Doug Christie Says the Seat Is Always Hot at 1-11: What the Kings Are Actually Weighing
Sacramento is 1-11. That ties the worst 12-game start in franchise history. The 0-7 home record is the worst home start the Kings have had since the franchise moved to Sacramento, worse than the 1984-85 and 1990-91 teams that used to be the benchmarks for this kind of misery.
After Friday’s 120-107 loss to Portland at Golden 1 Center, a fifth straight defeat, Doug Christie was asked about his own job security.
“I think this seat is hot, always,” he said, per Logan Struck of Sacramento Kings On SI. “Nobody wants to win more than me, from the standpoint that the record doesn’t go on players’ numbers. The record goes on coaches’ numbers. We come in and continue to teach, continue to push.”
He is right about whose numbers carry the record. He is also in the final guaranteed year of his contract, which is the detail that makes the next three months interesting.
The Front Office Would Rather Not
Sam Amick, speaking on Sactown Sports 1140’s Carmichael Dave show, laid out the organization’s preference without much ambiguity. “The messaging is, preferably for them, would be no move all season long,” Amick said. “Then, we’ll just see how ugly it gets and whether or not they can kind of withstand that pain.”
The reason is a rookie guard. Amick said the Kings “are sensitive to the idea that Darius Acuff Jr. potentially would have three different head coaches,” adding, “They don’t want that.”
Acuff, the No. 7 pick out of Arkansas, is the only thing working in Sacramento. Through 11 games he averaged 26.2 points and 7.3 assists, ninth in the NBA in scoring, and his 288 points over his first 11 games were the most by a rookie in that stretch since Michael Jordan scored 289 in 1984. The front office believes it has found a franchise player. It does not want him cycling through a third voice before his second season.
There Is No Obvious Replacement
Amick said the appetite to slide assistant Mike Woodson into the chair does not appear to be there. Sacramento’s recent coaching history also works against it: this is the organization that moved on from Michael Malone, Dave Joerger and Mike Brown, and Malone went on to win a title in Denver. Outside candidates notice that pattern. Amick’s own read on the whole thing was the most honest line of the week: “I have no idea where this is going to go.”
The Roster Is Not Built to Save Him
Ben Simmons is out for the season after surgery on a torn right Achilles. Maxime Raynaud is out with a right patellar subluxation and gets re-evaluated this week. Precious Achiuwa is day to day with an ankle. Keegan Murray is day to day with an illness, having just returned to the starting lineup against Portland for the first time since the second game of the season.
Sacramento ranks 27th in offensive rating, 27th in defensive rating and 28th in net rating at minus 12.7. Zach LaVine and Domantas Sabonis are both in trade speculation ahead of February. The preseason over-under on this team was 21.5 wins, and the Kings are losing at a rate that undershoots even that.
What Firing Him Would Actually Buy
Very little. Christie is 50-95 overall and 23-71 since the interim tag came off, and those numbers get coaches fired in most situations. This situation is different because nothing on the roster improves if the voice changes. The injuries will not heal any faster for a new staff, and Acuff does not need a fourth system in two years.
Scott Perry, the general manager who signed Christie to a three-year deal with a non-guaranteed third season, told reporters at media day in September that his mandate was to “compete while we continue the building process.” A team that is 1-11 and 0-7 at home is not competing. A new coach in November does not change that either.
Murray said it best after Portland. “The fans deserve a lot better than this,” he said. “We have one of the best fanbases in the world.” Both statements are true. Neither one gets solved by a press release.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
