Sacramento Kings continue to try and replace void left by Jordi Fernandez

The Sacramento Kings and head coach Mike Brown continue their mission of trying to fill the void by Jordi Fernandez and the other coaches that went with him (more on this in a moment) by adding new assistants to their staff.

On Thursday, it was reported that Jim Moran was the latest addition to this crusade.

Moran has been coaching since 2013, where he got his start as a developmental coach with the Maine Red Claws (now known as the Maine Celtics – the NBA G League affiliate of the World Champion Boston Celtics).

After a year there, he then moved on to a role as an associate video coordinator for the Portland Trail Blazers. From there, he transitioned to a role as a full-time assistant coach with the Blazers – a position he kept from 2015 to 2021.

From 2021 to 2023, he was an assistant coach on Dwane Casey's staff with the Detroit Pistons. When Casey switched to a front office role at the end of the 2023 season, Moran got his first head coaching job as the first ever head coach of the Rip City Remix (the Trail Blazers' G League affiliate). And he must have performed admirably in that role, as Brown liked him enough to add him to his staff for this upcoming season.

In June, Brown signed a lucrative extension that would keep him with our Kings through the 2026-27 season, making him one of the highest paid coaches in the NBA.

Jordi Fernandez Will Be Missed

Fernandez was one of the most highly regarded assistants in the league last season. So much so that he was named the Brooklyn Nets' 24th-ever head coach in April. Fernandez is known for his defensive wizardry, helping catapult the Kings from the 25th-ranked defense in 2022-23 to the 14th-ranked unit in 2023-24 (despite no drastic changes in personnel).

So far, Fernandez has taken two of Brown's assistants with him: Dutch Gaitley and Deividas Dulkys.

Before coaching, Moran spent a decade playing professional ball in Spain for CB Gran Canaria (from 2001 to 2011).