Dave Joerger goes from Grizzlies to Kings in two days

It was only two weeks ago that Dave Joerger was sitting on the dais in Memphis, talking about the way the Memphis Grizzlies fought their way into a playoff berth in a season devastated by injuries and how proud he was of the team’s performance even in getting swept by the San Antonio Spurs.

In three seasons as head coach, Joerger was 147-99 (.598) and 9-13 in the playoffs.

The Kings fired George Karl shortly after the National Basketball Association regular season ended and wanted a young coach to lead them into the future. Kings and Joerger settled the deal just two days after Joerger was sacked in Memphis.

Sacramento held an exhaustive search for a new coach, interviewing more than a dozen candidates over a three week period.

The ESPN report hedges a bit with a line that nothing is done until it’s done, but that both “sides are working toward a four-year deal valued in the $16 million range that, barring any snags, is likely to include a team option for the fourth year”. But as soon as Joerger was surprisingly made available, the Kings swooped in. Cousins should appreciate that Joerger has coached Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol, and his qualifications are more similar to Michael Malone than any other recent Kings coach. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Joerger will make double with the Kings what he was making in Memphis.

Joerger will look to instill a winning attitude in Sacramento and improve on the team’s 33-win season, which was the most wins for the Kings in their last eight seasons.

D’Alessandro was replaced by Divac a few months after the move.

While the Kings won 30 games this season for the first time since 2007-08, they once again missed the playoffs as Karl failed to fix the problems on the court. He did a great job holding on to a top-six seed when all of his players got hurt this season, and his offense works better than its reputation may suggest. Elston Turner is expected to join him, and another candidate – veteran National Basketball Association and college coach Bill Bayno – is likely to join Joerger on the bench, sources said.