The Sacramento Kings are putting more effort into head coach Mike Brown.
literally.
Brown agreed to a contract extension that will double his salary from $4 million to $8.5 million for the 2024-25 season. His agent, Warren Legarey, told ESPN:.
The deal also reportedly includes two years of $8.5 million in guaranteed money to support Brown through the 2026-27 season.
The timing is a bit odd, considering this comes a year after Brown led the Kings to a breakout success.
His first year in charge Brown was named NBA Coach of the Year for 2022-23. He led the Kings to 48 wins in the regular season (the most since 2004-05) and ended a 16-year playoff drought.
For the encore, the Kings were still very good by the standards of two decades of misery.
The Kings finished with a 46-36 record and the ninth seed in the crowded Western Conference.
They beat the Warriors in the play-in tournament, but then lost to the Pelicans in a win-or-lose game.
Brown, 54, is a two-time Coach of the Year winner, winning the award in each of his first two stints with the Cavaliers.
During this time, he served as head coach of the Lakers for a short period of time.
Add all of this together and you get a career record of 441 wins and 286 losses.
The extension is between what the Kings offered Brown ($7 million per year) and what Brown was seeking earlier this month ($10 million per year). According to The Athletic.
The contract also includes bonuses that could raise it to whatever Brown is asking for.
The two sides reportedly briefly halted talks before returning to the negotiating table.
Brown’s deal is just the latest in a string of big contracts recently signed by NBA coaches, including Monty Williams with the Pistons, Gregg Popovich with the Spurs, Steve Kerr with the Warriors, Erik Spoelstra with the Heat and Ty Lue with the Clippers.
Brown has won four championship rings as an assistant coach (one with the Spurs and three with the Warriors).
