Within the last two weeks, the Sacramento Kings made a change in the GM position. Monte McNair was fired, opening the door for Scott Perry. On Tuesday, another major development occurred as the Kings chose to stick with Doug Christie as the team’s head coach going forward. This will be Christie’s first official head coaching job in the NBA after spending time as an assistant under former coach Mike Brown and serving as the interim head coach after Brown was fired. Sacramento is clearly comfortable with keeping a familiar voice on the sidelines. Additionally, staying with a familiar face within the franchise. Christie played for the Kings in the early 2000s. What happens next under new management remains to be seen, but at least for today, the Kings have their coach locked in.
Kings Trust Doug Christie to Lead as Head Coach
Sacramento Kings decide on Doug Christie as Head Coach permanently; multiyear deal in the works
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Christie is expected to sign a multiyear deal with the Kings with the help of Christie’s agent, Andy Miller of Klutch Sports. Under Christie, the Kings went 27-24 after starting the season 13-18 under Brown. The team eventually went under some roster changes with Christie in the lead, including shipping out De’Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs. The loss of Fox was a shock, considering he was the face of the franchise and supposed future. The Kings also acquired Zach LaVine at the trade deadline, teaming him back up with his Chicago Bulls teammate, DeMar DeRozan.
After the Brown firing, Christie coached the Kings on a mini-run of seven consecutive wins and wins in 10 of 11 games. Unfortunately, everything after that run went up and down until the end of the regular season. The Kings failed to win their only play-in game, subsequently eliminating themselves from the playoffs. Nevertheless, Christie evidently showed enough of what he could bring to the team on an interim basis, bringing us here today.
The offseason
Perry and the Kings must address a few considerable questions going into the offseason. Perry recently stated he does not intend on blowing up the team. However, that doesn’t mean there won’t be any roster moves. LaVine is likely to be one player out the door. He was brought in on more of a rental basis to help get the Kings into the playoffs. The experiment didn’t work, and LaVine should be playing elsewhere next season.
DeRozan is another player to watch for over the summer. He’s under contract, but no one can say it worked out well for him in Sacramento. Part of that may have had something to do with Fox getting traded. Overall, though, DeRozan didn’t seem like the best fit. He has also made some interesting comments since the play-in loss that hint he might want to move on. If that were to happen, it would have to happen via trade.
In any case, the Kings are likely to undergo some roster changes this summer. Who will be involved and who is safe will be a running storyline until then. Christie, though, deserves his congratulations as he steps into the role of head coach for good. Hopefully, his deal will bring the Kings one step closer to being able to light the purple beam in the playoffs again soon.
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