Report: De’Aaron Fox was ‘continuously being singled out’ by Mike Brown

The Sacramento Kings parted ways with head coach Mike Brown earlier this month, and former NBA guard Lou Williams provided some insight as to why the decision was made.

“So, I’m hearing there was just some pushback from how De’Aaron Fox was continuously being singled out,” Williams said. “Whether it was publicly or behind the scenes, where the players just didn’t agree with their sentiment.”

Fox, a former All-Star, is averaging 26.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game this season while shooting 48.1 percent from the field and 32.2 percent from beyond the arc.

A big piece of the Kings’ future, it appears that the organization may have moved on from Brown to avoid upsetting the star guard and potentially losing him down the line.

However, Williams shared that it wasn’t just the issues with Fox that could have led to this decision.

“I was even hearing whispers that there was a situation where he might have asked or suggested that even DeMar DeRozan come off the bench,” Williams said. “And those things proved to be severe missteps in an already challenging season.”

The Kings made a major move in the offseason, executing a sign-and-trade to acquire DeRozan from the Chicago Bulls. The franchise made the move to make a push for a playoff spot, but instead the Kings have gotten off to a 13-19 start this season and have lost each of their last six games.

DeRozan is averaging 20.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game while shooting 48.9 percent from the field. While the six-time All-Star is playing well, things haven’t gone as smoothly as Sacramento were likely hoping for in the 2024-25 season.

Williams shared that the Kings were forced to choose between Brown or their star players at this point in the season.

“It put the front office in a position where they had to side with either the All-Star talent they have or to part ways with their former Coach of the Year, who had a brand new three-year extension,” he said. “And ultimately, they chose to go with the players.”

Chandler Parsons also shared that there were some “personality traits” with Brown that were an issue in the Kings’ locker room.

Brown was the NBA’s Coach of the Year in the 2022-23 season, as he led the Kings to a 48-34 record. Sacramento earned the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference that season, but it was eliminated from the playoffs in the first round by the Golden State Warriors.

Last season, the Kings won 46 games, but they failed to make the postseason in a tough Western Conference, losing in the play-in tournament.

Brown has been the head coach for the Kings, Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers in his career, compiling a 454-305 regular season record. He’s a two-time Coach of the Year and was an assistant for the Golden State Warriors for multiple of their title runs under head coach Steve Kerr.