Kings working to extend contracts for Joerger’s assistant coaches

The Kings are on the verge of making a move that would signal the organization’s intention to keep Dave Joerger and his coaching staff in place for at least one more season.

A league source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Bee the team is in the process of picking up options on Joerger’s assistant coaches for the 2019-20 season, which would align their contracts with his. The source was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. An announcement could be made in the coming days. The story was first reported Sunday by the Athletic’s Sam Amick.

Joerger is under contract for next season, but assistants Elston Turner, Bryan Gates, Duane Ticknor, Bob Thornton, Jason March, Larry Lewis, Bobby Jackson, Phil Ricci (a Galt High graduate and the former Galt coach) and Dan Hartfield have been working without a guarantee for 2019-20. The Kings picked up the fourth-year option on Joerger’s contract and extended general manager Vlade Divac’s deal in September 2017, securing the services of both men through the end of next season.

Much of Joerger’s coaching staff has been together since he took the job in Sacramento in 2016. Turner, Thornton, March, Ticknor and Hartfield worked with Joerger when he was coaching the Memphis Grizzlies.

The staff’s future was called into question in November when a Yahoo Sports report suggested Joerger’s job could be in jeopardy due to his handling of some of the team’s younger players, most notably rookie big men Marvin Bagley III and Harry Giles III. The story alluded to front-office frustration with Joerger’s allocation of minutes, noting he preferred to play veterans over developing young players, particularly in crunch-time situations.