'No class, no ball': NBA coaches react to Kings firing two-time Coach of the Year Mike Brown

Just two years ago, Rick Carlisle publicly praised Mike Brown for the job he did to win the NBA Coach of the Year award.

And on Friday, Carlisle was among the coaches who reacted with disappointment to Brown's firing.

The Sacramento Kings fired Brown. On Friday, the team got off to a 13-18 start this season and fell to last place in the Western Conference. Despite back-to-back winning seasons, it was something the franchise hadn't done in nearly two decades.

“Today’s firing of Mike Brown was shocking to me and everyone in our profession – men and women alike,” said Carlisle, coach of the Indiana Pacers and longtime president of the National Basketball Coaches Association. said. “I had the privilege of working with Mike during my first days coaching at Indiana. I view him as one of the standard bearers for integrity in our profession, and I am truly shocked that such a decision was made. “

Carlisle wasn't alone on that front when he offered those sentiments without being asked to hold a pregame media session before the Pacers visit Boston on Friday night.

Denver coach Michael Malone, who was fired by Sacramento owner Vivek Ranadive in December 2014 and Brown was the sixth coach to hold the position in the decade since Malone left, did not hesitate about the news.

“As an NBA coach, you’re going to end up getting criticized,” Malone said. “If they win (Domantas) Sabonis And (De'Aaron) Fox. And if you lose, the money will go to Mike Brown. That's how it works.

“We have practice this morning, do some media work after practice, and then we’re heading to the airport to get in the car and fly to LA,” Malone added. “And they call him. No class, no balls. That’s what I’ll say about it.”

Orlando Magic coach Jamal Mosley said coaches understand the job is often a thankless one and they risk being fired if their team doesn't perform. He said it's not his place to discuss other teams' decisions, but he made it clear what he thinks of Brown as a coach and a person.

“He compiled a 107-88 record while he was there,” Mosley said. “He changed the culture a little bit in what he did. And I’m not saying this as a fellow coach. I’m saying this as a close friend. He was my mentor. And I know how good he is. How good he is. “I know he cares, and I know how he helped pave the way for so many people who are now in the game.”

Brown was a unanimous recipient of the 2022-23 NBA Coach of the Year award after his first season in Sacramento, where the Kings advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 2006. Of all 100 votes from a panel of reporters and broadcasters, Brown took first place. Ballot paper that year.

Less than two years later, he passed away.

New York Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau, who, like Brown, won the NBA Coach of the Year Award twice, said, “It's going to be hard to see.” “You know, that's part of what we go through. Mike is a great guy and a great coach. It's unfortunate.”

Sacramento's change is the NBA's ninth head coach change in 2024 alone, and the NBA's 300th change since Gregg Popovich, currently the league's longest-serving coach, took over as coach of San Antonio in 1996. Spurs during recovery from stroke.

Brown held four different jobs during that time. He was the head coach of Cleveland, then the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, then returned to Cleveland and held that position in Sacramento until Friday.

“He’s definitely going to land on his feet,” Carlisle said. “But when you look at what he's done and what he's done, it's really hard to believe that this decision was made. But obviously the team has the right to do this. It's their decision. But Mike is a great guy and a great basketball player anyway. no see.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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