OAKLAND, Calif. – The Sacramento Kings have reached an agreement with Golden State Warriors assistant Mike Malone to be their head coach, a person familiar with the decision said Thursday night.
The person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly, said Malone was incoming owner Vivek Ranadive's top choice. Ranadive has been a minority owner of the Warriors the past three seasons and is in the final stages of closing a sale with the Maloof family to buy the Kings.
Malone's hiring officially ends Keith Smart's tenure as Sacramento's coach. Smart took over for the fired Paul Westphal in January 2012 and had one year remaining on his contract.
Yahoo Sports, which first reported the agreement, said Malone's deal is for four years and $9 million, with the fourth year being a team option.
Ranadive had promised to move swiftly in rebuilding the franchise that has missed the playoffs seven straight years. The NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved the sale of the Kings to the TIBCO Software chairman Tuesday, though the actual sale of the team to Ranadive's group — which will acquire a 65 percent controlling interests at a total franchise valuation of $535 million — still has to be completed.
Ranadive will sell his minority stake in the Warriors. He also still has to hire a general manager, a move that typically comes before finding a coach; the contract for president of basketball Geoff Petrie ends June 30.
Malone, the son of former NBA coach Brendan Malone, has been an assistant in the league for more than a decade and engineered defensive turnarounds at almost every stop — which includes the Warriors, New Orleans, Cleveland (2005-10) and the New York Knicks. He has interviewed for NBA coaching vacancies the past few seasons but never landed a top gig.
Malone worked under Mark Jackson the past two years with Golden State. The Warriors finished 47-35 this season, beat Denver in the first round of the playoffs and were eliminated by eventual Western Conference champion San Antonio in six games.
Malone inherits a talented young roster headlined by volatile center DeMarcus Cousins that has yet to blend — or play defense. The Kings went 28-54 last season, gaining more attention for the franchise's possible move to Seattle — which NBA owners rejected — than anything positive on the court.
The hiring of Malone hands Smart another difficult setback in his coaching career.
The Warriors, under then-new owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, decided not to extend Smart's contract after the longtime assistant hastily replaced Don Nelson before the 2010-11 season and led the franchise to a 36-46 record — a 10-game improvement from the previous year. Smart also had a stint as the Cavaliers' interim head coach for the final 40 games in 2003 after taking over for John Lucas. The Cavs drafted LeBron James with the No. 1 overall pick that summer.
Smart, the former Indiana guard best known for hitting "The Shot" against Syracuse to win the 1987 NCAA title, went 48-93 as Sacramento's coach. He is 93-170 in his coaching career.
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Antonio Gonzalez can be reached at: www.twitter.com/agonzalezAP
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