When Mike Brown speaks, players listen. And when they don't, there are consequences.
The Kings coach shared a funny story Sunday night after Sacramento's 132-127 overtime win against the Los Angeles Lakers, explaining a particular sequence of events where he intended to substitute Sasha Vezenkov in for Keegan Murray but then changed his mind and sent the Kings rookie back to the bench.
"[Murray] was wide open, and he had a smaller guy closing out on him and he traveled. He's got to shoot the ball," Brown explained. "He's one of the best shooters I've been around and he didn't shoot it. And I told him the only reason he'll probably come out of the games this year when he's not supposed to and to get some rest is if he doesn't shoot the freaking ball.
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"And he was great because the next opportunity he got, he shot it and I think he turned to me and said, 'Eff you.' Which I loved. It was great. So he can shoot. He better freaking shoot the ball or else he's coming out the game."
In a fastbreak opportunity in the third quarter on Sunday, Kings point guard De'Aaron Fox tossed the ball to Murray, who was wide open at the wing before Lakers guard Austin Reaves ran toward him. Instead of shooting the wide-open trey, Murray hesitated and then dribbled down the middle of the paint before being called for a traveling violation.
Immediately after, Brown turned to his bench and called on Vezenkov to replace Murray, yelling out at the officials, "Sub, sub, sub!" But the game continued, and after a missed jumper by Lakers center Anthony Davis, Murray had an opportunity to redeem himself.
NBA
Once again, Fox found Murray on the wing and this time, Murray "let that thing fly" and it was nothing but net. Brown sent Vezenkov, who still was waiting patiently at the scorer's table, back to the bench. And as Murray ran back on defense, he shared that two-word NSFW message to his coach.
Last season, Murray broke the all-time NBA rookie 3-point record and played a huge role in Sacramento's historic offense.
But now in Murray's second season, Brown and the Kings are fully relying on his growth and for him to take more control offensively with the ball in his hands.
And if he doesn't, there will be consequences.