In an interview with ESPN that was published on Friday, just hours before his return to Sacramento, San Antonio Spurs—and former Kings—guard De'Aaron Fox said that he warned his former team about firing then-head coach Mike Brown prior to his trade to San Antonio in February.
"I was like, 'Yo, I've been here for going on my eighth year. If Mike gets fired, I'll be going on my fifth coach,'" Fox told ESPN's Michael C. Wright. "And I told them, 'I'm not going to play for another coach. I'm going to play for another team.' "
After a 13–18 start to the year and in the midst of a five-game losing streak, the Kings fired Brown on December 27. Just a day before his firing, Brown had publicly called out Fox for his role in a one-point loss to the Detroit Pistons. Sacramento blew a 10-point lead, with the Kings' fate sealed after Fox fouled Pistons guard Jaden Ivey on a three-point attempt, leading to a four-point play.
Many pointed to Brown's public criticism of Fox as a sign of a frayed relationship between the two, but Fox, days after Brown's ouster, denied there was any animosity between he and his former coach.
But, as Wright goes on to add, there was certainly some animosity between Fox and the Kings organization, as the star player took exception to how Brown's dismissal was handled.
"You fire the coach, and you don't do an interview?" Fox said. "So, all the blame was on me. Did it weigh on me? No. I don't give a f---. But the fact y'all are supposed to be protecting your player and y'all let that happen. ... I felt at the time the organization didn't have my back."
So, with an unhappy Fox's intention to not play for a fifth coach in Sacramento made clear, the Kings ultimately decided their best option was to trade the former All-Star guard. Fox was dealt to the Spurs in a three-team trade ahead of the league's trade deadline.
On Friday night, Fox will take on his former team for the first time since the deal in what figures to be an emotion-filled night for the talented guard.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as De'Aaron Fox Gave Kings Stark Warning About Firing Mike Brown Before Spurs Trade .
