“You Have to Win”: Former Mavericks Forward Warns De’Aaron Fox and Kings Players After Mike Brown Firing

The Kings franchise is in disarray following the firing of head coach Mike Brown. The pressure on the players is growing by the day to perform at a high level in the immediate aftermath. However, none in the organization is under more scrutiny than All-Star guard, De’Aaron Fox. And piling onto that scrutiny is former Mavericks guard Chandler Parsons issues a warning to Fox urging him that the only option left is to win.

Parsons took to FanDuel TV’s Run It Back to share his thoughts on the current situation that the Kings are in. He highlighted that now that the team has fired the coach, the onus falls on the players to succeed. Parsons passionately pointed toward Fox of all players. He said,

“It’s on the players now. What else can you say? What else can you do besides go out there compete your a** off? You have to win games. It really comes down to these players. Look at their team, Murray, DeRozan, Sabonis, Fox, Monk, Lyles, they have enough and I think that’s where the frustration came from the ownership.”

Typically, head coaches become the scapegoat when a team is underperforming. Front offices are eager to make a change and the easiest one to do is change the voice at the helm. However, the impact only lasts for a certain period of time if the downward trend of losing games continues. Eventually, people will find a way to shift the blame elsewhere. For the Kings the next in line to receive the blame is their players, especially their stars.

Parsons doesn’t view the Kings’ roster as incompetent. The front office has done an adequate job of acquiring talented players to pair alongside Domantas Sabonis and Fox. However, everyone needs to carry their weight or else the next decision will involve trades.

Doug Christe has stepped into the role as interim head coach and the Kings must embrace a new identity. They are currently 14-19, sitting at the 12th seed, and need to compete. Sacramento entered the season with high expectations and they’ll need to meet them sooner rather than later.

The Kings’ high expectations

Sacramento infamously snapped a 16-season-long playoff drought in 2023, which to this date is the longest playoffs drought in league history. However, the following season, the team failed to make the postseason despite winning only two fewer games than the previous season. The goal wasn’t just to make the playoffs but be a mainstay. The Kings pulled the trigger to acquire DeMar DeRozan in free agency but it hasn’t equated to success.

According to Parsons the Kings’ ownership must be wondering what is preventing the team from winning despite having such a talented team. In many instances, if it isn’t the right collection of talented players the results won’t be as great as it could be. The Kings could very well be experiencing the repercussions of forming a team that doesn’t complement each other perfectly.