Despite rumors and speculation, it appears De'Aaron Fox and Mike Brown are on good terms following the controversial firing of the former Kings coach.
Fox and his wife Recee recently had dinner with Brown and his family at Q1227 Restaurant, a local restaurant in Roseville, Calif., and when a photo of the two was posted by the restaurant online, Kings fans began to wonder if the photo was old or not.
But Chef Q, the chef at Q1227, confirmed to NBC Sports California that the gathering happened Tuesday night, Jan. 7, and was full of "love and laughter."
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"The Foxes are regulars at Q1227 and we were delighted to host them along with coach Mike Brown and his family on Tuesday night, January 7th," Chef Q said in a statement to NBC Sports California. The evening was filled with love and laughter -- the way we like our guest to dine at Q1227."
After the Kings went winless on a five-game homestand, capped off by a gut-wrenching loss to the Detroit Pistons, Sacramento fired Brown on Dec. 27 after two seasons as head coach.
Brown's dismissal sent a shockwave throughout the league, and it came just five months after he signed a multiyear contract extension to remain coach through the 2026-27 season.
NBA
That is when the fingers started pointing, and far too many were signaled at Fox, who some believed signed off on the firing.
Former NBA guard Lou Williams shared an eye-opening report on FanDuel TV's "Run it Back" just a few days after Brown's firing.
"From what I understand, it just ran its course very fast and surprisingly," Williams said on Dec. 30. "... so I'm hearing that there was some pushback from how De'Aaron Fox was continuously being singled out, whether it was publicly or behind the scenes, or the players just didn't agree with that sentiment.
"I was even hearing whispers there was a situation where [Mike Brown] might have asked or even suggested that DeMar DeRozan come off the bench and those things proved to be severe missteps in an already challenging season where he put the front office in a position where they had to side with either the All-Star talent they have or to part ways with their former Coach of the Year who had a brand new three-year extension.
"And ultimately, they chose to go with the players and that made Mike Brown a casualty of that ... this is just a classic example of a coach losing a locker room and not being on the same page as his players and at the end of the day, the players were who management chose to side with."
Fox immediately refuted the claim on X, formerly known as Twitter.
There was never any push back about anything. This narrative of us butting heads or me going to management saying anything is bullshit. So you can run with that if you want to. https://t.co/z5rBpWmail
— De'Aaron Fox (@swipathefox) December 30, 2024
Recee also publicly came to the defense of her husband on social media on multiple occasions, with her denying De'Aaron's involvement in the move.
False
— Recee Fox (@Cee_Caldwell) December 27, 2024
This could not be more off base.
— Recee Fox (@Cee_Caldwell) December 27, 2024
Fox and Brown never showed, at least publicly, any signs of a fractured relationship. Sure, Brown pushed Fox harder than any coach had before and openly criticized him, but Fox always was receptive to the tough love.
The two now go their separate ways, but they remain friendly as the next stop of both of their NBA journeys remains uncertain.
