"I wouldn’t use the word guilt" - De'Aaron Fox highlights silver lining for Mike Brown after Sacramento Kings' firing

De’Aaron Fox expressed his thoughts about the Sacramento Kings’ firing of former head coach Mike Brown. Fox, who is the longest-tenured player on the Kings roster, emphasized that the team does not feel guilt or pressure about the exit of their former head tactician.

The Kings superstar pointed out that the team will still owe Brown millions of dollars in the next few years after he signed a contract extension in the past offseason, even as the team fired him unceremoniously on Friday.

“I wouldn’t use the word ‘guilt.’ That’s the nature of the job that we have. Obviously him signing his extension this summer, we thought we would be together a whole lot longer,” Fox, who has been with the Kings for over eight years, said.

“But that’s the decision that they made. But at the end of the day too, he’s still getting paid. A great part of being an NBA player, being an NBA coach is those things can happen, but contracts are guaranteed,” he said.

Brown signed a multi-year contract with the Kings last June, requiring the team to pay him about $8.5 million annually through the 2026-27 season.

Brown made a mark in his two-and-a-half years with the Kings. He helped break the team's playoff drought in 2023, albeit losing to the Golden State Warriors in seven games in the first round.

The Kings also had increased expectations this season after adding former All-Star DeMar DeRozan, adding to a core headlined by Fox, center Domantas Sabonis, and youngster Keegan Murray.

No head coach has lasted for over three years with the Kings since Rick Adelman coached the franchise from 1998-2006. The Kings, whose franchise's last playoff appearance before Brown was in 2006, already had 10 head coach hirings in 18 years.

De’Aaron Fox had tensions before the Kings fired Mike Brown

According to a report by The Athletic’s Sam Amick and Anthony Slater, the team's star and coach Mike Brown had brewing tensions following the former coach’s postgame press conference after their tough loss against the Detroit Pistons.

“The stern news conferences were beginning to wear on some players, team sources said, and were part of the decision to part ways with Brown. His last postgame news conference, directed squarely at the team’s star guard, was delivered in the same week Fox appeared to be increasingly thinking about a future elsewhere,” the report said.

There have been rumors about the veteran star wanting out of Sacramento in the past months. During the offseason, he turned down a three-year extension worth over $165 million as he assessed the situation of the team this season.

The Kings currently sit 12th in the Western Conference with a 13-18 record.