Kings to hire Warriors assistant Mike Brown as next head coach, per report

The Sacramento Kings have agreed to terms on a four-year contract with Golden State Warriors assistant Mike Brown to become their next coach, Adrian Wojnarowski reports. Brown will reportedly remain with the Warriors for the duration of their playoff run. Reports had previously suggested that team owner Vivek Ranadive preferred former Warriors coach Mark Jackson, who was also a finalist, but the front office appears to have settled on Brown as their choice.

Brown is best known for his first five-year stint as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers. There, he reached the 2007 NBA Finals alongside LeBron James, but the Cavaliers never made it back there under his watch. He was fired after the 2009-10 season in the hopes that a new coach might help convince James to stay with the Cavaliers. He ultimately left, but returned in 2014. Brown went on to coach the Los Angeles Lakers from there, but after a 41-25 debut season, he was fired following a 1-4 start to the 2012-13 campaign. He returned to Cleveland for the 2013-14 season, but lasted just a single year and was let go before James ultimately returned. 

Since then, Brown has served as a top assistant under Warriors coach Steve Kerr. He briefly stepped in for Kerr, who was recovering from back surgery, during the 2017 playoffs and posted an undefeated 11-0 record as Golden State’s interim coach. Ranadive was a minority owner of the Warriors before taking over the Kings.

Now Brown will attempt to break the NBA’s worst drought, going from a team that has won three recent championships to one that has not made the playoffs in 16 years. Brown will attempt to impart his championship experience upon the young Kings and help turn them into winners.