Warriors’ Steve Kerr on Kings hiring Mike Brown to be next head coach:
‘Sacramento made a great choice’
Warriors coach Steve Kerr gave the Sacramento Kings his stamp of
approval with the hiring of Golden State's assistant coach Mike Brown
even if it comes at the expense of his own staff.
>Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr stands with assistant
coach Mike Brown during the final minute of the fourth quarter of Game 4
of their NBA second round playoff series at the Toyota Center in
Houston, Texas on Monday, May 6, 2019. The Houston Rockets defeated the
Golden State Warriors 112-108. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
>Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr stands with assistant
coach Mike Brown during the final minute of the fourth quarter of Game 4
of their NBA second round playoff series at the Toyota Center in
Houston, Texas on Monday, May 6, 2019. The Houston Rockets defeated the
Golden State Warriors 112-108. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
By MADELINE KENNEY | mkenney@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: May 9, 2022 at 12:14 p.m. | UPDATED: May 9, 2022 at 1:31 p.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/05/09/warriors-steve-kerr-on-kings-hiring-mike-brown-to-be-next-head-coach-sacramento-made-a-great-choice/

SAN FRANCISCO — Warriors coach Steve Kerr gave the Sacramento Kings his
stamp of approval with the hiring of Golden State’s assistant coach Mike
Brown, even if it comes at the expense of his own staff.

The Kings on Monday announced Brown would be their next head coach.
He’ll succeed Alvin Gentry, who took over for Luke Walton, another
former assistant under Kerr, early last season after Walton was fired
following a 6-11 start.

Kerr was thrilled to hear Brown, 51, would be back at the helm of an NBA
team after serving six years on the Warriors’ bench.

“I don’t even know where to begin,” Kerr said Monday after shootaround
when asked about Brown’s hiring. “What Mike has done for me, for this
organization in his six years here, just an incredible contribution,
he’s an amazing coach, amazing friend. And Sacramento made a great choice.

“It’s a loss for us, but this is how it’s supposed to work. You want
people who are really talented on your staff who can come in and
contribute and have a great experience and hopefully learn and grow at
the same time and then hopefully be able to advance careers and move on
to something that that person wants. Mike’s ready to do this again. He’s
excited and we’re thrilled for him. Much deserved, he’s a great choice.”

Brown will remain with the Warriors through the playoffs before shifting
his focus to the Kings full-time, Kerr said. He beat out former Warriors
head coach Mark Jackson for the job in Sacramento.

Kerr said it’s too soon to consider how they might go about replacing a
well-respective defensive mind like Brown.

It’s “too early to go down that path,” Kerr said. “We’ve got very
important business at hand right now, trying to win a series against a
great young team, so we’ll worry about that stuff later.”

Brown has 21 years of NBA coaching experience, including eight seasons
as a head coach. He served in that role over two stints in Cleveland
(2005-2010, 2013-14) and a year-plus with the Lakers (2013-14). He was
named the NBA’s Coach of the Year in 2007 after he guided the Cavaliers
to an Eastern Conference championship. Brown boasts a career head
coaching record of 347-216 over eight seasons, which ranks as the
ninth-best winning percentage in NBA history among coaches who’ve
registered at least 500 games.

A Columbus, Ohio, native, Brown has worked as an assistant under both
Gregg Popovich and Kerr. He most recently helped guide the Warriors to
back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018. He served as Golden State’s acting
head coach during a portion of the 2017 playoffs when Kerr was sidelined
with a back issue. Brown led the Warriors to an 11-0 record until Kerr
came back for Game 2 of the NBA Finals.

“Mike has consistently demonstrated his ability to lead winning teams
throughout his long and successful coaching career,” Kings general
manager Monte McNair said in a statement. “He has worked with some of
the best players in the NBA and is one of the league’s premier defensive
minds. I am excited to bring his extensive experience to Sacramento.”

Brown also served as the head coach of the Nigeria men’s national
basketball team during the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, held in August 2021.

The hiring of Brown was well received by Kings fans, who haven’t had a
lot of wins to celebrate over the last decade and a half.

Sacramento missed the playoffs for the 16th consecutive season this
year, effectively extending the league’s longest active postseason
drought. They haven’t had a winning season since the 2005-06 campaign,
which was also the last time the Kings reached 40 wins in a season.

There is some optimism surrounding the Kings, who are building their
team around two promising young players: center Domantas Sabonis and
guard De’Aaron Fox. Sacramento has one first-round pick and two
second-round picks in this year’s NBA Draft.

--
Madeline Kenney | Warriors reporter

Allen wrote:
> SAN FRANCISCO — Warriors coach Steve Kerr gave the Sacramento Kings his
> stamp of approval with the hiring of Golden State’s assistant coach Mike
> Brown, even if it comes at the expense of his own staff.
>
> The Kings on Monday announced Brown would be their next head coach.
> He’ll succeed Alvin Gentry, who took over for Luke Walton, another
> former assistant under Kerr, early last season after Walton was fired
> following a 6-11 start.
>
> Kerr was thrilled to hear Brown, 51, would be back at the helm of an NBA
> team after serving six years on the Warriors’ bench.
>
> “I don’t even know where to begin,” Kerr said Monday after shootaround
> when asked about Brown’s hiring. “What Mike has done for me, for this
> organization in his six years here, just an incredible contribution,
> he’s an amazing coach, amazing friend. And Sacramento made a great choice.
>
> “It’s a loss for us, but this is how it’s supposed to work. You want
> people who are really talented on your staff who can come in and
> contribute and have a great experience and hopefully learn and grow at
> the same time and then hopefully be able to advance careers and move on
> to something that that person wants. Mike’s ready to do this again. He’s
> excited and we’re thrilled for him. Much deserved, he’s a great choice.”

I'm happy for Brown, and sad for the Warriors, of losing somebody that's
been a great assistant.

Even though I have a little bit of sentiment for the Kings, I would have
preferred that they would have not hired yet another Warriors assistant
or ex-assistant. Robin's comment about the Kings being a coach-eating
operation (or something similar) is such that I'm not looking for the
day that comes somewhere in the next 2-3 years, of where the Kings
implode yet again, and dumping the head coach is SOP. Gentry and Walton
both deserved better. Maybe even Vlade Divac. Unfortunately, it seems
that the Ranadive ownership group is one of those that is perpetually
toxic, and that there's no amount of hiring or firing that's going to
change things. Kind of like when Chris Cohan owned the Warriors.

Although it's been barely a decade since Cohan left (and I was annoyed
at the then-record price that he got for the team, although in
retrospect, that price was a huge bargain to get rid of him), it already
seems to be much further into the past.

At least Ranadive's stake in the Warriors was small enough that he
didn't have any connections to the team's operations, and where he
couldn't do the kind of damage that he's done to the Kings.

Smith