The Sacramento Kings and interim coach Doug Christie are finalizing a multiyear contract to make him the franchise's next head coach, sources told ESPN on Tuesday.
Christie's agent, Andy Miller of Klutch Sports, negotiated the new deal to remove the interim tag. Christie took over as interim coach in late December when the Kings fired Mike Brown.
Sacramento went 27-24 this season under Christie, ranking ninth in offensive efficiency during that span and going 13-10 in clutch-time games compared to 6-13 earlier in the campaign under Brown, according to ESPN Research.
The Kings won 20 of their first 31 games under Christie but finished 7-13 in the last 20 games of the season. Christie is expected to restructure his coaching staff in the offseason after inheriting Brown's assistants in the coaching change.
Christie had been an assistant with the Kings since 2021-22 and played in Sacramento for five of his 15 NBA seasons.
Sacramento hired longtime NBA executive Scott Perry as its new general manager shortly after parting with Monte McNair following the Kings' home blowout loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the No. 9 vs. No. 10 play-in tournament game.
