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Steve Kerr Shocked by Kings' Firing Mike Brown, Takes Subtle Shot at Organization

Originally posted on Athlon Sports
By Nathaniel Holloway | Last updated Dec 28, 2024 12:11 PM ET

The first coaching move of the NBA season took place Friday after the Sacramento Kings fired their head coach, Mike Brown.

ESPN’s Shams Charania was the first to report Brown’s firing and he also reported that their assistant coach, Doug Christie, will take over as the interim head coach. Brown’s firing came amid the Kings’ poor start to the season as they sit 12th in the Western Conference standings with a 13-18 record and have lost their last five games.

Because of this, they let go of Brown Friday afternoon despite him running a full practice session and doing his post-practice media interviews. Matt George of ABC 10 reported that the Kings fired Brown right before the team boarded a flight to Los Angeles for their game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday.

With the firing, there have been many people around the NBA who have commented on it, including Michael Malone of the Denver Nuggets and Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors.

Kerr was asked his thoughts on Brown’s firing before the Warriors took on the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday.

“When you think about where that franchise was before Mike got there and where they’ve been the last couple years, the job he and his staff have done — it’s just really shocking,” Kerr said. “I know they’ve been in a tough spell, but this is the NBA. We all go through tough spells.”

Kerr was spot-on in his comments about how Brown had turned the Kings’ franchise around. He led them to their first playoff appearance in 17 years in 2022-23, breaking the longest playoff drought in United States’ sports history. Because of this, he was awarded the 2022-23 Coach of the Year award. Over his career with the Kings, he finished with a 107-88 record.

Later on, Kerr seemed to take a subtle shot at the Kings’ organization for how they handled the situation.

“We all kind of know this is the nature of this business,” Kerr said. “I just know that I feel very fortunate to work in an organization that really values continuity and that allows our team and our staff and our group to get through the rough patches. Because every team in the league is going to face these rough stretches like we’re going through right now. I know I’m probably the exception rather than the rule when it comes to organizational support and continuity. That doesn’t mean it’s going to last forever, but it means I’m very lucky to coach here and work for this organization.”

Kerr praised the Warriors’ organization while also taking a shot at Sacramento. Of course, Brown served as an assistant coach under Kerr from 2016 to 2022 before being hired by the Kings.

Sacramento now looks forward to the rest of their season under interim head coach, Christie, as they take on the Lakers in Los Angeles on Saturday.

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

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