SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - The Sacramento Kings plan to interview former coach Eddie Jordan about a possible return to the club he briefly coached in the late 1990s.
Jordan was fired by the Washington Wizards last November early in his sixth season with the club after 197 victories and four playoff appearances.
Jordan had his first head coaching job in Sacramento from March 1997 until 1998, when he was fired by the Kings after going 33-64. He was replaced by Rick Adelman, who led the Kings to eight consecutive winning seasons and playoff berths.
The Kings confirmed their long-rumored interest in interviewing Jordan in a blog post on their Web site late Friday night, saying president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie hopes to speak with Jordan early next week.
Sacramento fired interim coach Kenny Natt last month after the club finished an NBA-worst 17-65 during a season in which they fired coach Reggie Theus early in his second year. The Kings are looking for their fourth coach since firing Adelman in 2006, but they have the best chance of winning the top pick in the May 19 draft lottery.
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The post written by spokesman Troy Hanson also addressed reports about Louisville coach Rick Pitino's rumored interest in their coaching vacancy.
"It has never been in the Kings' organizational makeup to contact a coach who is under contract with another team or institution," the blog read. "And that is the case here, as the Kings have not reached out to Pitino, nor has Pitino contacted the Kings."
Pitino, the former coach of the Knicks and Celtics, just finished his eighth season with Louisville, where he coached Kings swingman Francisco Garcia. Earlier Friday, the school said Pitino wasn't interested in returning to the NBA.
