The Sacramento Kings need to have a plan ready if Doug Christie doesn’t last beyond the next couple of seasons, and the list of possible replacements starts with a simple reality: the current setup does not inspire much confidence. Christie still has two years left on his deal, though 2027-2028 is a team option, which means 2026-2027 could end up being his final year in Sacramento if the front office decides it has seen enough.
There are options out there, and the search doesn’t have to be limited to one type of coach. The Kings could lean toward a veteran voice, a developmental specialist, a proven winner, or someone already familiar with the organization. Just not Doc Rivers.
Tom Thibodeau would bring the kind of hard-edged structure that has defined his long run as an NBA coach dating back to 1981. Fired by the Knicks after 2024-2025, he was replaced by recently fired Kings head coach Mike Brown in a twist that feels hard to ignore. Thibodeau is notorious for working his starters hard, but he also brings discipline and accountability in a way few coaches can match.
Johnnie Bryant offers a different lane entirely. He went undrafted in 2007 after playing college basketball, then worked his way into the league as a coach.
Over the last 12 years, he has held assistant or associate roles with the Jazz, Knicks and Cavaliers, and he has built a reputation for helping young stars grow. Donovan Mitchell, Damian Lillard and Jalen Brunson are all part of that resume, and someone like Darius Acuff Jr. could benefit from the same kind of guidance.
Michael Malone is another name with real weight behind it. Denver let him go with three games left in the 2024-2025 regular season and the playoffs still ahead, a stunning ending for a coach who had just led the Nuggets to their first and only NBA championship in 2023. Malone’s teams are built around defense, accountability and the basics done right, and he has always leaned into a player-first approach.
Chris Quinn has quietly put together a strong coaching résumé of his own. A former player in both the NBA and Europe, he spent most of his American playing career with the Heat before moving into coaching.
Over 11 years, most of them in Miami under Eric Spoelstra, he has become one of the league’s top head-coaching candidates. Sacramento could be the place where he finally gets the chance to make a bigger name for himself.
At the top of the list sits Rex Kalamian, a veteran assistant who has been around the NBA since 1995. He has coached for several teams and also spent two separate stretches on the Kings’ staff, giving him both the experience and the familiarity that matter in a job like this. With his broad background and deep knowledge of the game, this may be the right opening for Kalamian to step into a head coaching role.
In Other News...
Kings Could Have A Rare Shot At The Bench Scorer They Need
Keldon Johnson has become the kind of bench scorer every contender and playoff hopeful keeps an eye on, especially after making the move from starter to highly effective sixth man in San Antonio. He has settled into a role that lets him attack second units, and the payoff was clear enough when he earned the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award in 2026.
For Sacramento, the appeal is obvious if the opportunity ever opens. The Kings have long been in search of reliable scoring punch off the bench, and Johnsons profile fits that need cleanly, but the path would depend on how his future is handled in San Antonio and whether he ever reaches the market at the right time. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Offense Has One Fix If The Beam Team Is Coming Back
The Kings built their reputation on pace, spacing and shot-making when they put together one of the most explosive offenses in league history in 2022-23, but last season the attack lost its edge and slid near the bottom of the NBA. A big part of the problem was simple enough to see on the floor: the lineup had too many unreliable perimeter threats, which made the offense easier to load up against and harder to sustain over a full season.
Now the hope in Sacramento is that the math starts to look more like it did during the Beam Team surge. Russell Westbrook and DeMar DeRozan are gone, the rookies should help bring more balance, and Keegan Murray remains the clearest internal swing factor if he can get back to the form that made him such a dangerous shooter early in his career. If the Kings are going to climb back toward contender level, the fix may start with the same shot that once made them so hard to guard. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Fans May Hate How Familiar This Davion Mitchell Story Feels
Davion Mitchell is back in the spotlight again, and for Kings fans, the whole thing probably sounds a little too familiar. Sacramento moved on from him in the 2024 offseason as the front office reshaped the roster, and now hes in Miami with a chance to play a bigger role after another change of scenery. The talk around him has started to shift from what he wasnt in Sacramento to what he might become somewhere else, which is exactly the kind of storyline that tends to linger in the background when a team is trying to rework its point guard picture.
For the Kings, the timing only adds to the sting because they are still trying to rebuild that position under new management. They drafted Darius Acuff Jr. and are clearly searching for stability, but Mitchells latest move is a reminder of how difficult it can be to know when patience ends and regret begins. If he does take off in Miami, it will invite the same uncomfortable question Sacramento has been asking itself for a while: was this always coming, or did the Kings just move on one step too soon? [Read more 🡒]