The Sacramento Kings have gotten off to their best start with a 10-10 record since the 2005-06 NBA season. With a savvy head coach in Dave Joerger and an outstanding group of young players, the Kings seem to have finally figured it out.
Unfortunately, for Sacramento, no season comes without despair and this season isn’t any different. In mid-November, Chris B. Haynes of Yahoo Sports first reported that there was a ‘disagreement’ between Dave Joerger and the Kings’ organization.
The disconnect came from the organization’s frustration with how Joerger distributed minutes to the team’s young players, according to reports. The team quickly voiced confidence and support for Joerger.
Now, it appears that tensions between the organization and the head coach have risen again. Thursday afternoon, Sam Amick of the Athletic reported that the relationship between Kings’ assistant GM Brandon Williams and Joerger have been getting worse by the day.
Amick reported that Joerger believes Williams has been working to replace him for some time, working against the head coach internally.
As The Athletic reported on Nov. 19, Joerger has long been of the belief that Kings assistant general manager Brandon Williams would like to replace him as coach and was, in essence, working against him internally.
Amick also reported that Joerger asked for Williams not to be at Thursday’s shootaround prior to the Kings’ nationally televised game against the Los Angeles Clippers in Sacramento.
According to sources, Joerger on Thursday asked that Williams not be present for the team’s shoot-around in advance of the Kings’ home game against the Clippers.
According to reports, the dismissal was a one-time-only decision that was meant to send a message to the team’s players. Encouraging them to unite and fight for themselves in the NBA business.
What’s more, a source with knowledge of Joerger’s thinking said the choice to ask Williams to leave shoot-around was a one-time-only move that was intended to send a message to his players about their team’s unity and the need to fight for yourself in this NBA business.
Just minutes after the initial release of the story, Vlade Divac once again played peacemaker for the organization asking that the front office and coaching staff not to focus on drama and rumors, but instead focus on the development of the young core, also according to Amick.
Kings GM Vlade Divac issues a statement re: our story…
“I have advised my front office and coaching staff to not focus on drama and rumors, but instead to focus on continuing to develop our young and exciting team. And that’s what we’re going to do.” https://t.co/pC7NlRS4Q1— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) November 29, 2018
Hopefully, the Kings can figure this out and avoid another abysmal season. Giving the faithful fans of Sacramento what they deserve, a functional, winning organization. Until then, the organization has to find a way to calm things down before yet another promising season goes down the drain.
