NBA Coach on the Hot Seat: Doug Christie of the Sacramento Kings

Doug Christie (YouTube)

It is fair to say there is a crisis in Sacramento. Heading into the season, there was an expectation that the Kings would be competitive because they had an experienced unit.

How much experience? Well, heading into the season, the Kings were the second oldest team in the NBA at 30.2 years of age. The oldest team was the Los Angeles Clippers at 30 years and four months per age.

Well, in most team sports, when you have a veteran group, there is pressure for the general manager to make a coaching change, or there is pressure from ownership to fire management. The Kings have now lost 13 straight games. During this stretch, they have been outscored by 137 points.

Sacramento is the worst team in the NBA. With a record of 12 wins and 43 losses, the Kings have a winning percentage of .218.

This is also the longest losing streak the Kings franchise has had while the team has been in Sacramento. When the Kings were the Cincinnati Royals, they lost 14 straight games on two occasions. The first time came during the 1959-60 season, and the second came during the 1971-72 season.

At the trade deadline, it was a bit of a surprise the Kings were unable to trade 36-year-old DeMar DeRozan or 37-year-old Russell Westbrook. They did trade 32-year-old Denis Schroder to the Cleveland Cavaliers, but only got marginally younger when they got 28-year-old De’Andre Hunter in return.

The question in Sacramento is, how long do the Kings fan base have to watch in agony before hey fire head coach Doug Christie? My answer is it should not be for much longer.