As the Sacramento Kings continued to struggle, Mike Brown became increasingly stern in his postgame news conferences. Those messages Brown was sending through the media began to wear on some players and played a part in the decision to fire him, sources tell The Athletic.
Brown's final postgame press conference was largely directed at De'Aaron Fox and came a few days after his future with the franchise came into question.
Reporters spotted Brown speaking with Fox for an extended discussion after Friday's practice, which game approximately 90 minutes before he was fired by the Kings.
“When you go through adverse times, you know who was truly there for you,” Brown said in his final media session as Kings head coach. “People will jump off the bandwagon quick. The support, wherever it may come from, it may not always be there. But that’s part of what I have to deal with, not just from myself but holding everyone together. I’m OK with anybody criticizing me. I get paid to handle that. I get paid to get us through this. But whether it’s anyone that’s close — staff, players, friends, family — you’ll be able to tell who jumped off when we had some trying times. You always remember that as you go forward because you know who is truly in the foxhole with you and who is not. But at the end of the day, you best believe I’m going to handle all the smoke no matter where that smoke comes from. That’s what I’m paid to do.”
