SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Kings general manager Monte McNair and his staff have narrowed down their list of candidates as they prepare to move into the next phase of Sacramento’s coaching search.
A league source told The Sacramento Bee the Kings were notifying candidates Saturday after selecting Golden State Warriors assistant Mike Brown, Brooklyn Nets advisor Steve Clifford and ESPN analyst Mark Jackson as finalists for the job.
Brown, Clifford and Jackson were among seven known candidates who participated in a first round of virtual interviews over the past several days. The others were New Orleans Pelicans coaching advisor Mike D’Antoni; Bucks assistants Darvin Ham and Charles Lee; and Boston Celtics assistant Will Hardy.
Finalists will move on to a second round of in-person interviews with the Kings, who are seeking their 12th head coach in 16 years since their NBA-record playoff drought began.
Brown, 52, was one of the first names to surface when the Kings fired Luke Walton in November and again when they relieved interim coach Alvin Gentry of his coaching duties on April 11. Brown is in his sixth season as Steve Kerr’s lead assistant with the Warriors. Brown oversaw Golden State’s offense for several years, but now he is responsible for the team’s defense, which finished second in the NBA this season in defensive rating (106.6), second in opponent field-goal percentage (.438) and third in opponent points per game (105.5).
Brown amassed a record of 347-216 (.616) as a head coach over eight seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers. He coached six playoff teams with four conference semifinals appearances, two conference finals appearances and one trip to the NBA Finals, where the LeBron James-led Cavaliers lost to the San Antonio Spurs in 2007.
Clifford, 60, is another defensive minded coach who worked his way up through the high school and college coaching ranks. He got his first NBA coaching opportunity as an assistant with the New York Knicks from 2001-03.
Clifford later worked as an assistant with the Houston Rockets (2003-07), Orlando Magic (2007-12) and Lakers (2012-13). He served as head coach of the Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets from 2013-18 and Magic from 2018-21. Clifford established a defensive mindset in Charlotte, helping the Bobcats/Hornets go from one of the worst defensive teams in the league to one of the top five. He engineered a 22-game improvement in his first season, leading the Bobcats to the playoffs in 2014 and 2016.
Clifford’s teams reached the playoffs four times in his eight seasons in Charlotte and Orlando, but they never advanced beyond the first round. Orlando let him go after finishing 21-51 in 2020-21. Clifford has a career record of 292-345 (.458).
Jackson, 57, has worked as an ESPN game analyst since 2014. He coached the Warriors from 2011-14, compiling a 121-109 record with two playoff appearances in three seasons.
The first season was a struggle. Golden State went 23-43 during the lockout shortened 2011-12 season, but then Jackson made good on his promise to improve the team’s defense and make the Warriors a playoff contender. They went 47-35 in 2012-13, advancing to the Western Conference semifinals in their first playoff appearance since 2007.
The Warriors improved to 51-31 in 2013-14, their first 50-win season in 20 years, but they were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round, falling in seven games to the Los Angeles Clippers. Jackson was fired when the season ended. The Warriors thanked Jackson for helping them become a playoff team, but they brought in Kerr to replace him, saying they needed someone else to make them a championship contender.
