Chris Darnell Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kings Hiring Mike Miller, Chris Darnell As Assistant Coaches

May 30th, 2025 at 1:38pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings are adding veteran assistant coach Mike Miller to Doug Christie‘s staff, according to James Ham of The Kings Beat (Twitter link). Sacramento is also hiring Chris Darnell as an assistant, reports NBA insider Chris Haynes (Twitter link).

Miller spent over three decades as an assistant and head coach at the college level from 1989-2013 before transitioning to the NBA. He worked with San Antonio’s G League affiliate for two seasons from 2013-15 and then served the Westchester Knicks’ head coach from 2015-19.

Miller became an assistant for the Knicks’ NBA club ahead of the 2019/20 campaign and then was promoted to interim head coach following the mid-season firing of David Fizdale. He subsequently worked as an assistant for the Thunder (2020/21) and Wizards (2021-24).

While the timeline we just outlined probably makes it obvious, it’s worth clarifying that this isn’t the same Mike Miller who played in the NBA from 2000-17 and won a Rookie of the Year award, a Sixth Man of the Year award, and a pair of championships. That Mike Miller is currently working as a player agent.

Darnell, meanwhile, has worked for Phoenix, Utah, and Cleveland since being hired as a basketball operations intern by the Suns in 2012. He was a player development coach and video assistant with Cleveland for two years from 2019-21, then served as the Cleveland Charge’s associate head coach from 2021-24 before bring named the G League club’s head coach last September.

In his first and only season as the Charge’s head coach, Darnell led the Cavs’ NBAGL affiliate to a 16-18 regular season record.

According to Ham, the Kings are also hiring Paul Jesperson as their head of player development. Jesperson has previously been employed by the Hawks, the Oklahoma Sooners, and – most recently – the Valley Suns in the G League. He was an assistant coach for Phoenix’s G League team last season.

After deciding to remove Doug Christie‘s interim tag and make him their permanent head coach, the Kings are gradually filling out Christie’s new-look staff. The team previously hired Mike Woodson as its associate head coach and Bobby Jackson as an assistant.

G League Notes: K. Brown, Nets, Djurisic, Pacers, Cavs, Suns

October 27th, 2024 at 7:48pm CST by Luke Adams

After being waived by Indiana’s NBA team earlier this month, Kendall Brown won’t suit up for the Pacers‘ G League squad this season either. The Long Island Nets announced in a press release on Saturday that they’ve acquired Brown’s returning rights from the Indiana Mad Ants in exchange for the returning rights to guard Au’Diese Toney, a 2025 second-round pick, and a 2026 first-rounder.

Brown was the 48th overall pick in the 2022 draft, but played sparingly in his first two professional seasons with the Pacers, appearing in just 21 games and logging 103 total minutes at the NBA level. The 6’7″ swingman had a far more substantial role in the G League, where he put up 17.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in 34.1 minutes per contest across 36 total outings for the Mad Ants last season.

Brown is one of several players with NBA experience who is part of Long Island’s training camp roster, which the team announced on Sunday (via Twitter). That group of former NBA players also includes A.J. Lawson, Amari Bailey, Colin Castleton, and former NBA lottery pick Killian Hayes.

Here are a few more notes from around the G League:

As expected, Hawks forward Nikola Djurisic, the No. 43 overall pick in this year’s draft, signed a G League contract and will open the season with the College Park Skyhawks while he recovers from offseason foot surgery. He said during Sunday’s media day that he’s started doing on-court work but isn’t taking contact yet and is still doing 1-on-0 drills, tweets Kevin Chouinard of Hawks.com. Atlanta will continue to control Djurisic’s NBA rights, so he’s essentially a draft-and-stash player who’s playing domestically rather than in a league overseas.
The Indiana Mad Ants formally announced their training camp roster on Sunday (via Twitter). The Pacers‘ G League affiliate includes former NBA players like swingman Dakota Mathias, forward Cameron McGriff, and former No. 3 overall pick Jahlil Okafor.
The Cleveland Charge (the Cavaliers‘ affiliate) has officially announced its coaching staff and its training camp roster for the coming season. First-year head coach Chris Darnell will lead a group that includes former NBAers Jacob Gilyard, Chandler Hutchison, and Zhaire Smith, among others.
Veteran NBA forward Mamadi Diakite and former second-round pick Cassius Stanley are among the headliners on the first training camp roster announced (via Twitter) by the Valley Suns, who are embarking upon their first year in the G League.