Kings coach Doug Christie has a fan in unrestricted free agent Jake LaRavia.
“Me and Doug (Christie) kind of clicked pretty early, just because he liked the way I play,” LaRavia told Ben Pfeifer of Basketball Insiders. “He likes those energy guys... I thought I had a really good relationship with him.”
After the Kings decided to remove Christie’s interim tag and officially hire him as their newest coach on May 1, LaRavia said it gave him another reason to welcome a return to Sacramento.
“I had even told (the Kings) in the exit interviews that if they gave him (Christie) the head coaching job, I’d look forward to going back there even more," LaRavia said. "I really did enjoy being there in Sacramento, even outside of the coaches and the players, the fanbase there was amazing. I could see going back there as an option."
The trade for Zach LaVine made headlines last season, however the addition of LaRavia from the Memphis Grizzlies proved to fill a void that the Kings for years have had in the shape of a lengthy wing who can fill the 3-and-D position.
The 23-year-old averaged 6.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.3 assists while shooting 38.5 percent from 3-point range in 19 games with the Kings before a left thumb contusion forced him to miss the final 11 games of the season, including the team’s 120-106 play-in loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
LaRavia likely will garner a decent amount of attention from teams once NBA free agency kicks off on July 6, and while his tenure with the Kings was short-lived for the moment, the potential for a return clearly is an option.
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