LOS ANGELES – The day the Sacramento Kings traveled South for their clash against the Los Angeles Lakers, they were one passenger short of their usual traveling party. Head coach Mike Brown was fired by the Kings as the team was scheduled to depart for Los Angeles, causing a stir in the basketball world. During Lakers’ head coach JJ Redick’s pregame press conference, he spoke about Mike Brown being fired by the Kings.
“I’ve always had a great deal of respect for Mike as a human and as a coach. I knew this when I decided to do this, it’s a tough profession,” Redick said. “It’s a tough profession for job security. It’s what we signed up for.”
JJ Redick is just the latest on a list of NBA coaches who have spoken about Brown’s firing. The 2023 NBA Coach of the Year winner, Brown was let go amid a disappointing 13-18 start. In the meantime, assistant coach Doug Christie was named Kings’ interim head coach.
“I don’t have any sort of inside knowledge of what led to that, but I believe Mike Brown is an excellent basketball coach, and he’s someone who, like a lot of coaches, have given their life to this game,” Redick continued. “And I have just the utmost respect for him.”
JJ Redick, who is in his first season as head coach of the Lakers, has so far guided them to a 17-13 record. They are currently in sixth place in the Western Conference standings. Prior to the Lakers’ loss to the Detroit Pistons on Monday, they were coming off back-to-back road wins against the Kings no less.
But to assume the Kings are going to be the same group the Lakers squared off against last week, would not be wise, as per Redick.
“We’ve talked about the last 24 hours a bunch. There are numerous examples throughout the NBA where a player gets traded, a player gets released, a coach is fired mid-season, and a team has a new energy. There’s like this instant sort of boost to the aura,” Redick said. “We’re expecting to get their best. . .we expect them to play extremely well.”
The Lakers have won the season series already against the Kings by virtue of their 3-0 record so far. This will be the final regular season meeting between the two teams. The Lakers are going to be a little short-handed though as LeBron James was ruled out due to an illness.
