Kings' Top HC Options to Help De'Aaron Fox, Sabonis After Rumored Mike Brown Firing

The Sacramento Kings fired head coach Mike Brown on Friday, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.

Brown was fired after the Kings suffered a heartbreaking 114-113 defeat at the hands of the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night, representing their fifth consecutive loss.

Assistant coach Doug Christie is set to become the team's interim head coach, per Charania.

Sacramento won at least 46 games in each of the past two seasons but owns a record of just 13-18 to open its 2024-25 campaign. The slow start was especially surprising considering stars De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis have remained relatively healthy, combining to miss just three games this season.

Brown was named the 2022-23 Coach of the Year after helping the Kings snap a 16-year playoff drought, but now he's no longer with the organization.

Here are three potential candidates to replace him.

Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori has been a candidate for several head coaching openings throughout the past year and he could be considered for Sacramento's sudden vacancy.

Nori doesn't have any head coaching experience, but he's served as Chris Finch's top assistant since the start of the 2021-22 season. He has also briefly operated as the Timberwolves' interim head coach whenever Finch hasn't been available.

He has some familiarity with Sacramento, as he was an assistant on the team from 2013-15 under former Kings head coach and current Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone.

Nori was interviewed by the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers regarding their head coaching vacancies following the 2023-24 season, but he ultimately didn't land either role.

He started his NBA coaching journey with the Toronto Raptors in 2009 and has been on the coaching staff of various teams in every season since.

Brown already had 563 games of experience under his belt before taking over as Sacremento's head coach in 2022, and the team could chose to go in the direction of a first-time coach for its next candidate.

Nori may be the person to fill the role.

Similar to Nori, Denver Nuggets assistant David Adelman is a qualified candidate that would potentially become a head coach for the first time in his career if the Kings end up targeting him.

Adelman has served as the Nuggets' lead assistant since the start of the 2017-18 season and has been a part of their rise from a playoff contender to a champion in 2023.

Prior to his time in Denver, he was on the Timberwolves' staff from 2011-16 before joining the Orlando Magic for the 2016-17 season.

While Adelman is still with the Nuggets, he was considered for multiple roles during the 2024 head coaching cycle. He interviewed with the Charlotte Hornets, Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers regarding their respective vacancies.

He also previously received the endorsement of superstar center Nikola Jokić.

"I really think that DA's a guy who's gonna be next head coach because he has that, I'm gonna say 'head' for a head coach," Jokic said in Jan. 2023, per Mike Singer of The Denver Post. "… He knows the answers. He reads, reacts."

Adelman doesn't have any professional connection to the Kings, but he does have a personal one. His father, Rick, served as Sacramento's head coach from 1999 through 2006 and ranks No. 1 on the organization's all-time wins list (395) while also holding the highest winning percentage (63.3 percent) for a head coach in the team's history.

It's possible that Adelman may look to follow in his father's footsteps for his first head coaching gig.

If the Kings are able to turn their season around with Doug Christie, it's easy to imagine him becoming the team's full-time head coach moving forward.

Christie's ties to the organization run deep, as he's already been on Sacramento's staff since the start of the 2021-22 season. He covered the team for NBC Sports California prior to becoming an assistant.

The former NBA shooting guard spent five years of his career with the Kings, averaging 10.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game during 355 appearances in Sacramento.

Christie was also the team's 2024 Summer League head coach.

There's still time for the Kings to turn their season around, which will need to start with pulling out wins in close games. Sacramento has struggled mightily in clutch situations, which is defined as the final five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime when the score is within five points.

The Kings have found themselves in 20 clutch games this season, owning a record of just 6-13 (via NBA.com).

Despite boasting isolation scorers such as Fox and DeMar DeRozan, Sacramento has routinely let games slip away.

If Christie can find a way to help the Kings solve their late-game issues and compete for a second playoff appearance in three years, he'll likely earn serious consideration to remain in the role for the foreseeable future.