Kings coach Mike Brown didn’t win the footrace, but he seemed to be winning hearts and minds on the first day of training camp Tuesday at the team’s Golden 1 Center practice facility.
Several players have cited Brown’s championship experience, wisdom, attention to detail and the way he has fostered relationships within the walls of Kings headquarters. Rookie Keegan Murray said he was impressed with the spirit and energy Brown brought to the floor.
“I knew coach Brown was going to bring energy and that’s exactly what he did,” Murray said. “I was happy to see that because that’s not something you normally get out of a head coach, so I thought that was pretty cool how he connected with his players today.”
The Kings ended practice with a simple shooting drill. If three players could make two free throws, practice was over. If anybody missed, everybody had to run, every time anyone missed.
This went on for a while. Players were huffing and puffing after running several sprints following a lengthy practice that went 90 minutes past the scheduled start of media availability. Brown offered his players another deal. If Alex Len could make two free throws, the coaches would run to conclude practice. If he missed, the players would have to run three more sets of sprints.
The players readily agreed, cheering Len as he stepped to the line. Len, who shot 65.1% at the stripe last season, rattled in both free throws to send the coaches on their way. Brown was the last to finish, although the others clearly got a head start because Brown had to run from halfcourt to the baseline before he could begin.
When practice was over, Brown talked about the importance of connectivity and uplifting teammates, saying togetherness can help teams handle adversity. When asked if it was possible to simulate adversity in training camp, Brown pointed to the free-throw drill.
“You can simulate it a little bit,” he said. “You know, those pressure free throws, and those guys missing it, how are they going to respond? Are they going to start cursing at teammates that miss the free throws or are they going to support them and be together, which they were at the end. I don’t even know what Alex shot at the free-throw line last year, but all of them supported him and said, ‘Yeah, let’s take the deal.’”
Brown said he wasn’t worried about the team’s poor free-throw shooting at the end of practice.
“We’ll figure it out,” he said. “That’s why we’re doing it.”
Besides, all that running could be beneficial. Brown said he plans to push the pace with point guards De’Aaron Fox and Davion Mitchell, and he will demand that the Kings run back on defense.
“We’ve got one of the fastest guys arguably in the game, shoot, in the history of the game, when you talk about De’Aaron Fox, so we’ve got to play to his strength,” Brown said. “Davion is extremely fast with the basketball, so we want to get out and run, but not only do we want to get out and run, we also don’t want to give up easy baskets, too, so we’ve got to get our behinds back on defense when it comes to transition defense as well.”
Veteran forward Harrison Barnes said Brown is quickly earning the full faith and trust of his players.
“One thing about coach Brown, he is a details guy,” Barnes said. “I think above anything else, we’re going to play hard, and he’s going to be about the details. I think when it starts there and it ends there, I think that’s going to go a long way, and I think guys are fully committed to buying into that.”
