Written by Sam Amick at USAToday.com
The Sacramento Kings have hired former Memphis Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger as their new head coach, the team announced Monday.
Joerger agreed to a four-year, $16 million contract, a person with knowledge of the terms of the deal told USA TODAY Sports. The deal has a team option in the fourth season. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the terms had not yet been announced.
Joerger, a 42-year-old who rose through the ranks of the NBA Development League before joining the Grizzlies as an assistant in 2007, was fired by Memphis on Saturday in large part because of his interest in this Kings position that he wasted no time in landing. With the dynamic between Joerger and the Grizzlies’ front office clearly fraying over time, it was the second time in three offseasons that Joerger had shown an interest in a position other than the one he held.
The process moved quickly, as Joerger met with the Kings on Sunday. And for once, a Kings organization that has copyrighted chaos in these past few seasons appears to have benefited from another team’s turmoil.
Joerger becomes the Kings’ ninth coach since their last winning coach, Rick Adelman, was shown the door in 2006. And while the Kings did well to land a capable coach, one who led the Grizzlies to a third straight playoff berth this season despite a ridiculous rash of injuries, the prospect of turning it around is, in NBA terms, a Noah’s Ark kind of challenge.
The Kings, whose postseason-less streak is a decade long now, had a 33-49 record last season that hardly told the whole story. The since-fired George Karl and franchise centerpiece DeMarcus Cousins clashed early and often, and president of basketball operations Vlade Divac came close to firing his embattled head coach in early February. From this offseason and beyond, the key question now is whether the Kings continue to try and build around Cousins or perhaps send him packing either this summer or before the Feb. trade deadline.
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