Christie refuses to give the Kings a ‘grace period’ after loss to Lakers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

It takes time to process the sudden firing of a head coach — and DeMar DeRozan can attest to that.

Less than 36 hours after the Kings fired Mike Brown, Sacramento fell to the LeBron James-less Los Angeles Lakers 132-122 on Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena, extending the team’s losing streak to six games.

And at the same time, he reminds the six-time NBA All-Star that the Kings’ locker room may not have had enough time to address general manager Monte McNair’s alleged decision.

“I mean, everything is kind of different because you’re used to coach Brown coming in and talking,” DeRozan told reporters. “Not seeing makes all the difference.

“I think everyone was in shock yesterday when we found out and kind of didn’t have time to let it sink in. It still hasn’t quite sunk in, probably tomorrow when we go in and watch a movie and everything. It’s hard to say at the moment.”

Brown, who led practice and spoke to the media on Friday, was scheduled to coach DeRozan and Co. on Saturday. That quickly changed when McNair fired the unanimous winner of the 2022-23 NBA Coach of the Year award after a 13:18 start.

With little time left, McNair turned to assistant coach and former Kings guard Doug Christie to take over as interim coach for the remainder of the 2024–25 NBA season.

Under Christie, the Kings allowed a whopping 40 points in the first quarter against the Lakers and even lost 20 points at the start of the fourth quarter.

But behind a fierce effort from star guard De’Aaron Fox and Co., Sacramento managed to cut the deficit to just six points before losing its footing again in the final minutes.

Despite the tough battle unfolding in Sacramento, Christie knows the Kings have enough talent to get back to winning ways – and he expects that to happen soon.

“First of all, we’ve had enough,” Christie said after the loss. “And that’s a message I told them.

“There’s enough in this locker room, but how we deal with it is something I’ve been talking about since I’ve been up here. The consistency, the focus, the willingness to play at such a high level for my teammate that it hurts so much that I have to come out of the game.

“This is more than anything. There’s enough in this locker room to win ballgames and it’s up to us, it’s up to me to find it. They are the best in the world. I try to put them in positions where they can shine, and that’s a big difference from being an assistant coach.”

Christie, who was known for his relentlessness and physicality during his playing days, expects his team to adopt a similarly hard-nosed style of play.

And while the Kings’ locker room isn’t yet aware that Brown is gone, Christie isn’t trying to make his way there easier.

He wants results. Soon.

“But I’m here for the challenge and I appreciate them for giving me everything,” Christie added. “But we will need the pain it brings again. And again. And again.

“Every time. There is no leeway there. And that’s probably the grace period you’re talking about, but I don’t accept grace periods. I expect us to win every time we step on the ballfield because there’s enough in the locker room to make that happen.”

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