Nuggets coach Michael Malone fires Mike Brown and criticizes: “No class, no balls”
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Nuggets coach Michael Malone fires Mike Brown and criticizes: “No class, no balls”

Posted on by Amelia Pressman

Mike Brown was fired as head coach of the Sacramento Kings on Friday, just 31 games into his third season (with a 13-18 record) and six months after signing a three-year contract extension.

Several of Brown’s colleagues expressed their thoughts when asked by reporters for their reactions. Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone was particularly vocal since he was fired by the Kings in 2015 just 24 games into his second season as head coach.

“I’m not surprised that Mike Brown was fired because I was fired by the same person,” Malone said, presumably referring to Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé.

Malone said he was surprised at first, but then wasn’t because of the harsh realities of being an NBA head coach. Success is attributed to the players, while failures are ultimately blamed on the coach.

“No classes, no balls,” he added, pointing out that the Kings had fired Brown over the phone as he drove to the airport. “That’s what I say.”

Brooklyn Nets coach Jordi Fernandez was an assistant to Malone in Denver and an associate head coach with the Kings the past two seasons before becoming head coach.

“He is very good at what he does. In my opinion, one of the best,” Fernandez said of Michael Scotto before Friday’s game with the San Antonio Spurs. “Without him I wouldn’t be here. This is sad news. I don’t like them. That’s part of the business. A year and a half ago he was coach of the year and now this situation is happening.”

As Fernandez pointed out, Brown won the NBA Coach of the Year award for leading the Kings to a 48-34 record and a playoff berth. (It was his second time winning the award.) Overall, he finished in Sacramento with a record of 107–88.

Before his team’s game against the Boston Celtics, Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle expressed his support for his former assistant. Brown was a member of the Carlisle Pacers squad during the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons.

“It was just shocking to me,” Carlisle told reporters, via Daniel Donabedian of ClutchPoints. “I had the privilege of working with Mike when I was first head coach at Indiana. I consider him to be one of the role models of integrity in our profession.”

“I’m just absolutely shocked that this decision has been made,” he added. “He will definitely land on his feet. When you look at the work he’s done and the turnaround they’ve made, it’s really hard to believe.”

Brown helped lead the turnaround in 18 games in his first season, going from 30-52 under Luke Walton and interim coach Alvin Gentry to a 48-34 record and first place in the Pacific Division.

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