Sacramento Kings forward Rudy Gay
Dec 11, 2014; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings forward Rudy Gay (8) reacts after missing the final shot of the fourth quarter against the Houston Rockets at Sleep Train Arena. The Houston Rockets defeated the Sacramento Kings 113-109 in overtime. Reuters

In one of the surprising moves so far in the 2014-2015 NBA season the Sacramento Kings has fired head coach Mike Malone despite what was a good start for the California franchise, according to reports.

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports is reporting via social media Twitter and an article late on Sunday that the Kings have fired Malone and will tap Tyrone Corbin as interim head coach.

Sacramento has fired coach Mike Malone, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) December 15, 2014

In succeeding tweets, Wojnarowksi stated the candidates that may eventually replace Malone. Among them are veteran mentor George Karl, who recently was the former Denver Nuggets head coach; and Vinny Del Negro, who had experiences handling the Chicago Bulls (2008 to 2010) and Los Angeles Clippers (2010 to 2013) as head coach.

Malone was uneasy in the summer, when management spearheaded interviews for a top assistant, sources said. Eventually, Malone hired Corbin. — Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) December 15, 2014

According to the report there were various reasons in play why Malone was fired including the style of play he implemented and that he was never the original pick by Kings general manager Pete D’Alessandro. Malone also did not meet the expectations of the management and ownership stated in the same report.

Malone is an experienced veteran mentor with assistant head coaching jobs from 2001 to 2013 with the New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, New Orleans Hornets and Golden State Warriors before landing the head coaching job in Sacramento at the start of the 2013-2014 NBA season. Malone led the Kings to a 28-54 record last season and missed the playoffs. They had a better start in the 2014-2015 season with an 11-13 start or good for tenth place in the tough Western Conference.

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