Blame the coach. That's basically the motto for the NBA. When a franchise is in trouble, the first person to take the heat is always the coach, and they're the first person out the door when a change needs to be made. When it comes to Doug Christie on the Sacramento Kings, it's reality.
The Kings have been running through coaches like crazy for the past few years. Since Vivek Ranadive took control as co-owner, there have been nine different head coaches. That number does count interim coaches, though. If you remove them, then the Kings have had five head coaches since 2013.
It doesn't take a lot of examination to realize that this lack of consistency and continuity in such a key role is a major reason why the Kings are where they are. The franchise needs to find a head coach and commit to their vision for the long term. It just shouldn't be Doug Christie.
The era of Doug Christie "leading" the Kings needs to end
Allegedly, Christie's tenure is not going well behind the scenes. He is reportedly at odds with his biggest stars, and is dropping the ball on developing young talent. Keon Ellis and Devin Carter are prime examples of this problem.
Having them ride the bench after playing their best game of the season is almost criminally negligent by Christie. He claims to have a defensive vision, yet leaves two good defensive players on the bench. And his lineups are utter nonsense from a defensive perspective.
The offense is an even bigger mess. When Mike Brown ran the offense through Domantas Sabonis, his numbers were good and the team was performing at least marginally better. Christie has dropped that, replacing it with nothing and is simply not putting Sabonis to good use.
A Kings' rebuild under Christie will fail
Sacramento has needed this rebuild for years, even before Ranadive took over. The problem is that they now have a head coach who simply cannot see that through. Christie doesn't utilize the players he currently has correctly, and that's not going to change with a new-ish roster.
The major issue with Christie is his apparent unwillingness to make serious adjustments to his strategy. Dennis Schroder was obviously drowning as the starting point guard, yet Christie left him out there far longer than he should have before making a change. It's a pattern.
Unless an injury forces his hand, Christie just keeps soldiering forward whether the plan is working or not. That is not the kind of coach the Kings need in this rebuild. Whoever it is needs to be intuitive, flexible, and put the game ahead of their own ego. That's just not Doug Christie.