OK Coach, first and foremost,
trade deadline is out of the
way and obviously the general
manager of the front office,
they handle everything.
You focus on what's on the floor.
But is there a sense of relief?
And I imagine there is
amongst the players too.
Once that 12:00 o'clock
you went to reach 1201,
you know your team is here especially
with the lack of moves this year.
Is there a sense of relief knowing
that it's out of the way that
distraction is gone and now you
can focus on basketball again?
Yeah. And the biggest reason why
and you know, guys are human,
you know and and I say this all the time,
a lot of people look at.
Guys in the NBA or NFL or these elite
athletes as guys that can take care or
handle anything or everything because
they're getting paid that much money
or because they're put on a pedestal.
But they're human at the end of the day.
And and there are emotions during
this time that sometimes you,
you have a hard time controlling,
you know, whether you like it
here or you don't like it here.
Especially if you have a family and
your family likes it here and you got
kids and stuff in school and all that.
So to be able to get that.
Worry or distraction off of
everybody's plate and be able to
move past it is a huge thing.
Dearon, fox, Damonte, Sabonis.
First time the Kings have
had two All Stars since 2004.
But I wanna pose this question
and a focus on the team and
less on the two of them.
Although you've been a big advocate
for the two of them getting the
recognition that they deserve.
But when you have two All
Stars selected from your team,
how does that positively reflect
on what the other guys are doing
and what you're building here?
It's huge because you know they
couldn't have done it by themselves.
You know their teammates have to make shots.
Have to set screens from,
have to run the floor for them.
Have to space the floor crap.
I mean all these little things there
teammates have to do in order for them to
have success at a high level, it is there.
And so their teammates have a lot to do
with the success that they're having
as individuals or the recognition
that they're getting as individuals.
And and we talked about that
today and and Thomas and Foxy,
they're very good.
They understand that they're
extremely supportive of their
teammates just like it's vice versa.
And it's a recognition that not just
those two guys can share us going there,
but myself, the rest of our staff,
because even our staff is part
of what you're saying.
Those guys work hard with those
guys and they've been working
hard since the summer time.
You know,
Doug Christie went with Thomas to Lithuania,
you know, during camp and all that.
And and Luke spent most of the summer
with with Foxy down in San Diego.
So all those guys from their teammates
to the staff work extremely hard and
trying to see that, not only that.
Supposed to succeed, but everybody else.
And when you get individual recognition
at the highest level like they have,
we all are able to puff our
chest just a little bit,
a little bit more.
You've spoken multiple times
this season about wanting to get
this group to learn how to win,
and they had to have to kind of learn
how to win at the highest level.
And of course people
think getting experience,
getting playoff experience,
and hopefully they get that.
But what about the experience of
these final 28 games where you have
teams that have been there before
that have the rosters that they have?
Chomping at your heels and you
have to kind of sustain or maintain
where you're at in a playoff race.
How valuable is that experience to this
team taking themselves to the next level?
It's huge. I tell our guys this all the time.
I truly believe, and some people
may disagree with me, but I truly
believe it's easy to get into the mix.
It's easy to to send into the mix
as long as you know, you play hard,
you're organized, you try to compete,
you try to do things the right way,
and you get a little lucky.
Plus, you're healthy.
If you do those things,
you have a chance to get into the mix.
Now once you're in the mix and people
are trying to take you down from there
because they want to be there or they
know that you could be a threat,
so they're going to even play
that much harder against you.
Now this is where to me,
the season really begins.
You know, going into the break,
everybody kind of lets their guard
down a little bit because guys want
to spend a few days with their family
here or there or whatever they that
they may be tired mentally, physically,
they want a little rest and so.
Us, we've been talking about it as a group.
We can't let our guard down.
We're not in position to do that right now.
Going into the break now,
the break happens and then after the
break that's when the real stuff happens.
That's where the big boys step up
and they play the game to win.
You're going to have less guys
sitting out because of rest.
You're going to have more guys
gunning at you for 48 minutes,
then maybe playing two quarters and seeing
what happens at the end of the game,
especially if you're sitting in
the spot that we're in, so.
I'm excited to see how we respond
the rest of this break,
the rest of these games before the break,
but more importantly coming out of
the break because teams are now ready
to start their season and fight these
last 28 games to jockey for position.
And then on top of the last thing
I would say the teams that know
they don't have a chance,
that's when the basketball is
really bad for those teams.
So we may have a couple of games
that we should be able to win,
but the rest of them,
they're about as real as they can
get until you get into the playoffs.
I wanna go back to when you were
assessing your your interest in
this job and and accepting this job.
We've heard Darren say multiple times
part of the reason why he wants to be
here is he wants to be part of that
team that ends the playoff drought.
And I'm sure you and this roster are sick
of talking about that playoff drought
you haven't been a part of to this point.
But I'm curious, has it dawned on you
or have you thought about it all,
the feeling of redemption for the city or
being a part of the group that finally
snaps that long playoff drought and brings?
Playoff basketball back here to Sacramento.
Yeah you think about that.
But also I I want everybody to know that
that I didn't whether we've had been
in the playoffs in three years or 10
years or one year or we were last year.
I like I didn't that wasn't my
sole purpose for coming here or
the biggest reason for coming.
I came here to win and not
to break any whack.
It just it just so happens we're we we can
do this you know and all that other stuff.
But my intention.
Of day one is to win.
And just like, you know, some people say ohh,
you gotta do is make the playoffs.
No, no, no,
I'm not coming here for that, you know?
And our guys aren't thinking that way too.
We're trying to win at the highest level,
and then when we get to the playoffs,
we're trying to advance because we want to
win a championship just like everybody else,
you know?
Now, if it doesn't happen,
will we be disappointed?
Yes. But having said that,
I also know that even right now
we have a lot of room to grow,
and that's what makes this
really exciting for the fans.
And all that.
Yeah, they deserve, you know,
us to be in the playoffs and you know you
feel the excitement when you're around town,
a lot of that.
So to for them breaking that streak, yeah,
because I I'm in love with Sacramento.
And so that's part of that.
But not for me individually.
For me,
it's about going out and winning
and winning at the highest level.
And I think I I think,
I believe our guys feel that
way too right now.
And Speaking of the fans,
you've experienced every fan base over
the course of your career multiple times.
Have coached for many different fan
bases and been a part of those teams.
What is it about Sacramento's fan base
that makes them unique or different?
Specific to this is Sacramento basketball,
and nobody else can replicate
what Sacramento basketball is.
It's the passion. The passion is
it's unbelievable and it's real,
you know, and it's you know,
there are some markets out there
that are passionate about their
team because it's cliche or what,
you know, whatever.
It's the cool thing to do,
you know, around town, but.
This fan base is strictly
about being passionate.
For this team,
because they want this team to be
able to represent them in front of
a national audience or in front of
the rest of the US and they want
everybody to know that people in
Sacramento not only are great people,
but they're passionate about whatever
we put forth forward as a city,
and we want people to take notice.
Is there anything about Sacramento?
And it doesn't have to be with
the organization or the fan base,
but just Sacramento, period.
That surprised you now that you are a
citizen and now that this is your home.
No, I, you know, I again, I I said
this earlier in an earlier interview,
I, I have friends that live here.
And when I was living down in San Francisco,
they tell me all the time that, you know,
Sacramento is a great city and you know,
coming up here you can feel a little bit.
But I am.
I hope nobody takes offense to this,
but I am really surprised at how
great a city it is. I mean it's again,
I thought it was a good city and my
friends thought it was a great city,
but this is a big, big, big time.
Betty and myself and my family
have enjoyed it from day one,
and we hope we can be here a long
time and be a part of the community.
Well, if I can get into the weeds,
a little bit of the year of coaching
philosophy, you have the respect
of the players to where you can,
whether it's publicly or privately,
call them out, coach them up, do what
you need to do to hold them accountable.
And in the modern NBA,
where it's so player driven and star driven,
I imagine it's not always easy
to get that respect. What?
How what does a coach do in the
modern NBA to not only earn
the year of the locker room,
but establish the relationship with the
players that you have here where not
only do they want to be held accountable,
they want to be coached by you.
But at first thing is, you know,
I always feel like when when you're
getting or when you're beginning
a relationship with somebody,
especially on the NBA level,
it's not always about basketball, you know?
And and so when I.
Talk to these guys.
Initially it wasn't basketball,
basketball, basketball.
I I don't think I said anything to them.
I might have gone on the court twice.
From when I took the job until
training camp and said something
to the group or team or whatever,
for the most part I just sat and watched.
And then when they got done
working out or whatever,
I talked to them about their families,
how they're feeling, you know,
about the rest of their teammates.
But not nothing external or anything
like that because I genuinely,
genuinely wanted them to know
that I want to get to know you 1st
instead of starting work with you.
Right now it's not even time to work
and so establishing that friendship.
Initially builds respect.
And when respect starts to build,
that's when,
especially if you're consistent
with the way you hey,
that's when the trust happens.
And so, so for me,
more than anything else,
it doesn't always have to be about
basketball with those guys and
it puts them more at ease and it
allows them to trust you a little
bit more and then over time.
You just tell them the truth and not
only do you tell them the truth,
but you also tell your best players
the truth in front of them.
And if a guy like Thomas is
allowing me to coach him,
or a guy like Fox,
he is allowing me to coach him or even HB,
who's one of the championship,
then everybody else kind of has
to fall in line.
And so I'm an equal opportunity
guy when it comes to coaching guys,
and I don't take none of it personal.
If they need to say something back to me,
say it.
Let's get it all out on the table
and then move on from there.
So I think they understand that
they feel that and that helps
a lot when it comes to me being
direct and or coaching them hard.
One
of the most surprising parts
of this season has been the
success of the team on the road.
The only or the best Rd.
record in the Western Conference and
at least by my understanding that
is the sign of a of a good team is
having that success on the road.
How do you explain how this
team has been so successful and
managed to turn 7 game Rd.
trips where there's adversity into still
four and three or three and three during a.
Like game trip earlier in the season.
Where does that success
with this team come from?
At the end of the day,
I truly believe it comes from the
competitive nature. And you know,
things aren't gonna always go right.
You know, especially when
it comes to X's and O's.
They're going to be times when this
guy's tired or that guy's tired.
And if you are willing to
compete and you're deep,
especially when it comes to guys
that you can put out on the floor
that are willing to compete,
you're going to have a chance.
You're going to have a chance to win.
Almost any game,
whether you're at home or on the road.