Doug Christie Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Notes: Brown, Christie, Kings, Fox, Schröder, Lakers

December 28th, 2024 at 11:49am CST by Tristan Tucker

Former Kings head coach Mike Brown tore into his team after another blown lead led to a loss against the Pistons on Thursday. However, Anthony Slater and Sam Amick of The Athletic write that Brown’s stern post-game news conferences began to wear on players, and that was part of the Kings’ decision to part with him.

Slater and Amick report that there was no malice or specific purpose intended with the timing of the firing, which came as Brown was getting ready for the team’s flight for their game in Los Angeles. Owner Vivek Ranadive was particularly upset with the Kings’ poor play and noted their fall from first in offense in 2022/23 to the middle of the pack last season, but the decision to let go of Brown was general manager Monte McNair‘s, according to Slater and Amick.

The Kings will have a chance to right the ship under interim replacement Doug Christie, with the team boasting the eighth-best offense in the league despite falling to 13-18.

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There is no immediate head coaching search planned for the Kings, Slater and Amick write in the same story. After being named interim coach, Christie will have an opportunity to make a case for the permanent position. Christie’s promotion was a long time coming. Ranadive once saw Christie as a viable alternative to Alvin Gentry (who was eventually named interim coach) after Luke Walton was fired in 2021. Christie has a strong relationship with players and staff and made a lasting impression in Sacramento during his time as a player, commentator and assistant, per The Athletic.
Choosing a starting lineup will be one of Christie’s first tasks as coach, Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee writes. The starting shooting guard position will likely come down to Malik Monk, Kevin Huerter or Keon Ellis.
De’Aaron Fox took accountability for his defensive mistake at the end of Thursday’s loss to the Pistons, Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 Sacramento reports (Twitter link). Fox spoke in front of his teammates and took ownership during the tough slide, teammate Keegan Murray relayed.
Warriors guard Dennis Schröder struggled through his first five games with Golden State after starting off the year hot with Brooklyn. In his last five games, Schröder averaged 8.2 points on 28.0% shooting as opposed to the 18.4 points on 45.2% shooting he posted with the Nets. However, coach Steve Kerr said he’s not worried about Schröder’s play, according to Slater (Twitter link). “You trust who the player has been. It’s a tiny sample size,” Kerr said. “He came to us at a time when we were ice cold. He needs shooting around him. He’s a pick-and-roll player. We were 7-for-38 tonight from three.”
The Lakers are getting healthier, providing Los Angeles a reason for optimism, Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times writes. Jaxson Hayes is now day-to-day and close to returning while head coach JJ Redick said there’s hope both Christian Wood and Jarred Vanderbilt will be able to make their season debuts during an upcoming stretch that includes nine of 11 games at home.

Kings Fire Mike Brown

December 27th, 2024 at 10:37pm CST by Rory Maher

10:37pm: The Kings have put out a press release officially confirming that Brown has been let go and that Christie will be the team’s interim head coach.

“This was a difficult decision, and I want to thank Mike for his many contributions to the organization,” general manager Monte McNair said in a statement.

3:39pm: The Kings are firing head coach Mike Brown, sources tell ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link). Sam Amick of The Athletic confirms the news (via Twitter).

Brown just signed a three-year contract extension in June. He will reportedly be owed $25.5MM through 2026/27.

In his first season with Sacramento in 2022/23, Brown guided the franchise to a 48-34 record and its first playoff berth since 2006, winning the NBA’s Coach of the Year award. Despite racking up 46 more regular season wins in ’23/24, he and the Kings finished outside the top eight in the conference and were eliminated in the second game of the play-in tournament.

The Kings have been in a tailspin of late, dropping their fifth straight game — all at home — after a fourth-quarter collapse on Thursday vs. Detroit, as Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee writes. Sacramento led by 15 points with under eight minutes remaining, but wound up losing after Jaden Ivey converted a four-point play when the Pistons were down three.

“To relax like that at that point in the game was tough,” Brown said. “I also don’t like the pace we had in the last six minutes. I kept telling our guys, ‘Push it, push it, push it, drive it, kick it,’ just like we did most of the game, and we come to a complete stop with about six minutes to go. Three minutes to go, we’re rolling the ball and walking it, going against a set defense every time. Somehow, someway, we have to pay attention to the little details.”

The Kings entered the season with playoff expectations, but are currently just 13-18, the No. 12 seed in the West — they’re three games behind the final play-in spot.

Overall, the 54-year-old compiled a 107-88 (.549) regular season record with Sacramento. The team lost its first-round playoff series to Golden State in 2023 in seven games.

As detailed by multiple local reporters (all Twitter links), Brown just ran a full practice and spoke to the media literally minutes before Charania broke the news.

It’s unclear who will serve as Sacramento’s interim head coach, but the team’s most experienced assistant (he’s technically an associate head coach) is Jay Triano. The 66-year-old had previous head coaching stints with Toronto and Phoenix.

[UPDATE: Doug Christie Will Be Kings’ Interim Head Coach]

Known for his defensive acumen, Brown was an assistant with Washington, San Antonio and Indiana before he got his first head coaching job with Cleveland in 2005. He also coached the Lakers and had a second one-year stint with the Cavs. Prior to being hired by Sacramento, he was the top assistant on Steve Kerr‘s staff with Golden State for six seasons.

Doug Christie Will Be Kings’ Interim Head Coach

December 27th, 2024 at 4:42pm CST by Luke Adams

Kings assistant Doug Christie will be elevated to take Mike Brown‘s spot on the bench following Brown’s dismissal, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Christie is Sacramento’s new interim head coach.

Christie, a former NBA shooting guard, spent five of his 15 seasons as a player in Sacramento. That five-year stretch from 2000-05 was the most successful run of his career, as he started all 355 games he played and earned Defensive Player of the Year votes for a Kings team that won at least one playoff series in four straight years.

After retiring as a player, Christie spent some time as a color commentator for Kings game before being hired by the franchise as an assistant during the 2021 offseason.

Christie was hired under Luke Walton, remaining in his role as an assistant when the club parted ways with Walton and promoted Alvin Gentry to replace him during the 2021/22 season, and again when the Kings hired Brown in 2022.

Although Christie has never formally held a head coaching position, he has gained some experience on the job, having stepped in for Gentry in December 2021 when the Kings’ interim coach missed time with COVID-19. Christie also coached Sacramento’s Summer League team in 2024.

It’s unclear when the Kings plan to launch their search for a permanent head coach and whether Christie will receive serious consideration for the full-time role.

Western Notes: Thunder, Pelicans, Loucks, Christie, Kings

April 25th, 2024 at 12:41pm CST by Rory Maher

The Thunder demolished the Pelicans by 32 points on Wednesday, led by 80 combined points from Rookie of the Year finalist Chet Holmgren (26), MVP finalist Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (33) and rising second-year forward Jalen Williams (21), per Andrew Lopez of ESPN. The trio was extremely efficient, going 32-of-49 from the field (.653%).

After Pels center Jonas Valanciunas opened by scoring the first 11 points for New Orleans, Oklahoma City countered by giving Holmgren looks from the perimeter, Lopez writes. The 2022 No. 2 overall pick responded with 15 points in the opening frame en route to a double-digit lead.

“He was great to start,” Gilgeous-Alexander said of Holmgren. “He was aggressive, he was assertive, made quick decisions and obviously was a big reason why we got out to that lead. He just played to his strengths and didn’t try to stray from them. We all know when he does that, he’s really good.”

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Perhaps more concerning than the loss itself was the way the Pelicans lost. As William Guillory of The Athletic details, New Orleans came away from Game 1’s two-point loss somewhat encouraged and responded with an absolute dud of a performance in Game 2. The Pelicans allowed OKC to score 124 points on a shooting line of .590/.483/.900. They had 18 turnovers, including eight offensive fouls. And they only finished with 92 points for the second straight game. Yes, the Pelicans are playing without Zion Williamson, but an ugly early exit could lead to major changes in the offseason, Guillory writes.
Kings head coach Mike Brown told reporters, including Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 KTXL (Twitter link), that assistant coach Luke Loucks will move to a front-of-bench role after Jordi Fernandez‘s departure to Brooklyn. Brown added that assistant Doug Christie will likely coach Sacramento’s Summer League team, though that isn’t set in stone.
After winning a tiebreaker with Golden State, there’s now a 92.9% chance the Kings will end up with the No. 13 overall pick in June’s draft. GM Monte McNair said Sacramento is “excited” about the prospects who could be available at that spot, but the team will explore its options with the lottery pick, including potentially trading it, tweets James Ham of ESPN 1320 and TheKingsBeat.com.

Kings Officially Announce Mike Brown’s Coaching Staff

August 12th, 2022 at 12:28pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings have finalized their coaching staff for Mike Brown‘s first season in Sacramento, according to a press release from the team.

As previously reported, former Nuggets assistant Jordi Fernandez is joining the Kings as associate head coach after working with Brown on the Nigerian national team. Jay Triano, Doug Christie, Luke Loucks, and Leandro Barbosa will also be assistant coaches on Brown’s staff, as anticipated.

Dutch Gaitley and Lindsey Harding will be assistants as well, with Gaitley serving as director of player development. Harding and Deividas Dulkys, whose hiring was previously reported, will be player development coaches.

Robbie Lemons (senior director of coaching analytics and strategy), Charles Allen (head video coordinator/special assistant to the head coach), and Garrius Adams (assistant video coordinator) will fill out the staff, which Brown referred to as a “diverse and talented group.”

Roy Rana, Mike Longabardi, and Rico Hines are among the veteran assistants on former head coach Alvin Gentry‘s staff who won’t be returning to Sacramento for the 2022/23 season. Longabardi joined the Hawks, Hines joined the Raptors, and Rana got a job coaching a team in Japan.

Kings Finalize Contracts With Three Assistant Coaches

June 10th, 2022 at 7:17pm CST by Rory Maher

The Kings have finalized contracts with Doug Christie, Jay Triano and Luke Loucks to be assistant coaches under Mike Brown, writes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. All three hires were reported last month by veteran writer Marc Stein and Andscape’s Marc J. Spears, but the deals weren’t completed until Friday, sources told Anderson.

Christie, 52, played 15 seasons in the NBA, including a five-year run with the Kings. He’s the lone holdover from Luke Walton‘s staff in 2021/22, Christie’s first season as an NBA assistant, and Stein reported that retaining Christie was a priority for Sacramento’s brass.

Triano, 63, is the former head coach of the Raptors and Suns. He also coached the Canadian national team from 1998-2004, and most recently served as an assistant in Charlotte under James Borrego, who was fired in April.

Loucks, 32, played college ball for Florida State prior to making several international stops. During the ’21/22 season he worked for Phoenix in basketball strategy and personnel evaluation, and he previously worked with Brown in Golden State and with the Nigerian national team.

Sacramento announced on May 18 that former Nuggets assistant Jordi Fernandez will be Brown’s associate head coach, so the Kings have now finalized deals with four coaches on Brown’s staff.

Pacific Notes: Westbrook, McNair, Christie, Lue

May 16th, 2022 at 6:22pm CST by Dana Gauruder

While many Lakers fans hope they’ve seen the last of Russell Westbrook in a Los Angeles uniform, the front office is proceeding as if Westbrook will remain a part of the team.

Head coaching candidates that the Lakers have interviewed have been asked to discuss how they would use the enigmatic point guard in their system, Sam Amick of The Athletic reports. It appears that maximizing Westbrook’s impact after his disastrous 2021/22 season is considered an important part of the job, Amick adds.

This could be an indication of Phil Jackson’s input on the Lakers’ search, since Jackson is known to have an affinity for Westbrook.

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In the same story, Amick writes that Kings general manager Monte McNair is entering the final season of his contract and there have been no talks about a possible extension. That leads to an awkward situation with their new coach, Mike Brown, having a significantly longer deal (four years) than the GM who played a major role in hiring him. McNair’s contract status was a concern for some of the coaching candidates Sacramento interviewed, Amick adds.
Among the priorities that the Kings established before hiring Brown was that the new coach would retain Doug Christie on the staff, Marc Stein reports in a Substack article. Sacramento is also hoping for an improvement mirroring the Timberwolves’ success with their young core to end a league-record 16-season playoff drought.
Klutch Sports has many high-profile athletes as clients — they’ve also got another prominent coach now in the Clippers‘ Tyronn Lue. He’s signed up with the agency, Klutch tweets.

Pacific Notes: Ibaka, Lakers Trades, Christie, Kuminga

December 16th, 2021 at 7:32pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Serge Ibaka hasn’t received regular playing time as of late for the Clippers, Mirjam Swanson of the Orange County Register writes. Ivica Zubac and Isaiah Hartenstein have received the bulk of the minutes in the post since Ibaka returned to action after recovering from back surgery.

“Especially with that second unit, not having guys who can create shots from that second unit, Isaiah pretty much becomes our point guard and so we kind of run our offense through him,” coach Tyronn Lue said. “He makes great passes, and just I think we need him with that second unit – so he’s been great.”

Ibaka has extra incentive to get a boost in playing time — he’ll be an unrestricted free agent after the season.

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The Athletic’s John Hollinger and Bill Oram are skeptical the Lakers can make a significant move before the trade deadline due to the configuration of their roster, plus luxury tax issues. Even combining the salaries of Talen Horton-Tucker and Kendrick Nunn along with a first-round pick isn’t all that enticing for potential trade partners, Hollinger opines. Nunn hasn’t played this season due to a mysterious injury and Horton-Tucker has an opt-out after the 2022/23 season. The Lakers can’t offer a first-round pick earlier than 2027 due to the picks owed to New Orleans in the Anthony Davis trade.
Doug Christie has been mentioned as a head coaching candidate for the Kings even though Alvin Gentry was named interim head coach. Christie, an assistant with the club, is non-committal regarding his interest in the job, according to Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee. “If you know me, you know I’m more of an in-the-moment person, like this is where I’m at,” Christie said. “I don’t think like that. AG (Alvin Gentry) has done a hell of a job and he’s been so productive with helping me try to be better, and that’s really all I’m going to try to be. If they see more and they want more and that opportunity presents itself, that’s what you have to face when the opportunity comes and you deal with it, but I like to stay in the moment and I don’t say that tongue in cheek. That’s just kind of how I try to live.”
Steve Kerr’s tendency to lean on his veterans has made it tougher for Jonathan Kuminga to gain a rotation spot. However, the Warriors could use more of what the lottery pick brings, Tim Kawakami of The Athletic opines. Kuminga can be a force defensively and on the offensive glass. Offensively, he can muscle his way to the basket and has a nice finishing touch.

Kings’ Alvin Gentry Tests Positive For COVID-19

December 15th, 2021 at 2:30pm CST by Luke Adams

2:30pm: Christie will take over as the Kings’ acting coach while Gentry is unavailable, a source tells Sam Amick of The Athletic (Twitter link).

11:01am: Kings head coach Alvin Gentry, who took over last month when the team dismissed Luke Walton, has tested positive for COVID-19, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (all Twitter links). Gentry figures to miss a few games, with one of his assistants taking over as an interim coach to the interim coach.

According to Wojnarowski, the Kings canceled their morning shootaround on Wednesday and are conducting COVID-19 tests to see if any other players or coaches have contracted the virus.

Gentry tells Wojnarowski that he has been essentially asymptomatic, outside of having a scratchy throat. Assistants Mike Longabardi and Doug Christie are the most likely candidates to replace him on the sidelines for the short term, Woj adds.

Gentry has led the Kings to a 5-6 record since taking the reins from Walton in November. Sacramento lost all three games on its recent road trip, prompting Gentry to state after Monday’s loss in Toronto that the team needs to find a way to “right the ship.” The Kings begin a three-game home stand on Wednesday against the struggling Wizards, the Ja Morant-less Grizzlies, and the 10-16 Spurs, so there’s some bounce-back potential there.

Gentry is the second head coach to enter the NBA’s health and safety protocols in the last week, joining Rick Carlisle of the Pacers.

Kings Notes: Gentry, Christie, Fox, Ranadive, Thompson

November 23rd, 2021 at 1:35pm CST by Arthur Hill

Alvin Gentry wanted to avoid the “interim” tag after taking over head coaching duties when the Kings fired Luke Walton on Sunday, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic.

Sources tell Amick that Gentry was unsuccessful because the front office believed it had another viable candidate in first-year assistant coach Doug Christie. Even though general manager Monte McNair, assistant GM Wes Wilcox and chief strategy officer Joe Dumars all supported Gentry, having Christie as an option gave the organization leverage in its negotiations with Gentry.

Gentry received a raise as part of his new duties, Amick adds, and he has a contract that runs through the end of next season. However, his future as the head coach in Sacramento will depend on how successful he is at turning the team around. Amick notes this is the fourth time in his career that Gentry has received this type of promotion, and he was able to earn long-term coaching stints with both the Pistons and Suns.

As the lead assistant, Gentry already had a huge influence on Sacramento’s offensive strategy, so other than possibly increasing its pace, the team won’t look much different with him in charge.

“This is not about making mass changes or changing philosophies or anything like this,” Gentry said. “I think we’ve got a good system in place. So I think what we have to do is we have to have our players perform better. I’ve got to be better. All the other coaches have to be better, and our players have to be better. I think it’s a group thing.”

There’s more from Sacramento:

The Kings’ next major decision should be determining whether they can build a contender around De’Aaron Fox, Amick adds. Fox has gotten off to a terrible start in the first season of his five-year, $163MM extension, shooting just 42.1% from the field and 24.% from three-point range. Three-guard lineups with Tyrese Haliburton and Davion Mitchell haven’t been effective, observes Amick, who wonders if a roster upheaval may happen before the February 10 trade deadline.
Gentry is the sixth coach in eight years for owner Vivek Ranadive, writes Chris Biderman of The Sacramento Bee. Ranadive has a history of being impatient, Biderman adds, and his desire for change caused the organization to part with Michael Malone, who has become a perennial playoff coach in Denver.
Tristan Thompson, who was acquired over the summer to provide veteran leadership, said after Monday’s loss to the short-handed 76ers that it will take an organization-wide effort to recover from the poor start (video link). “I think everyone has to look in the mirror,” said Thompson, who also publicly expressed frustration with the team’s situation last week. “It’s not only just players. Yes, it’s a player’s league … but in terms of building a team, it takes a collective group. It takes everyone from the top to the bottom. From ownership to the trainers, to the equipment managers, to the players, to (the physical therapist), to the GM to the assistant GM. It’s all of us.”