NBA News: Why The Sacramento Kings Fired Michael Malone On His Second Season

Coach Michael Malone was recently fired by the Sacramento Kings.

In a Yahoo! Sports report, Malone was informed about the decision on December 14. Tyrone Corbin will serve as interim coach, most likely until the end of the 2014-2015 NBA regular season. There are also talks that Kings general manager Pete D' Alessandro will attempt to acquire coach George Karl.

In the past year, Malone and the Kings management have been on shaky ground. Owner Vivek Ranadive and D' Allesandro wanted the Kings to take on a faster style of play. The Kings looked like a contender for the 2015 playoffs by starting 9-6 in the season. However, DeMarcus Cousins had viral meningitis and the Kings have lost seven of their past nine games.

CBS Sports reported that Malone refused to play a more up-tempo game and had disagreements with management on personnel transactions. The Kings previously failed to bid to trade for Josh Smith of the Detroit Pistons during the summer and although the Kings management wanted to acquire a lead assistant for Malone with more experience, Malone decided to get his close friend and former Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin.

In an NBA.com article, D'Alessandro said on December 15, "It wasn't about wins and losses. I don't really care what our record was. It's really about who we want to be, what we want our identity to be as a team." He continued, "Philosophically we needed to make a decision. What are we going to do, how are we going to play."

He described Malone as a "great defensive coach" and that the Kings had to make a change by acquiring a coach who can bring the team to the next level. He added, "The message is we're not done. We're going to keep doing everything there is. We're going to keep making tough decisions. That's what we're here for."

Ultimately, CBS Sports reported that the misunderstanding between Malone and ownership put him in a dire situation with Ranadive, who might have realized that he made a mistake in hiring Malone after one season. Aside from George Karl, Alvin Gentry and Chris Mullin were also considered as likely candidates to take the place of Malone. Karl and Gentry are expected to work well with Ranadive and Karl and D'Alessandro were a good team when Karl was coaching the Denver Nuggets. Mullin, on the other hand, has strong ties with Ranadive.