SACRAMENTO, Calif. — De’Aaron Fox did not get Mike Brown fired. And someone not named De’Aaron Fox needs to say it.
It has been nearly a week since the Kings made the controversial decision to jettison their well-respected coach, with interim coach Doug Christie winning his second game in three tries on Wednesday night and owner Vivek Ranadivé finally returning to his courtside seat at Golden 1 Center after being MIA for Monday’s win over the Dallas Mavericks. All this time later, Fox is still facing speculation — both within the league and in the media — that he played a pivotal part in the decision.
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Yet, according to team and league sources, he did not. And since the Kings haven’t held a news conference to discuss such matters, with Ranadivé the one who should take accountability for the choice rather than general manager Monte McNair, the rumor has lived on amid all this organizational silence. As if Fox’s situation wasn’t sensitive enough already, with strong indications that his long-term future in Sacramento is in serious peril, it appears the handling of the coaching change has only made matters worse.
The writing is still on the wall, only in bigger and bolder letters now. And if anything, the Kangz-y nature of the Brown-to-Christie move might have made it even easier for Fox to eventually push his way out.
When the Kings fired Brown on Friday, letting him conduct practice and media duties before informing him of the decision via phone as he drove to the airport for the team’s road trip, there was no shortage of social media sleuths who assumed that the franchise guard was at fault. Not only was Fox’s frustration with his Kings existence already well known, but he had been the last one seen speaking to Brown in any substantive way after practice — and before that final call from the team’s front office was made.
Add in the fact that Brown had been highly critical of Fox the night before, when Fox’s defensive lapse against Detroit cost the Kings the game and sparked criticism from his coach in the postgame news conference, and all the signs seemed to be pointing in one direction.
Fox has defended himself in recent days, both on X and in an interview with ESPN. League sources confirmed his stance, with Brown himself known to believe that Fox had nothing to do with the decision and that Ranadivé was the driving force behind it.
If the Kings were going to write a script for how to turn Fox into a sympathetic figure in this whole fiasco, this would be it. Fire the well-respected coach in an unprofessional manner, thereby invoking the fury of his peers and reviving the perception that the organization is poorly run. Handle the public fallout poorly, with no news conference to explain the decision to these fans who have seen eight head coaches in Ranadivé’s 12 years at the helm. Leave Christie and Kings players — Fox chief among them — to speak on the uncomfortable matter while facing all the criticism.
While league sources say Fox has not asked for a trade, that hasn’t stopped interested teams from planning for a possible run at the 27-year-old former All-Star. Among interested teams, there is a strong belief that Fox is more likely to be available this summer rather than before the Feb. 6 trade deadline.
The San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers top the list of teams that are most often discussed as possible Fox landing spots, with others sure to make a run at him if (when?) he’s truly on the market.
The Orlando Magic, for example, are known to be contemplating a pursuit. The Houston Rockets, who want to analyze their current core through this season but could be in the market for another All-Star-caliber player this summer, are also known to be intrigued by the idea of partnering with Fox, who is a Houston native. Make no mistake, though: the Spurs noise is the loudest.
For now, with the Kings (15-19) sitting 12th in the West, team sources say they are focusing on improving the current roster while shutting down any and all inquiries regarding Fox. Specifically, the Kings are known to have had extensive talks with the Brooklyn Nets about small forward Cam Johnson. There is an internal awareness that the roster needs to be improved, and the Johnson pursuit is just one of many avenues the Kings are known to be exploring.
For Fox’s part, he continued to play at an All-Star level against the Joel Embiid-less Sixers on Wednesday night. He hit 13 of 16 shots, finishing with 35 points, three rebounds and four assists. Fox had 14 fourth-quarter points, hitting six of seven shots in the period while bucking the Kings’ brutal trend of falling apart late in close games.
It was a second-straight spirit lifter for the Kings, who had quite the Kumbaya moment afterward when Christie led them onto the roof of their home building for a team meeting and a closer look at the beloved beam. But before the Kings can truly move forward, Ranadivé needs to publicly explain why this choice was made and bring an end to all the mystery that has surrounded the move.
Fox shouldn’t have faced this fire alone.
(Photo of De’Aaron Fox with Kings interim coach Doug Christie and assistant Luke Loucks: Darren Yamashita / Imagn Images)
