Report: Kings Considering Mike Woodson For Lead Assistant Position

Yesterday, it was announced that the Kings let go of lead assistant coach Jay Triano, along with most of Mike Brown’s former staff. One notable holdover is former Phoenix Sun and Golden State Warrior, Leandro Barbosa, who seemed to create a solid bond with new head coach, Doug Christie.

With Triano departing, we can expect to see a relatively high player coach to take the seat next to Christie next season. More and more head coaches around the league are luring former head coaches to assistant roles around the NBA. The Lakers have both Scott Brooks and Nate McMillian on staff, the Warriors brought in Terry Stotts, and the Clippers have Jeff Van Gundy running their defense this season.

With the hire of Christie, who is well respected around the league as a former player, and Scott Perry who is also well known in the league, the hope is that Sacramento could bring in someone with head coaching experience as well. One such name that was brought up by The Athletic’s Sam Amick was former Atlanta Hawks head coach, Mike Woodson.

Sources say Mike Woodson is a leading candidate for the Kings’ top assistant spot under Doug Christie. He last coached in the NBA in 2021, and spent the past four years as the head coach at Indiana. https://t.co/CNrD3mHIj2
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) May 3, 2025

Woodson has a ton of experience as a coach in the NBA along with 11 seasons as a player. Woodson was most recently in the NBA as an assistant coach with the New York Knicks under Tom Thibodeau before the Indiana Hoosiers named him head coach in 2021.

Along with head coaching stints with Atlanta and New York, Woodson spent time as an assistant with the Detroit Pistons while Scott Perry was part of the front office. Both Perry and Woodson were a part of the Pistons team that won the 2004 NBA Championship under one of Woodson’s mentors in Larry Brown.

Woodson’s basketball journey even includes a stint playing for Indiana under Bob Knight and with hall of famer, Isiah Thomas. Another interesting fact is that Woodson played for the Kings when they were in Kansas City and their first season in Sacramento. Between Woodson’s great pedigree and tie to Perry and Sacramento, he seems like an ideal hire.

With Jay Triano, who ran the King’s offense, leaving the team, someone will need to take the reins on that side of the ball. Howard Beck talked about Woodson’s emphasis on hustle, accountability, and shared responsibility, much like his predecessors in his 2012 piece for the New York Times, which seems to line up with what Christie and Perry are looking for. It’s unclear if Woodson would be more involved with the offense or the defense in Sacramento, but it’s fair to expect that he would be a positive influence on either end.

If Woodson does take over the offense, the 2012/13 Knicks might be a good place to look for an idea of what that side of the ball may look like. The Knicks were third in offensive rating that year, shot 37.6% from three, and broke the NBA record for three-point makes with 891.

Of course, the game has changed since then and teams are now making 1300+ threes per season, but it’s a good sign for a Kings team that struggled to hit shots from deep and were near the bottom of the league in attempts.

Woodson’s most recent experience is with the Indiana Hoosiers where he coached current NBA players Trayce Jackson-Davis, Kel-El Ware, and Jalen Hood-Schifino leading the team to two NCAA tournament berths. Woodson also had some high praise for current King and former Iowa Hawkeye, Keegan Murray, back in 2022.

Mike Woodson on Keegan Murray: "He’s the real deal. The NBA’s gonna love him." #iubb
— Zach Osterman (@ZachOsterman) March 12, 2022

Having a coach who can help unlock Keegan Murray’s offense would be massive for Scarnanento and Woodson absolutely knows what Keegan is capable of after seeing him torch Indiana for 32 in the Big Ten Tournament back in 2022.

We will likely hear more about Woodson being finalized as the lead assistant for Doug Christie in the coming days and expect to hear a lot more about the rest of the bench soon after.

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