FRIDAY, 7:18pm: The Kings have officially announced that Smart won't be back, via press release. The team has reportedly already reached an agreement with Malone to succeed Smart as coach, and the official word on his hiring is expected to take place on Monday, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link).
THURSDAY, 7:49pm: According to Sam Amick of USA Today, Keith Smart will not be retained as the head coach of the Kings. It isn't much of a surprise considering that team ownership has apparently had their sights set on Warriors assistant Michael Malone, and Amick writes that Malone could be officially hired as early as this Monday. While there hasn't been an official press release yet, Amick clarifies that majority owner Vivek Ranadive had notified Smart of the franchise's plans to part ways with him shortly after the NBA Board of Governors approved the Sacramento-based investment group's purchase of the Kings just a few days ago (Twitter link).
Ironically, this is the second time that Smart has been relieved of his head coaching duties after a change in team ownership, as Amick looked back at the time when the 48-year-old coach was let go in Golden State shortly after Joe Lacob, Peter Gruber, and Ranadive had purchased the Warriors. Smart is confident that he'll find another opportunity in the NBA next season.