The Sacramento Kings fired coach Mike Brown on Dec. 27, and they did not hold a press conference to explain the decision. Two weeks later, Kings general manager Monte McNair sat down for an almost-15-minute interview with NBC Sports Bay Area & California. The team’s play-by-play announcer, Mark Jones, asked the questions.
Jones did not ask McNair about the rationale for firing Brown. Jones did not even say Brown’s name. Fourteen minutes into the interview, in response to a question about interim coach Doug Christie — “What kind of organizational support do you throw behind him, in terms of him getting thrown into a situation like this? I mean, he’s a pro and he’s a former player, he’s familiar with the locker room, but what does it look like when you guys are supporting him and you guys are all aligned?” — McNair mentioned Brown …