Kings Reportedly Explored Potential Trades for NBA Stars Before Firing Mike Brown

Originally posted on Athlon Sports
By Nathaniel Holloway | Last updated Dec 31, 2024 11:35 AM ET

The Sacramento Kings’ season has been a complete and utter disaster thus far.

After having high playoff expectations after acquiring DeMar DeRozan in the offseason, Sacramento currently sits outside of the playoff picture in the Western Conference with a 14-19 record. Because of their poor play, the Kings shocked the NBA world last week by firing Mike Brown and replacing him with Doug Christie as the interim head coach.

While Brown’s firing was a surprise, the Kings believed that a coaching change could help turn their season around. In a recent report, Sacramento tried to save their season with Brown at the helm by trying to trade for more pieces to upgrade their roster, but all the trades fell short.

According to ESPN’s Ramona Shelbourne, the Kings inquired about Zach Lavine, Brandon Ingram, Cam Thomas and Kyle Kuzma before Brown’s firing.

“They even asked Brown if there were moves to make with the roster or the staff that might help… ‘Nobody wanted to fire Mike’ one Kings source said. ‘He's a good coach. People here really care about him. Until the very last moment we were trying to make it work.’”

Although the Kings’ source said that nobody wanted to fire Brown, Sacramento still decided to do so despite him bringing them their most success as a franchise since the early 2000s.

It is also no surprise that the Kings were unable to land one of these players due to them having a limited number of trade assets. While adding one of these players could have helped turn their season around, it could have also made it worse as they, like DeRozan, may not have fit well with the team.

The other thing to take out of this report is that all four players the Kings inquired about have an offensive mindset and are not the best defenders. Sacramento’s offense has not been the main issue this season, as it has instead been their defense.

With Brown gone, the Kings now focus their attention on turning their season around with Christie manning the sidelines to try and salvage this disappointing season.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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