The Sacramento Kings missed the postseason for the 16th consecutive season this year, finishing 12th in the West at 30-52, four games out of the final play-in tournament position.
It was a season of changes in Sacramento, as Luke Walton was fired after a 6-11 start to the season and Alvin Gentry was elevated to interim head coach. At the deadline, the Kings made a fairly stunning move by trading Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield to Indiana for Domantas Sabonis, but even that shakeup failed to kickstart a real push for a play-in spot and they eventually fell to lottery position once again. If there is good news for the Kings it is that they seem to have some stability in the form of Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox as their guard-big duo long-term, but now it’s incumbent on them to figure out how to build a playoff team around those two in a crowded Western Conference.
Part of that will be on the front office to piece together a cohesive roster, but it will also be the job of a new head coach to fit the puzzle pieces together and get the most out of the Fox-Sabonis duo, as it was widely reported on Monday that Gentry was not being retained.
Alvin Gentry has been informed that he is no longer the interim head coach of the Sacramento Kings and the team will commence a comprehensive coaching search immediately, sources tell me and @sam_amick.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 11, 2022
The Sacramento Kings won’t bring back interim coach Alvin Gentry and are opening up a search for a new head coach, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 11, 2022
That’s not a huge surprise, but it does raise the question of who will take over for a Kings organization that doesn’t exactly carry the best reputation. The next coach will be the 12th head coach or interim head coach since they last made the playoffs in 2006, and per Marc Stein and Adrian Wojnarowski they will make a run at a number of former NBA head coaches.
Mike D’Antoni, Terry Stotts, Mike Brown and Steve Clifford are the veterans already being cited in league coaching circles as potential targets for Sacramento to replace Alvin Gentry, league sources say.
More coverage in my latest around-the-league notes: https://t.co/A5M1o1XPWg
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) April 11, 2022
Sources: Kings search is expected to wide-ranging, including candidates with history of turning lottery teams into playoff teams. Among those expected to be considered: Kenny Atkinson, Steve Clifford, Mark Jackson, Mike Brown, Bucks assistants Charles Lee and Darvin Ham, more. https://t.co/BnfYC0klyr
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 11, 2022
As of this moment, the only competition on the coaching market are the Los Angeles Lakers, who don’t seem to have much overlap in their candidate pool, so the Kings ought to have a pretty good chance at getting one of their lead candidates.