I’m not even sure how I got here. One second I was watching the Kings lose to the Warriors 103–98 on a Sunday night, and the next second I’m staring at my phone like it’s a bomb about to go off, reading that Doug Christie is staying. The Kings are retaining their coach? After a 22-59 season? A 12-46 start? A team that looked like it was going to have to dig a tunnel just to find the bottom of the Western Conference? I’m sitting here with my mouth agape, left hand pressed against the side of my skull because this feels like one of those scenes in *The Godfather* where Michael Corleone is staring out at the ocean and realizes he’s buried himself so deep he can’t even remember how to breathe.
I said last week—after that disaster of a game where Maxime Raynaud looked more confused than Carmelo Anthony on his final night with the Knicks—that this team was like a sinking ship with everyone still trying to find their life jackets. And now, instead of cutting the captain and sending someone else out there, they’re just… keeping him? What is happening?
Let me be clear: I’m not against Doug Christie. Hell, when he first took over in December 2024, I thought maybe this was the moment. The guy had been around the league for years, had a good relationship with players like De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton, and there was a sense that maybe, just *maybe*, Sacramento could finally figure out how to build something. But then the injuries hit. Keegan Murray’s thumb ligament? Domantas Sabonis’s meniscus? Zach LaVine’s hand? It felt like a *Breaking Bad* episode where Walter White loses control of his meth empire in a single night, and everyone just stares at him like he’s a ghost.
And yet here we are. Scott Perry—this new GM who came in last summer with all the confidence of someone who thinks they’ve cracked the code on building through the draft and development—has decided that Christie deserves another shot. They say it’s because the young guys, Raynaud, Cardwell, and Clifford, are showing promise. That the team has gone 10-13 in their last 23 games. But let me ask you this: If you’re a GM who’s been through hell with a roster that looks like it was built by a drunk man at a pawn shop, do you really believe that giving your coach another chance is the answer?
This feels like one of those *Heat* scenes where Al Pacino and Robert De Niro are in the middle of a courtroom yelling at each other. “You didn’t give me enough time!” Christie’s probably saying. And Perry is like, “I know, I know, but we can’t afford to fire you because we have no idea what the hell we’re doing.”
And that’s the real issue here. Sacramento isn’t just retaining a coach—they’re retaining a *belief system*. A belief that this team, with all its dysfunction and injuries, can be fixed from within. That Christie is the guy who can turn it around without any drastic changes. But I’m not buying it. If this were the NBA version of *The Sopranos*, Perry would be Tony Soprano, trying to fix his family’s problems by just getting a new therapist.
I mean, think about it: The Kings went from the worst team in the league to fourth-worst. That doesn’t sound like progress—it sounds like a failure to even crawl out of the hole they were already in. And now, instead of using that lottery pick as a lifeline, they’re trying to build something on top of the rubble? This is like rebuilding a house after a hurricane and deciding not to rebuild the foundation because “we’ve gotten better at fixing roofs.”
Let’s talk about the youth movement, shall we? Because that’s another thing I don’t get. The Kings have been talking about this “youth movement” for years now, like it’s some kind of sacred mantra they repeat every time they lose a game. But Raynaud and Cardwell are still figuring out how to play defense, and Clifford is still learning how to not look lost on the court. I don’t know if you’ve seen this, but developing young players takes *time*. You don’t just flip a switch and suddenly have a competitive team.
And yet here we are, with Perry and his new vision of “building through development” being rewarded for giving Christie another chance instead of actually making a move that could change the trajectory of this franchise. It’s like if you were stuck in a movie theater during *The Dark Knight Rises* and decided not to leave because you thought maybe Bane would just stop being evil after 15 minutes.
I get it, though. I do. There’s something about the idea that maybe Christie *can* turn this around. Maybe he can take these young players and mold them into something special. But if that’s the case, why not give him a better team? Why not trade for some help? Why not use that lottery pick to get someone who can actually make an impact?
Because, let’s face it: The Kings have been here before. They’ve had coaches come in and out of town like they’re trying to keep up with the weather forecast. Christie’s got a three-year deal now, so he’s not going anywhere unless something goes really, *really* wrong. But if this is another one of those “we’ll fix it from within” schemes, I can already see the end of that movie.
I’m sitting here thinking about all the times I’ve watched teams make moves like this and then watch them fail spectacularly. The Kings are not different. They’re just another team trying to justify their decisions by pointing to a few wins in the last month and calling it progress. But progress isn’t defined by 10-13 in your last 23 games—it’s defined by not being the worst team in the league.
And yet, they’re staying with Christie. They’re giving him another chance. I’m just waiting for that moment when someone finally says, “Hey, we’ve been here before,” and realizes this isn’t working. But until then, I’m just going to be here, staring at my ceiling like it’s the last day of the season, wondering if we’re watching a disaster in slow motion.
This is not a new feeling for me. I’ve sat here with my hands on my head after every blowout loss, every trade that didn’t make sense, every draft pick that turned into a benchwarmer. But this one? This one feels like the *Godfather Part II* version of a bad decision—where you think you’re making peace with your past, but all you’re really doing is digging yourself in deeper.
So here’s my question: If the Kings are going to keep Christie, what’s the point? What’s the endgame? Because if it’s just about trying to convince everyone that this team can be fixed without any real changes, then I think we’re all going to be watching another season of *The Sopranos*—where nothing ever really gets better.