De’Aaron Fox didn’t necessarily force the Sacramento Kings to fire head coach Mike Brown on Friday, but he made it clear the next day that he’s not exactly heartbroken about the decision the organization made less than a week after Fox’s agent, Rich Paul, reportedly met with Kings management to grill them about their plans for his client and the team.
According to the reporting of Sam Amick and Anthony Slater of The Athletic in the aftermath of that sitdown, that meeting between Paul and Kings GM Monte McNair “was focused on an existential question that needs to be answered if this partnership that began eight seasons ago between Fox and the Kings is going to continue long term. What’s the plan here?”
We don’t know the answers Sacramento gave Paul and Klutch Sports, but less than a week later, we know that said plans don’t include Brown. And when Fox was asked on Saturday if he or any of his teammates felt guilty about their coach falling on the axe, the Kings All-Star didn’t sound all that sad about step one of the front office’s plan to turn the team’s 13-18 start around:
De’Aaron Fox when asked by a reporter if the Kings players feel “pressure or guilt” after Mike Brown’s dismissal: “I wouldn’t use the word ‘guilt.’ That’s the nature of the job that we have. Obviously him signing his extension this summer, we thought we would be together … (1/2)
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) December 28, 2024
“… a whole lot longer. But that’s the decision that they made. But at the end of the day too, he’s still getting paid. A great part of being an NBA player, being an NBA coach is those things can happen, but contracts are guaranteed”
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) December 28, 2024
Fox essentially responding to a question about if he feels bad his coach got fired by essentially saying why would I feel bad, he’s still getting paid? probably tells us all we need to know about the state of their relationship.
There is also additional context that indicates their relationship had grown icy. In the aftermath of Brown’s firing, Amick and Slater reported that part of the reason Brown was let go was that his “stern news conferences” where he called out players for defensive mistakes “were beginning to wear on some players,” and used a recent Brown postgame presser where he blasted Fox for a late foul that cost the Kings a tight game against the Pistons as an example.
Fox’s responses that night were similarly cool to his answer in the wake of his coach’s dismissal.
What did he see on the final play his coach was so upset about?
“It doesn’t really matter,” Fox said. “It’s not going to make anybody feel any better.”
And what had to change for the Kings?
“I don’t know,” Fox said.
Now we know what the first change will be, and while that’s not to say Fox or his reps directly asked the Kings to fire Brown… these quotes sure don’t make it seem like they would have said no if the Kings asked them for their opinion.
