Theus was fired by Sacramento on Monday after a 6-18 start to his second season with the club. Assistant coach Kenny Natt took over the last-place Kings for Monday night's game against Minnesota.

Natt, a first-time head coach who has the job on an interim basis, is the fourth coach in less than three years for the Kings, who are in disarray after a prolonged run as one of the NBA's elite clubs earlier in the decade.

Assistant coach Chuck Person was fired along with Theus, who went 44-62 in his brief tenure with Sacramento.

The Kings lost 10 of their last 11 to fall into the Pacific Division cellar, with only a win over the Los Angeles Lakers in the last 3 1/2 weeks. Sacramento's 24-point home loss to the New York Knicks on Saturday night - the ninth loss in 10 games at Arco Arena - was Theus' final game.

"When you look at the overall level of performance that we've experienced this year, it's just not where we want to be," said Geoff Petrie, the Kings' top basketball executive. "Sometimes you just need to try a different voice if you want to try and change things. It's not about just any one game."