ESPN news: Kings reveals contract negotiation details with Mike Brown…read more.
Numerous head coaches have attempted—and failed—to take the Sacramento Kings past the 82nd regular season game throughout the last 20 years.
A succession of twelve head coaches from 2006 to 2022 failed to end the 16-year postseason drought for the Sacramento Kings. Then, with Mike Brown’s arrival, a new era started.
Before the 2022–2023 season, Brown, who had served as the team’s defensive coordinator while sitting on Steve Kerr’s bench for the majority of the Golden State Warriors dynasty, signed a four-year contract. That season would go on to become one of the most memorable in Sacramento Kings basketball history.
The 48-win Kings overcame a 17-year playoff drought in addition to collecting an impressive array of awards. Brown, who now holds a second NBA Coach of the Year Award, was instrumental in this triumph.
Sacramento’s season was a little different this year; after losing to New Orleans in the eighth-seed Play-In game, the “Beam Team” just missed making the playoffs for the second time in a row.
Even though the Kings were eliminated from the playoffs, Brown accomplished something that no Sacramento head coach has done since Hall of Famer Rick Adelman’s time with the team: post consecutive winning seasons.
Brown’s Kings have a record of 94-70 (.573) since the 2022–2023 season began, which is good for tenth place in the NBA and fifth place in the Western Conference.
The moment has come for both parties to talk about a contract extension because Sacramento is once again on the NBA schedule and because Brown has reached the midway mark of his deal.
Since Brown has a mutual option in his final year of contract, the 2024–25 campaign will be his last season with the Kings under guarantee. Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports provided some insight into the kind of contract that Brown is seeking from general manager Monte McNair and majority owner Vivek Ranadive as the offseason decision-making process approaches:
Further context for Mike Brown’s contract extension talks in Sacramento will come from the Lakers’ process and the remainder of this coaching cycle, which has already paid off for Jason Kidd and new Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer.
Brown’s negotiations are anticipated to revolve around a comparable eight-figure threshold given his Coach of the Year awards, the new standards for coaching salaries set by Monty Williams’ seventy-plus million dollar contract from Detroit, and Budenholzer’s recent yearly average salary of $10 million, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
NBA head coaches have been getting bigger salary checks recently. Two-time Coach of the Year winner Mike Budenholzer ($50 million over five years with the Phoenix Suns) and Detroit Pistons head coach Monty Williams ($78.5 million over six years) signed large contracts.
The next player in line for a compensation increase is Brown, a fellow two-time Coach of the Year Award winner (unanimously in 2022-23).
When asked about his job security, Brown responded as normal, despite Fischer’s story suggesting that he and the Kings will talk about an extension this summer.
At his end-of-season press conference on April 24, Brown stated, “I’m excited about being here, but I have one year left on my deal; everybody knows that.” Our future excites me. I will thus use the summer to consider how we may improve for the next year.
There are four NBA head coaches who make $10 million or more a season as of May 16th:
Spurs’ Gregg Popovich ($16 million)
Heat’s Erik Spoelstra ($15 million)
Pistons’ Monty Williams ($13 million)
The Suns’ Mike Budenholzer ($10 million)
Is Brown going to be the next head coach on this list?
Sacramento should have no trouble making a decision. The Kings lacked direction, consistency, and most importantly, a winning culture, prior to Brown taking control in 2022.
Even after a 46-win season that would have given a club a playoff berth—but not this year in a stacked Western Conference—Brown has offered consistency in all of those categories.
It would be prudent for Sacramento to retain the head coach who got the Kings back into the postseason and out of the NBA basement after a dozen other coaches had failed in their attempts before Brown took over.
For McNair and Ranadive, how much is this winning culture worth? How much does a winning product cost? It appears like Brown will receive that response in the upcoming months prior to the team’s late-September reporting for training camp.
When is the next noteworthy Sacramento Kings off-season date?
The NBA Draft now takes place over two nights.
The Sacramento Kings will select their player in the 13th round of the 2024 NBA Draft on Wednesday, June 26th, opening night of the draft. On Thursday, June 27th, the Kings will select with their 45th overall pick in the second round of the draft.
Since 2022, when it selected Iowa product Keegan Murray with the fourth overall pick, Sacramento has not had a first-round pick.
For all of your Kings draft coverage, including player profiles, workout reports prior to the draft, draft night coverage, and much more, stay tuned to Sactown Sports.
Schedule during the NBA Offseason
2024 NBA Draft: Wednesday, June 26–Thursday, June 27
The free agent negotiation window opens on Sunday, June 30 at 3 PM PST.
Free agents will be able to formally sign contracts on July 6th.
July 12–22: Summer League in Las Vegas
July 27–August 11 — Olympic Games of 2024
Training camps for the NBA start on Friday, September 27.
