Kings hires Mike Brown: Warriors assistant takes over as Sacramento’s head coach

The Sacramento Kings have agreed a deal with Golden State Warriors assistant Mike Brown to become their next coach, the team announced Monday. Brown stays with the Warriors during their playoffs, and his contract in Sacramento is for four years. according to ESPN. Reports had previously suggested that team owner Vivek Ranadive preferred former Warriors coach Mark Jackson, who was also a finalist, but the front office appears to have made Brown their choice.

Brown is best known for his first five-year stay as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers. There, he reached the NBA Finals in 2007 alongside LeBron James, but the Cavaliers never got back there under his watch. He was fired after the 2009-10 season in the hope that a new coach could help convince James to stay with the Cavaliers. He eventually left, but returned in 2014.

Brown continued to coach the Los Angeles Lakers from there, but after a 41-25 debut season, he was fired after a 1-4 start to the 2012-13 campaign. He returned to Cleveland for the 2013-14 season, but lasted only a single year and was released before James eventually returned.

Since then, Brown has served as a top assistant under Warriors coach Steve Kerr. He briefly stepped in for Kerr, who was recovering from back surgery, during the 2017 playoffs and posted an unbeaten 11-0 record as Golden State’s interim coach. Ranadive was a minority owner of the Warriors before taking over the Kings.

“Mike has consistently demonstrated his ability to lead winning teams throughout his long and successful coaching career,” King’s GM Monte McNair said in a press release. “He’s worked with some of the best players in the NBA and is one of the league’s leading defensive brains. I’m excited to bring his extensive experience to Sacramento.”

Now, Brown will try to break the NBA’s worst drought and go from a team that has won three recent championships to one that has not reached the playoffs in 16 years. Brown will try to impart his championship experience to the young kings and help make them winners.