but this is the NBA–we all go through tough spells.”
Tom Thibodeau (New York Knicks):
“You hate to see it,” Thibodeau said. “You know, it’s part of what we go through. Mike’s a terrific person and a great coach. It’s unfortunate.”
Jordi Fernandez (Brooklyn Nets, former Kings assistant under Mike Brown):
“He’s very good at what he does. In my opinion, he’s one of the best,” Fernandez said. “I wouldn’t be here without him. Obviously, to me, it’s really sad news, and I don’t like it. But it’s part of the business.
“Whatever you believe in, your culture and everything you want to build, try to do what’s best for the group, not for yourself. That’s what he’s always done since 16 years ago that I worked for him and he brought me into the U.S. to work in the NBA.”
Erik Spoelstra (Miami Heat):
“I texted with him last night. It’s just a really sad state of our profession,” Spoelstra said. “He’s a great coach. What they did there is really hard to do. If you’ve been losing for 15, 20 years since Rick Adelman was there, and to change the culture and make the playoffs–you stick with it. Some of our best moments have been when we’ve lost or we struggled with things and you all get in a room, and basically an organization says, ‘Figure it the F out. There are no changes.’ … This league is hard. You have to go through adversity together as an entire organization if you’re going to break through and get to the other side.”
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Matt Hanifan
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