Chris Mullin’s move to the Sacramento Kings’ bench still could happen -- next season.
The Sacramento Kings wanted Mullin to take their coaching vacancy now, lobbying the Brooklyn basketball legend, Hall of Famer and adviser to the team's owner to move to the bench in the wake of the firing of head coach Mike Malone on Sunday.
But even as Kings owner Vivek Ranadive tried his hardest to get Mullin to move into a coaching role for the first time in his post NBA-playing career, sending signals to team officials that Mullin was ready to take the post and would deploy an up-tempo offense the owner wants his team to play, all the pushing and prodding didn’t work in the end.
Mullin isn’t going to the bench to finish out the season, although he could wind up taking over the coaching duties after the season. According to league sources, Mullin felt he needed time to install his system and was hesitant to make a move to the bench at this point in the season.
“Look for this move next season when he can get a training camp and start fresh,’’ one source with knowledge of the Kings’ plans told NBC 4 New York on Wednesday.
NBC 4 New York reported Tuesday that the Kings had offered Mullin the job and were fully expecting that he would take over for Tyrone Corbin, who replaced Malone on an interim basis.
But as adviser to Ranadive since 2013, the former St. John’s star backed having Corbin finish out the season. Corbin coached the Utah Jazz the last three-plus seasons, posting a 112-146 record and never once making the playoffs.
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If he decides to coach, Mullin would like to incorporate some of the same unconventional offensive strategies that his former coach, Don Nelson, used when Mullin was a five-time All-Star with Golden State and went to the playoffs four times.
Longtime New York columnist Mitch Lawrence continues to write about pro basketball, as he’s done for the last 21 years. His columns for NBCNewYork.com on the Knicks, Brooklyn Nets and the NBA, along with other major sports, will appear twice weekly. Follow him on Twitter @Mitch _ Lawrence.
