Fansided

Sacramento Kings Not Expected To Retain Coach Keith Smart

By Bryan Rose

facebooktwitterreddit
April 10, 2013; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings head coach Keith Smart calls out to his players against the New Orleans Hornets during the third quarter at Sleep Train Arena. The Sacramento Kings defeated the New Orleans Hornets 121-110. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
April 10, 2013; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings head coach Keith Smart calls out to his players against the New Orleans Hornets during the third quarter at Sleep Train Arena. The Sacramento Kings defeated the New Orleans Hornets 121-110. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

With an impending ownership change, it wasn’t expected that Sacramento Kings head coach Keith Smart would be back and according to USA Today’s Sam Amick, that appears to be the scenario.

Per Amick:

"If Kings coach Keith Smart is not retained as is expected, then Warriors assistant Michael Malone – a former assistant in Cleveland and New Orleans who sparked dramatic defensive improvement at each of his NBA stops and has interviewed for several head coaching vacancies – is expected to be a candidate."

The Kings, who are currently in process of being sold to a group lead by current (and soon to be former) Golden State Warriors minority owner Vivek Ranadive, have been expected to overhaul both the roster and front office and apparently, Keith Smart tops the list of moves.

There has been no word as of yet if long tenured general manager Geoff Petrie will be let go.

Petrie has been preparing for the upcoming NBA Draft, recently being spotted at the Nike Summit, though it’s entirely possible the new Kings ownership will let the two-time NBA GM of the Year go as well.

If that is the case, one could expect the move to happen relatively soon given the ownership group would undoubtedly prefer to have their own guy in place prior to the offseason kicking off.

Home/NBA