If there are three words to describe Doug Christie's coaching style, they would be defense, defense, and defense. The problem in 2025-2026 was that he didn't have a roster designed for that ethos. Now, Scott Perry is putting together a group of defenders who could change minds about Christie.
The version of the Kings assembled under the direction of former general manager Monte McNair made no sense. It was a roster overloaded with shoot-first guards, few playmakers, and a complete lack of any defensive identity. Shockingly, that didn't lead to anything positive happening.
Keep in mind that this isn't the fault of the players involved in that mess. They weren't the ones who put the team together in the first place and tried to make the best of a bad situation. The crew of Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and others wasn't meant to work together.
Mike Brown took the heat for that poorly constructed roster failing and was fired. That directly led to Doug Christie being installed as the new head coach. But he was a first-time bench boss with a roster that was poorly balanced, constantly injured, and desperately needed to be rebuilt.
The new Kings are Christie's team
Things are looking a lot different these days. The roster has undergone significant changes over the past year, adding several defensive players who will better fit what Christie is trying to build. This hopefully means that fans will get a much clearer vision of what he's trying to accomplish.
Christie took a lot of heat last season for being too focused on defense and inflexible in both his goals and how he was putting them into action. Every one of those criticisms was completely fair. At many times, he seemed more concerned about sticking to his plans than trying to win.
At the same time, the makeup of the group he was working with made it difficult to get anything going. Once most of the veterans were injured, the rookies and newer players took control. When that happened, Christie's vision started to coalesce, and the Kings picked up some needed victories.
The changes Sacramento has made to their roster in the past few weeks will only improve that. The upcoming season will be the first time fans will get a real look at what Christie is trying to do with the Kings. But make no mistake that things will still likely get worse before they get better.
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