Just 12 hours after the finale of the Sacramento Kings’ season, sweeping moves are being made across the team’s front office, and Dave Joerger’s dismissal is the biggest news of them all.
After the Sacramento Kings most successful season in 13 years, in which they improved their win total by 12 games, the housecleaning comes as somewhat of a shock.
For months, however, there have been rumblings and speculations regarding Dave Joerger’s job security, citing his questionable in-game rotations and rocky relationship with the front office. The move comes as a surprise, but certainly not out of nowhere.
Roughly an hour before the news broke on Joerger, sources announced that the Kings would be firing assistant GM Brandon Williams, whose unstable relationship with Joerger had been made public early in the season. Williams’ dismissal seemed to make Joerger’s job a bit more secure, a notion that was ousted by Adrian Wojnarowski’s tweet regarding Joeger’s ultimate fate with the franchise.
Who Is Next?
So who takes Joerger’s place on the bench? There are already speculations about who the best candidates are to fill the role, though the situation is fluid.
The three most prominent names to be thrown around in the early hours of the coaching search are Ettore Messina, Monty Williams, and Luke Walton.
Messina is the Spurs assistant coach and has been since 2014. He is a four-time EuroLeague champion, as well as Greg Popovich’s preferred replacement when he took a leave of absence.
Monty Williams is currently an assistant on the 76ers staff but has five years of head coaching experience, all with the New Orleans Pelicans from 2010 to 2015. He finished with an overall record of 173-221 and led New Orleans to the playoffs in two of his five seasons.
Luke Walton has yet to be fired by the Lakers, though that decision seems imminent. Despite his very underwhelming tenure in Los Angeles, it is thought that he is a coveted man for the Sacramento job, given his ties to the Warriors and owner Vivek Ranadive.
The offseason promises to be an eventful one in Sacramento. Buckle up, Kings fans. It is about to be a wild ride.