Day: December 28, 2024

Naji Marshall has received a four-game suspension, while Jusuf Nurkic will get a three-game suspension for their involvement in an on-court altercation. PJ Washington has received a one-game suspension.

The incident, which occurred with 9:02 remaining in the third quarter of the Mavericks’ 98-89 win over the Suns at Footprint Center on December 27, began after Nurkić committed an offensive foul. Marshall and Nurkić then engaged in an on-court altercation. Nurkic escalated it by swinging his arm and striking Marshall on top of his head. Marshall responded by throwing a punch that connected with Nurkic’s face. As the officials and other players attempted to diffuse the situation, Washington further escalated the altercation by shoving Nurkić to the floor. For their roles, Marshall, Nurkic and Washington were assessed technical fouls and ejected from the game.

Following the on-court incident, Marshall attempted to further engage Nurkic in a hostile manner in the corridor outside the locker rooms.

The decision by the Sacramento Kings to fire Mike Brown as head coach came from Monte McNair and not Vivek Ranadive, sources tell The Athletic. The decision was initially widely received around the NBA as a continuation of Ranadive’s tumultuous ownership of the Kings as they have now had eight coaches in 12 years.

“This was a difficult decision and I want to thank Mike for his many contributions to the organization,” McNair said in a late Friday news release.

Brown and the Kings had a strained negotiation on a contract extension last offseason. The Kings missed the playoffs after they were the No. 3 seed in 2023. Ranadive reportedly obsessed over the Kings falling from first in the NBA in offensive efficiency to 13th. Brown, however, was focused on improved their defense as it climbed from 24th to 14th.

The Sacramento Kings are not planning on conducting an in-season coaching search and will give Doug Christie the opportunity to prove he is worth consideration for the job long-term, sources tell The Athletic.

Christie was elevated to interim head coach following the dismissal of Mike Brown. Christie met with the Kings’ front office immediately after Brown was fired and accepted their offer a promotion on an interim basis.

Christie left ahead of Jay Triano, who has prior head coaching experience.

Christie is the eighth head coach of the Kings in Vivek Ranadive’s 12 years of control.