The New York Knicks’ lone visit of the season to Golden 1 Center had some added juice on Wednesday night as Mike Brown made his return to California’s capital.
Brown joined the Sacramento Kings in the 2022-23 season, where he earned unanimous Coach of the Year honors for his part in leading De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis to the playoffs, snapping a 16-season organizational postseason drought.
Winning 48 games that season and earning the third seed was encouraging, as evidenced by their 46-win season the following year, which resulted in a play-in loss. Hesitant to extend Brown before coming to an eventual agreement, the Kings fired their head coach just 31 games into the season.
Doug Christie, who was an assistant under Brown (not by choice), took over, and the Kings eventually suffered another play-in loss. Brown found a new home as head coach of the New York Knicks, fresh off their Eastern Conference Finals appearance, which began this season. Plenty of his assistants relocated as well.
“There were a lot of great memories that we had here, you know, I can, I’d even say off the floor,” Brown said before Wednesday’s game. He mentioned that his stepdaughter’s best friend still lives in the area and that he used to attend local high school football games.
“At the end of the day, I enjoyed my time here, and I enjoyed the people here,” he continued. “But I’m extremely excited about the Knicks and what this group has gone and what our opportunities are going forward.
As is the nature of pregame availabilities, Brown and Christie both made it clear they were focused on winning that night’s matchup. When asked his thoughts on the current state of the Kings, Brown highlighted their last two wins against the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers.
Sacramento went on to lead for all but roughly 90 seconds of the action, securing a 112-101 win and their first three-game win streak of the season.
At the point of Brown’s firing, Sacramento had a 13-18 record. Following their win over the Knicks, Christie’s group is 11-30. They’ve been dealt an unfortunate hand with injuries, but it’s safe to say that Brown got an upgraded roster.
And he doesn’t seem to hold onto any hard feelings about the departure.
“At the end of the day, you can only control what you control, and it’s not that much in our business,” Brown said. “No matter what job that I had, when I got fired, if I got fired, I’ve always been appreciative of the opportunity.”
“Every opportunity you get as an individual, you try to embrace it, and you try to do the best you can. And sometimes it may not be good enough, but again, like I said, sometimes it may be out of your control, but then you move on to the next step. And so for me, you know, I don’t dwell on it and think about this or think about that. It is. I appreciate the opportunity I had here, and I’m excited about the opportunity at New York. That’s kind of how I look at.”
More Sacramento Kings coverage on Sactown Sports
As the clock struck midnight and Wednesday turned to Thursday, Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga became trade-eligible.
Just a few hours later, Kuminga–who hasn’t appeared in a game since December 18th amid tension with head coach Steve Kerr–requested a trade out of the Bay Area, per ESPN’s Anthony Slater.
So, what’s next for the Jonathan Kuminga saga?
The Athletic‘s Sam Amick joined The Carmichael Dave Show with Jason Ross on Thursday to share his intel on where things stand with Kuminga and the Warriors as he becomes available via trade and forecast if the Sacramento Kings are still in the thick of interested teams that want to trade for the forward.
Kuminga, who went through a lengthy stalemate with Golden State during the offseason as a restricted free agent, finally signed a two-year, $46.8 million deal (team-option for 2026-27) with the mindset that he would be moved down the line, potentially as soon as the upcoming trade deadline (February 5th).
On the day Kuminga became trade-eligible, his representation formally requested a trade out of the Bay Area–but according to Amick, this isn’t all that out of the ordinary.
Read More:
Sam Amick on the Kings’ pursuit of Kuminga, being uninterested in Morant
When is the next Sacramento Kings game?
Sacramento will continue a season-long seven-game homestand on Friday night when it faces former second-overall pick Marvin Bagley III and the Washington Wizards at Golden 1 Center.
Bagley is averaging 9.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game on 62 percent shooting from the field for the Wizards this season.
Be sure to catch all of the Sacramento Kings vs. Washington Wizards action right here on Sactown Sports 1140 AM, with pregame coverage beginning at 5:30 PM PT on Game Night before a 7:00 pm PT tip-off from downtown Sacramento.
Upcoming Sacramento Kings schedule for the 2025-26 season
Friday, January 16th – vs. Washington Wizards – 7:00 PM PT
Sunday, January 18th – vs. Portland Trail Blazers – 6:00 PM PT
Tuesday, January 20th – vs. Miami Heat – 7:00 PM PT
Wednesday, January 21st – vs. Toronto Raptors – 7:00 PM PT
Friday, January 23rd – @ Cleveland Cavaliers – 4:30 PM PT
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