Kings firing Mike Brown is too little, too late to keep De'Aaron Fox in Sacramento

The Sacramento Kings are parting ways with head coach Mike Brown, per ESPN's Shams Charania.

A little more than six months after he signed an extension through the 2027 campaign, Brown has been fired by the 13-18 Kings. Sacramento, angling for the postseason and pressured by a restless De'Aaron Fox, will look to chart a new path forward.

Brown led Sacramento to the postseason in 2023 — a landmark accomplishment — but wound up in the Play-In Tournament last season and currently has the Kings in 12th place. With Fox's future coming into question and an expensive roster consistently falling flat in crunch time, there wasn't much else for Sacramento to do. An experienced and oft-successful coach, nobody can doubt Brown's credentials. One can, however, doubt how much sway Brown's voice held in the locker room.

The question now becomes, can Sacramento convince Fox to stick around long term? The answer will determine the arc of basketball's most perplexing organization.

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Kings fire Mike Brown out of desperation; De'Aaron Fox might be next out the door

The circumstances around Brown's departure are ominous at best. Sacramento clearly did not handle this in the best possible way.

Brown's firing is rooted, on the surface, in Sacramento's poor record in a competitive conference. Most teams don't fire their coach less than halfway through the first season of a contract extension, though. Something greater spurred the Kings front office into action. One can't help put point to the recent buzz surrounding De'Aaron Fox.

Just last week, Fox's agent, Rich Paul, met with Kings leadership to discuss the direction of the organization. Fox is in the penultimate year of his contract, and we know how much power the Klutch Sports apparatus can wield in league circles. Fox has expressed his affection for Sacramento on countless occasions, but he has also purposely propped the door open for a departure. Here's what he said in a recent appearance on Draymond Green's podcast.

"It all has to do with the team, the organization, where are we going. I want to make sure that we’re in a position to try and win in the future because that’s ultimately what I want to do. I know I’ll make enough money regardless of where I play or what I do, I’m going to be fine." (h/t MSN)

Green is, of course, another Klutch client. All the dots connect. If Fox is anxious and uncertain about the future in Sacramento, the Kings are going to move heaven and earth to convince him that the ship is sailing smoothly, and that the future is bright. The Kings aren't short on talent — Domantas Sabonis is putting up comical numbers and DeMar DeRozan is a rock-solid third wheel — but it just hasn't meshed this season. Something is off.

This excerpt of a recent report from Anthony Slater and Sam Amick of The Athletic feels particularly damning in retrospect.

"This reality, unwelcome though it might be, sits under the surface of an increasingly urgent moment for a win-now operation that hasn’t won enough to feel comfortable of late. Kings coach Mike Brown, who has routinely held detailed postgame news briefings to explain the nuanced gameplan mistakes his team repetitively makes, has admitted he is “searching” for the right message or adjustment that might turn this season around quickly."

If the Kings can ride a wave of redemption under new leadership, that may be enough to appease Fox. If their downward spiral continues, however, don't be surprised if Fox trade rumors gain steam ahead of the Feb. 6 deadline. Things are not trending in the right direction.