Sacramento Kings Rightly Moving Fast Toward Hiring Dave Joerger

Since the expected firing of George Karl, the Sacramento Kings have had an exhaustive search for a new head coach. Upon his firing by the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday, Dave Joerger met with the Kings on Sunday. Talks have reportedly moved quickly, with a three or four-year deal on the table depending on whose report you want to cite.

Joerger immediately became a candidate for any of the current available jobs, most notably the Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers and obviously the Kings. So it makes sense for the Kings to move quickly, with Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee reporting that Joerger is one of three finalists for the job and a meeting with owner Vivek Ranadive set for Monday (per Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical). That backs up ESPN’s Marc Stein’s most recent report that a second round of talks between the Kings and Joerger is set for Monday.

From Joerger’s side of things, the idea of working for a clueless and dysfunctional organization has to be a big red flag. That sets aside having to deal with noted coach killer DeMarcus Cousins, assuming the Kings don’t trade him this summer, which should be another concern for any new coach in Sacramento.

My best guess for Joerger’s high level of interest in the Kings’ job, assuming it exists, is that he is not a legitimate candidate for the Rockets or the Pacers right now. There is an argument for the luster of being one of the head coaches in any major sport and taking a significant financial offer when it comes. I think Joerger would be better off turning away Sacramento and taking an assistant coach opportunity somewhere if that’s what it comes to, but I don’t expect that to happen.