As is often the case with this franchise, in the wake of yet another head coach firing I'm left wondering who the adults in the room are. Mike Brown has been consistently front and center in his approach since his first press conference. He put Fox on notice that he was going to be expecting a lot from him and his plan was to push him to be the best he can be because he saw superstar potential there. He's never been shy about demanding focus, effort, and leadership from all of his players. He told us that everyone on his team signs a paper at the start of the season stating that they agree to their role. This is exactly the level of leadership that was required in order to carry out one of the most challenging culture shifts in recent NBA history. And that's what earned him a unanimous Coach of the Year award for the 2022-2023 season.
Where I lose the thread here is that less than 2 years later somehow damn near everyone has apparently forgotten what the culture used to be in Sactown and erroneously concluded that we've solved that problem and Mike Brown's demanding no-compromises approach is no longer needed. This is a mistake. It's nonsensical to credit Coach Brown for changing the culture and then conclude that those changes will remain without his presence in the room. The only way to continue building in a positive direction is to keep the standards high and remove anyone who refuses to accept those standards.
But the decision has already been made so he's where I think we're at now. It's not going to be pretty...
At this point I think both Fox and Monk need to go if we want this to be a winning team again. They don't seem to take their jobs seriously or at least they feel they are above being coached. With the only voice pushing against their lackadaisical approach gone, it's only a matter of time before we lose the entire locker room. The front office siding with the star player in a player vs. coach standoff is nothing new but what's particularly alarming this time is that I think the coach was 100% right (his over-emphasis on three point shooting aside). What makes great teams great is accountability. Great players own their mistakes and work tirelessly to ensure they never make the same mistake twice.
I still think this team was a few pieces and an attitude adjustment away from figuring things out but that's all out the window now. The necessary attitude adjustment just became highly improbable if not impossible and while the lack of size and toughness can be corrected, getting the roster right feels beside the point when the core decision-making has already been compromised. We're dead in the water now unless Doug Christie is a Hall of Fame coach from day one. Here's hoping.