NBA Rumors: Inside Mike Brown's Kings Firing, De'Aaron Fox Tension amid Trade Buzz

Less than two seasons removed from his Coach of the Year-winning season, the Sacramento Kings fired Mike Brown.

Brown, who snapped the longest playoff drought in NBA history in 2022-23 when he took the Kings to the postseason, spent less than three years at the helm. Sacramento signed Brown to a multi-year contract this offseason.

The move was shocking to some given Brown's past success. Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone, who the Kings fired in 2014, said owner Vivek Ranadive has "no class" following the decision, per ESPN.

The Kings found success for the first time in nearly two decades under Brown's leadership, but that success led to higher expectations. After their playoff appearance during the 2022-23 season, they failed to make the postseason in a stronger Western Conference.

The offense that led the league two seasons ago was 13th last year, something that Ranadive "obsessed over" according to The Athletic's Anthony Slater and Sam Amick.

But Brown's firing reportedly stems from more than just the team's 13-18 start to the season. Per Slater and Amick, it was a combination of the team's struggles plus Brown's tension with one of the team's stars.

According to Slater and Amick, "there was no specific purpose or malice intended with the timing or execution" of the firing, but rather the decision "comes attached to several necessary conversations and boxes to check."

The boiling point for the Kings came on Friday when Sacramento faced the Detroit Pistons. Late-game mistakes, a theme for Brown's Kings, cost Sacramento a win, extending its losing streak to five games.

Per Slater and Amick, one team source said that players and staff exiting the building were "on fire" after the loss.

Another cause of Brown's firing, according to Slater and Amick, was his "stern" demeanor in news conferences that "were beginning to wear on some players." His final postgame press conference saw Brown make comments directed towards star guard De'Aaron Fox, who "appeared to be increasingly thinking about a future elsewhere" the same week Brown called him out.

Brown and Fox appeared to be having a lengthy conversation at practice on Friday, ultimately the last conversation between the two as coach and player. Brown was fired less than two hours after the discussion.

The Kings will now turn to Doug Christie for the rest of the season. Sacramento named him interim head coach, giving him his first chance to lead a team.

The Kings have star power with Fox alongside Domantas Sabonis and DeMar DeRozan, but it's fair to say at this point that a championship seems well out of reach this year. Instead, Sacramento will likely focus on keeping Fox and other stars around as the Kings look to find their sixth coach in the last 10 years.