As the 2018-19 season starts drawing to a close, Dave Joerger’s assistant coaches still haven’t had their contracts extended—that needs to change, and soon.
While Sacramento Kings Head Coach Dave Joerger is only locked up through next season (a topic for another day to be sure), his core group of assistants including Elston Turner, Bob Thornton, Bryan Gates, Duane Ticknor, Jason March, and Dan Hartfield are effectively working in lame duck status as their contracts have not been picked up yet for the upcoming 2019-2020 season and beyond. Vlade Divac could easily put the drama aside from the Brandon Williams incident and take a huge step towards continuity for a franchise looking towards a successful future.
After all, the assistant coaches probably spend more time with the players than any other faction of the organization. From day-to-day workouts, to working with the scouting staff and video coordinators, the assistants have played a huge role in the surprising success of the Sacramento Kings. They are a huge reason for this playoff push to end the 2018-2019 campaign.
Regardless of the outcome of the season’s final 23 games, Coach Joerger’s staff has done a phenomenal job this season while developing one the league’s youngest rosters. Watching the growth of the core group of youngsters that the Sacramento Kings march out on a night-to-night basis has Kings fans more than optimistic for the future.
With five rotation players in either their 1st or 2nd season in the league, the path to relevance seems to be much more likely than in the past. And that bright future should include the group of coaches that have helped shape this franchise trending in the right direction for the first time in over a decade. Do the right thing Vlade and keep this staff together by inking their deals today.