3 Potential free agent Sacramento Kings targets with ties to Mike Brown
By Mat Issa
The dirty little secret about the NBA is that it isn't that different from the real world. And in the real world, it pays to know people. At the end of the day, the people playing this beautiful game of ours are human beings, and as such, they tend to gravitate toward the individuals they are familiar with.
Now that the Sacramento Kings and Head Coach Mike Brown have figured out his contract situation, the team can now lean on his expansive rolodex of player connections (he's been coaching in the NBA since 1997) to get a competitive advantage in free agency this summer.
So, without further ado, here are three players with ties to Brown that the Kings could look to target in free agency this offseason.
Malik Monk
In my opinion, retaining Malik Monk (an unrestricted free agent) should be the Kings' number one priority this offseason. Last year, Monk finished second in the Sixth Man of the Year Voting and performed like one of the best combo guards in basketball.
After spending his first five seasons struggling to find his footing, Monk has blossomed over the last two years in Sacramento, and a big reason for this has been the guidance of Brown.
Brown, who was an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs during the 2000s, copied some of the techniques Gregg Popovich used for harnessing Manu Ginobili (his sixth man) in order to get the most out of Monk.
The Athletic's Anthony Slater did a great job of chronicling the relationship between Monk and Brown. Surely, that bond could be leveraged in order to ensure that Monk stays in Sacramento.