Michael Malone on Sacramento Kings’ firing of Mike Brown: ‘No class’

Nuggets coach Michael Malone, whose first head coaching job was in Sacramento, criticized the Kings for firing Mike Brown on Friday, revealing that Brown was informed of the decision via a phone call after he left a team practice.

“What really pissed me off about it was they lost last night, fifth game in a row I think – big loss, foul on a jump shooter – they have practice this morning, he’s doing his post (practice) media and “He’s sitting in his car driving to the airport to fly to LA,” Malone said. “And they call him. No lessons. No (courage). That’s what I say about it.”

Malone, 53, was released by the Kings nearly a decade ago on December 15, 2014. In his second season, he was at the helm for 24 games and had a record of 11-13. Sacramento has now gone through six head coaches since Malone, including interim coaches. Brown was the most successful of them, earning NBA Coach of the Year honors in 2022-23 after helping the Kings break an NBA-record 16-year playoff drought.

They were the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference that season, but in Brown’s second year they tanked and lost in the play-in tournament. Sacramento was 13-18 on Friday when Brown lost his job. On Thursday night, the team lost 114-113 to the Pistons by giving up a four-point game to Jaden Ivey in the final seconds.