Indian software magnate Vivek Ranadive, who officially took over as owner of the Sacramento Kings three days ago, named a former employee, Michael Malone, to coach the NBA club on Monday.
Malone had spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach to Mark Jackson with the Golden State Warriors, a club which Ranadive partly owned until being forced to divest the holding in order to assume control of the Kings.
“Michael Malone is one of the best and most talented coaches in the game,” Ranadive said. “As vice chairman of the Warriors, I developed a great relationship with coach Malone and witnessed first-hand how instrumental he was to the success of the team.
“His work ethic, passion and vision for the game will create an entirely new culture and style of play. Hiring coach Malone is our first step in giving the best fans in sports the excellence they deserve.”
Malone replaced Keith Smart, who had been told by the new owners that he would not be retained for next season. Smart went 48-93 in two seasons with the Kings, who went 28-54 this past campaign, 13th in the Western Conference.
Malone was previously an assistant coach for the New York Knicks, New Orleans Hornets and Cleveland Cavaliers as well during 12 seasons in the NBA. He also spent seven years coaching college teams.
Ranadive, 55, grew up in Bombay, India before becoming the founder of TIBCO a multi-billion dollar real-time computing company. His purchase of the Kings for an NBA record $534 million was approved by fellow club owners last week.
Kings name ex-Warrior assistant Malone as coach
