There was a part of Mahmoud Abdelfattah's firing that seemed an inevitability from the midway point of the 2023-24 NBL season.
It was November, and the Sydney Kings had just picked up two straight wins - over the New Zealand Breakers, then the Brisbane Bullets - both of which were unconvincing, filled with some worrying indicators. These Kings developed a knack for giving up significant leads, with a defence that didn't hold; a volatility that would then haunt them for the remainder of the season, and ultimately lead to Abdelfattah's downfall.
After that win over the Bullets, in Round 7, the Kings never won back-to-back games again. A loss to Melbourne United the following game would lead into a FIBA break, where cracks began to emerge.
It was that November FIBA window when the team had its first players-only meeting, sources told ESPN. The theme of the meeting, sources said: let's do this for each other.
That marked the first material disconnect between Abdelfattah and the Kings' playing group, who would have another players-only meeting later in the season, sources said.
Around that same time, some resentment began to form over Abdelfattah's switch-everything defensive schemes, sources said. The Kings would make some tweaks to their coverages midway through the season, but ended up finishing the campaign with the second-worst defence - allowing 113.4 points per 100 possessions, per RealGM - which was a significant shift from back-to-back seasons as one of the league's best defensive teams under Chase Buford.
This wasn't a case of bad blood, multiple sources indicated, but, instead, a lack of cohesion between the head coach and his players. The playing group's chemistry with one another never faltered in any notable way; instead, a decrease in confidence in the team's direction began to grow, sources said.
Jaylen Adams' relaxed demeanour never seemed to click with Abdelfattah's spirited, Chicago-bred coaching style, which showed on the court with what often appeared as apathy from the Kings' star point guard. The Kings didn't have a talent or competitor like Xavier Cooks to rally behind when things became stagnant - both on the court, and emotionally - and didn't respond to Abdelfattah's style of coaching, so wins ultimately became tough to come by.
Going into the turn of the new year, changes were considered.
The Kings' front office gauged the NBA waivers market for potential temporary injury replacements for D.J. Hogg when the forward went down with his second shoulder injury of the season, sources said. There was also thought placed into the idea of that potential replacement - Armoni Brooks was one name considered - eventually taking the role of Denzel Valentine once Hogg returned to full health, sources said.
No changes were made, and the Kings managed to put together a 13-15 record, only just scraping into a play-in qualifier against the New Zealand Breakers. That game was a microcosm of the Kings' season: an impressive start, thanks to the talent on the team's roster, followed by yet another collapse as the contest progressed. The Breakers won, and the Kings' season came to an end.
Confidence in Abdelfattah from the team's ownership diminished over the course of the season, and came to a head when the Kings were ultimately ousted from the playoff contention, destroying the hope for a three-peat. The pressure and expectations on Abdelfattah were perhaps unfair - following in the footsteps of Buford, who won two titles in as many seasons, is a near-impossible task - but that's the fickle business of coaching professional basketball.
The Kings' decision-making brass informed Abdelfattah of their decision to part ways with him on Thursday, sources said, before making a formal announcement on Friday afternoon. The Kings' players conducted their exit meetings later on Friday, sources said.
So, with the 2023-24 season now over for the Kings, they're in a very similar position to how they began last off-season: without a head coach or the majority of its starting five signed.
The Kings will move quickly in filling their head coach vacancy, sources said. The team has learned from last off-season, where they entered free agency without a head coach; something that significantly hindered them when recruiting prominent local free agents.
The team has had internal discussions around the prospect of Brian Goorjian returning to the franchise as head coach, sources said, and that interest is mutual. Goorjian recently turned down the Adelaide 36ers' head coach position.
Going into free agency, the Kings have Alex Toohey (Next Star), Jaylin Galloway, Angus Glover, DJ Hogg (mutual option), and Makuach Maluach (team option) contracted for next season. Galloway has significant NBA interest, sources said. There's the potential for him to be on an NBA roster in some capacity next season instead of with the Kings.
Glover's future with the Kings will be one to monitor moving forward, with the guard receiving back-to-back DNP-CDs to end the season. The 25-year-old directed a competitive verbal joust toward Abdelfattah in the midst of a game this season, sources said, but nothing noteworthy enough to lead to his eventual benching; there was no altercation between Glover and a teammate, as has been reported.
The reasoning for Glover's eventual benching was described to ESPN as, simply, Abdelfattah not considering the wing as someone who should be in his rotation over some of the team's other talent. The return of Hogg from a shoulder injury, as well as rotations getting tighter toward the end of the season, also led to Glover being pushed down the pecking order. The circumstances of this season have created some reservations for Glover, sources said, but the Kings have a desire for him to remain in Sydney for the second season of the two-year deal he signed last free agency.
While there is a desire to re-sign some of their local talent - including Shaun Bruce, Kouat Noi, Jonah Bolden, and Jordan Hunter - the Kings are likely to look very different going into next season. The team has interest in Cooks regarding a potential return, sources said, but nothing is a certainty, with the one-time MVP expected to have significant interest around world basketball. The Kings will, naturally, put serious thought into which of their three imports, if any, will return for the 2024-25 season.
It'll all begin with a new head coach, though, and that process, sources say, will be a swift one.