A new report surprisingly suggests that despite a pair of winning seasons in his first two years on the job, Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown will enter 2024-25 NBA on a very hot seat.
Several organizations around the sports world have seemed absolutely snakebit over the last two decades. One franchise that is a perfect example of that, until recently, was the Sacramento Kings. After a run where they went to the NBA Playoffs for eight straight seasons and were a serious title contender, the organization fell into despair with 16 straight seasons without a postseason appearance.
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However, that changed in a big way in 2022-23 when Mike Brown was hired as their new head coach and led the team to a 48-34 record — which was good enough to win the Pacific Division for the first time in 20 years. The team was bounced in Round 1 of last year’s playoffs but they did so in a seven-game series against the defending champion Warriors.
This season, the Kings fell short of the playoffs during the NBA Play-In tournament, but they still won 46 games and it was the first time they have won 40 or more in consecutive seasons in over 15 years. However, the young team’s success and long-term potential do not seem to be good enough for Sacramento’s brass heading into next season.
On Wednesday, The Kings Beat reporter James Ham revealed the surprising position that Brown is heading into in 2024-25 despite having the sort of success that the 11 coaches before him did not.
- Mike Brown record (Career): 441-286
“Mike Brown backed up year one with a 46-36 record in year two, but the Kings fell short of the playoffs, falling in the second of two play-in tournament games. The failure to repeat the success of the previous year hasn’t sat well with ownership, according to sources,” Ham wrote. “This shouldn’t be a complicated matter, but like everything else in Sacramento, it is.
“Brown’s contract with the team was for three seasons with a mutual option for a fourth year. He is set to make less than $5 million this season and with rising coaching salaries around the league, the fourth-year option wasn’t exercised,” he continued, “It should also be noted that Brown’s current salary is less per year than the Kings paid their previous head coach, Luke Walton.”
The expectation to go deep into the playoffs was already there for Mike Brown and the Sacramento Kings but it is very surprising the franchise might be willing to give up on the head coach so quickly after he has brought back the relevancy they have been without for nearly two decades.