Big names emerge for Kings’ head coaching job

The Kings maintained a relative degree of radio silence over the past 10 days after announcing they were launching a search for a new head coach, but that changed Friday when an initial list of candidates was revealed.

Mike Brown, Steve Clifford, Mike D’Antoni, Darvin Ham, Will Hardy, Mark Jackson and Charles Lee are among the candidates who will interview with the Kings, sources told The Sacramento Bee, confirming reports from ESPN and The Athletic. The first round of interviews will be conducted virtually via Zoom beginning next week with in-person interviews to follow, sources said.

Twenty-four hours earlier, the Kings would not comment on their search process, timeline or candidate pool, but a source with knowledge of the situation said the job was attracting strong interest, and the team’s front office was working hard to conduct a thorough and comprehensive search. With few jobs expected to be available this summer, sources inside and outside the organization said the job has attracted heavy interest despite Sacramento’s NBA-record 16year playoff drought.

The Kings, Los Angeles Lakers and Charlotte Hornets are currently the only NBA teams with coaching vacancies. The Kings are looking to replace Alvin Gentry, who took over as interim head coach when Luke Walton was fired in November. The Lakers fired Frank Vogel on April 11, the same day Sacramento relieved Gentry of his coaching duties. The Hornets fired James Borrego on Friday.

Brown’s name has been linked to Sacramento’s search since the beginning. Brown respectfully declined to discuss any job openings when contacted by The Bee, but a league source said he would likely be interested in the position.

Brown, 52, is in his sixth season as Steve Kerr’s lead assistant with the Golden State Warriors. He oversaw the Warriors’ offense for years, but now he is in charge of their defense, which finished the regular season ranked No. 2 in the NBA in defensive rating (106.6), No. 2 in opponent field-goal percentage (.438) and No. 3 in opponent points per game (105.5).

Brown compiled a record of 347216 (.616) as a head coach over eight seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Lakers. He coached six playoff teams with four appearances in the conference semifinals, two appearances in the conference finals and one trip to the NBA Finals.

Clifford, 60, served as head coach of the Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets from 2013-18 and Orlando Magic from 2018-21. He also had stints as an assistant coach with the New York Knicks (200103), Houston Rockets (2003-07), Magic (2007-12) and Lakers (201213). He is currently working as a coaching consultant with the

Brooklyn Nets.

Clifford established a defensive mindset in Charlotte, helping the Bobcats/Hornets go from one of the worst defensive teams in the league to one of the top five. He engineered a 22-game improvement in his first season, leading the Bobcats to the playoffs in 2014. Charlotte won 48 games to reach the playoffs again in 2015-16.

Clifford’s teams reached the playoffs four times in his eight seasons in Charlotte and Orlando, but never advanced beyond the first round. He compiled a record of 292-345 (.458).

D’Antoni, 70, currently works as a coaching advisor for the New Orleans Pelicans. The two-time NBA coach of the Year has a 672527 (.560) record with 10 playoff appearances in 16 seasons with the Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns, Knicks, Lakers and Houston Rockets.

Ham, 48, serves as the lead assistant under Milwaukee Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer. He worked as an assistant with the Lakers (2011-13) and Atlanta Hawks (2013-18) before joining the Bucks in 2018.

Hardy, 34, is the youngest candidate on Sacramento’s preliminary list. He currently works as an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics. He spent 10 seasons with the San Antonio Spurs, where he started as a basketball operations intern and video coordinator before working his way up to an assistant coaching position under coach Gregg Popovich.

Jackson, 57, has worked as an ESPN game analyst since 2014. He coached the Warriors from 2011-14, compiling a 121-109 record with two playoff appearances in three seasons.

Lee, 37, spent four years as an assistant coach with the Hawks before going to Milwaukee, where he has spent the past four seasons as an assistant under Budenholzer.