Theus out, Natt in

The Sacramento Kings fired former head coach Reggie Theus on Monday, promoting assistant coach Kenny Natt to interim head coach.

Theus, who compiled a 44-62 record in his tenure as Kings head coach, was fired after a disappointing 6-18 start. Many criticized his defensive scheme, as the Kings, as of Sunday, were giving up 106.1 points a game, 28th in the NBA. The Kings were also ranked 28th in opponents’ field goal percentage, at 48 percent, according to ESPN.

In his first season as head coach, many thought Theus overachieved, leading the Kings to a 38-44 record, a respectable record considering how tough the western conference was, with eight teams winning 50 or more games.

Before this season started, there was talk that Theus wanted to implement the triangle offense, which he felt would bring out the most in his young roster. However, the team struggled with the concept, as the team never found its identity on offense.

Theus took a lot of heat earlier this season as the Kings lost several close games. So far this year, the Kings have lost four games by two points or less.

Natt, who won his first game as head coach against Minnesota Monday night, had been a Kings’ assistant coach since Theus was hired. Prior to that, he spent three seasons as a Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach, and also nine seasons as assistant coach with the Utah Jazz, according to NBA.com.

It will be interesting to see how the team responds to Natt, and which direction Natt wants to take with this team. Conventional wisdom suggests he will play the young guys (Jason Thompson, Spencer Hawes, Donte Greene, Bobby Brown), to develop for the future, and in turn take minutes away from veterans such as Mikki Moore and Brad Miller.

This team is a couple years away from being a playoff contender, but giving the young guns some burn wouldn’t hurt at this point.