I forgot to add this part and was going to edit it in but you probably won't see it if I do that so...
On the Mike Brown part of this, my opinion is that people need to learn the difference between process and results. No the defense Mike Brown had implemented was not one of the best in the league but it was still better than we've seen out of a Kings team in a very long time because there was enough continuity with him as Head Coach and the roster of players under him to earn player buy-in. We also never got to see him coach with a healthy Devin Carter -- one of our only plus perimeter defenders this season -- and he didn't have a legit backup C to sub in for Domas either.
Yes the buy-in was fraying as the losses mounted but a 5 or 6 game winning streak would have been enough to course correct and I felt all off-season that the roster wasn't finished to begin with so he was working with a flawed roster. I did want DeMar here but I was very clear about wanting DeMar plus a defensive big and the defensive big was the more important piece to get. I also fully expected DDR to move to the bench no later than next season. I strongly suspect Mike Brown agreed with both points but Monte wasn't able to make any meaningful roster moves happen until the trade deadline and somebody in the organization apparently overruled Coach on the DeMar as sixth man idea.
With some roster tweaks that defensive scheme could have worked. The end of game yips could have been smoothed out with a different mix of players on the floor closing out games. Mike Brown being all passive aggressive in the press conferences in retrospect might have something to do with his authority as the head coach being undermined behind the scenes. There were solutions which didn't involve going nuclear and nuking the coach, GM, team chemistry, and eventually the fan support in the process. But I guess that's not how this organization rolls. They haven't earned the right to get the benefit of the doubt from me.
On the Mike Brown part of this, my opinion is that people need to learn the difference between process and results. No the defense Mike Brown had implemented was not one of the best in the league but it was still better than we've seen out of a Kings team in a very long time because there was enough continuity with him as Head Coach and the roster of players under him to earn player buy-in. We also never got to see him coach with a healthy Devin Carter -- one of our only plus perimeter defenders this season -- and he didn't have a legit backup C to sub in for Domas either.
Yes the buy-in was fraying as the losses mounted but a 5 or 6 game winning streak would have been enough to course correct and I felt all off-season that the roster wasn't finished to begin with so he was working with a flawed roster. I did want DeMar here but I was very clear about wanting DeMar plus a defensive big and the defensive big was the more important piece to get. I also fully expected DDR to move to the bench no later than next season. I strongly suspect Mike Brown agreed with both points but Monte wasn't able to make any meaningful roster moves happen until the trade deadline and somebody in the organization apparently overruled Coach on the DeMar as sixth man idea.
With some roster tweaks that defensive scheme could have worked. The end of game yips could have been smoothed out with a different mix of players on the floor closing out games. Mike Brown being all passive aggressive in the press conferences in retrospect might have something to do with his authority as the head coach being undermined behind the scenes. There were solutions which didn't involve going nuclear and nuking the coach, GM, team chemistry, and eventually the fan support in the process. But I guess that's not how this organization rolls. They haven't earned the right to get the benefit of the doubt from me.
