DeMar DeRozan and De’Aaron Fox the Reason For Kings Coach Mike Brown’s Firing, Says Lou Williams

Everyone around the NBA has been chiming in on the recent firing of Mike Brown as head coach of the Sacramento Kings, with many, including Denver Nuggets head coach Mike Malone and Detroit Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, criticizing the organization for the classless way in which the move was handled.

Former player Lou Williams took to his Run It Back podcast on Monday to add his insight to the situation, and though he didn’t comment on how the Kings treated Brown, he did speak on why he believes things went south for Brown so quickly.

Williams pointed to Brown’s missteps with two of the team’s biggest stars, De’Aaron Fox and DeMar DeRozan, as the reason he was ultimately let go just 32 games after signing a contract extension with the team this summer.

“I’m hearing that there was just some pushback from how De’Aaron Fox was continuously being singled out, whether it was publicly or behind the scenes … I was even hearing whispers that there was a situation where [Brown] might have asked or suggested that DeMar DeRozan come off the bench.”

Williams made sure to say that this wasn’t a knock on Brown’s coaching ability, because just as some players end up not fitting on a team, sometimes the same thing can happen with coaches.

Mike Brown became the fall guy for the Kings’ disappointing start

We’ve seen instances of head coaches being fired in the NBA for allegedly clashing with players, even if the team’s record is good. The Kings have finished with 48 and 46 wins in Brown’s two seasons at the helm, but they’ve struggled mightily in amassing a 13-19 record this year. With the team mired in 12th place in a brutally difficult Western Conference, it is impossible to overlook Brown’s interpersonal issues.

In some ways, Williams believes that Brown is a victim of his own success, as the past couple of seasons created the expectation that the team would be in the playoffs this year, especially after trading for DeRozan in the offseason. “It put the front office in a position where they had to side with either the All-Star talent they had, or to part ways with their former Coach of the Year … and ultimately they chose to go with the players,” Williams said.

Brown is just the latest victim of the NBA Coach of the Year curse, as six of the last eight award winners are no longer with their teams. Only Tom Thibodeau, who won the award in 2021, and Mark Daigneault, who won it last year, are still employed by the Knicks and Thunder, respectively.

Now that Brown is out, former Kings player and Brown’s assistant Doug Christie has taken over as interim coach.