New Kings coach Mike Brown on Sabonis-Fox duo: 'A top-three combination in the league' / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: ZP - Scanpix Credit ZP - Scanpix

Mike Brown was introduced as the new Sacramento Kings head coach.

Free throws this season

77%17,9Points made:17,9Accuracy:76,8%Place in standings:7Record max:31Record min:8Most made FTs:Harrison BarnesTeamNBAStatisticsSchedule

The introductory press conference was heavily attended by the media, but particularly by Kings' staff and players. Davion Mitchell, De'Aaron Fox, Terence Davis, Richaun Holmes, Alvin Gentry, and Doug Christie, among others, appeared in the room.

The Kings have missed the playoffs for 16 consecutive seasons, the longest drought in NBA history. Sacramento fired third-year head coach Luke Walton early in the past season after the Kings started 6-11. Interim bench boss Alvin Gentry was not retained after the Kings finished 24-41.

Brown took Sacramento's problems head-on when introduced as Kings coach.

"There ain't no elephant in the room," he said. "You can speak on it. We're going to embrace that. I'm not coming here to have fun, be excited, or join the area. I'm coming here to win. So we're going to embrace anything that's in front of us that talks about winning."

Coach Brown is coming from the Golden State Warriors bench to take the lead of the Kings. He will be expected to make some serious changes in Sacramento to help them grow into a winning culture.

"It's about winning, and when you taste that, it's addicting and I want more of it. There's just a lot of opportunity here for this place to explode, and I want to be a part of it.

I'm excited about being here. The fan base is tremendous. I remember back in the day, those damn cowbells used to ring in my ear and drive me crazy. I hope we get back to that point because I want to hear those cowbells every game," he told.

New Sacramento Kings' head coach said he thinks that De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis have one of the three best two-man games in the league.

Domantas Sabonis

MIN:34.45PTS:18.89 (62.24%)REB:12.15As:5.21ST:0.95BL:0.44TO:3.13GM:62ProfileNBA2021/2022

"As a tandem in the pick and roll, they are very very good," he spoke. "Probably a top-three combination in the league right now, so that's a gift. With Fox's speed and Sabonis' ability to pass, it just gives you different ways to play the game of basketball.

I am a firm believer in paint touches and you get paint touches in a lot of ways, you put Sabonis in the post and he facilitates from there. Anytime you get a paint touch, you collapse the defense and can facilitate from there. You can also spread the floor out, tell Fox to get in that paint, finish or distribute. I am excited about those two guys doing a lot of different things offensively."

Last but not least, Mike Brown detailed his 3 areas of focus to build on the winning mentality.

"There has to be a vertical and horizontal alignment of trust within all the units of an organization. It's not just about basketball, it's the business side, it's the medical side, it's the players, it's the coaching staff – there's got to be a level of trust.

There has to be a set of values on the table that are led and upheld by the leadership of this organization, starting with me. Eventually, it will get to the internal part of the group, which is our players too, the leaders within our group of players too.

Then thirdly, there has to be an embracement of your role. Everybody will understand what their role is. I'm not just talking about our 15 or 17 players, everybody in the organization, from the business side to the front office, again will know what their role is and they'll embrace it.

If those three elements come together and come together at a high level, we'll have a winning culture here that is sustainable and long-lasting."

Brown, former head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers, owns a 347-216 record as a head coach, including two 60-win seasons with Cleveland when LeBron James was in his mid-20s.

The 52-year-old has worked on Golden State's staff since 2016 and was part of three Warriors title teams (2017, 2018, 2022).

Brown also helped Gregg Popovich's staff to an NBA title with the 2003 San Antonio Spurs and was named NBA Coach of the Year with Cleveland in 2009.

In addition to his NBA duties, Brown is in charge of the Nigerian men's national basketball team and coached them in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Full press conference:

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