Naz Reid has been named the 2023-24 NBA Sixth Man of the Year.

Reid finished with 352 points, ahead of Malik Monk with 342 points. Reid received 45 first place votes, while Monk had 43. Reid and Monk each had 39 second place votes and 10 third place votes.

Bobby Portis Jr., Norman Powell and Bogdan Bogdanovic round out the top-5.

In his fifth NBA season, Reid established himself as the top reserve man in the league, appearing in a career-high 81 games, averaging career-highs across the board, including 13.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. He finished the 2023-24 campaign shooting 47.7% (406-of-851) from the field, including a career-high 41.4% (169-of-408) from three.

Malik Monk would like to stay with the Sacramento Kings. The Sacramento Kings would like to retain Malik Monk. Unfortunately, the Kings may have to fend off some suitors who can make Monk larger offers in free agency.

Sacramento is limited to re-signing Monk using his Early Bird rights, as they are expected to be an over-the-cap team this summer. That means the Kings can offer Monk a contract that caps out at nearly $78 million over four seasons.

Given his skills as a shooter, scorer and playmaker, and Monk's ability to perform at a high level off the bench, the veteran guard is one of the better free agents this summer. Teams that project to have cap space could give Monk an offer that beats what Sacramento can offer.

But Monk said in a perfect world that he'd "definitely" return to the Kings. Monk emphasized that he knows he can always make more money, but he'll be prioritizing fit this summer. Monk added, "I think it's going to play out the right way."

Last Friday's Play-In Tournament game between the New Orleans Pelicans and Sacramento Kings averaged 2.57 million viewers across TNT and truTV.

That number is a 2% increase from last year.

The lead-in game between the Bulls and Heat averaged 2.25 million viewers on ESPN.

Overall, this year's Play-In Tournament games averaged more than double the viewership of regular season games. 

Mike Brown would like a long-term contract extension at his market rate with the Sacramento Kings this offseason, sources tell The Athletic. 

Brown signed a four-year contract with the Kings in 2022, but Year 4 is a mutual option, which makes the 24-25 season his last guaranteed season.

In the time since Brown signed his contract, the coaching market has been reset by deals signed by Steve Kerr ($17.5 million annually), Gregg Popovich ($16 million), Erik Spoeltra ($15 million) and Monty Williams ($13 million). Brown won't command a salary in that range, but it could approach $10 million per season.

Sources tell The Athletic there's been a wait-and-see approach from ownership on Brown. Vivek Ranadive has not yet approached Brown with an extension offer.

Brown will definitely return for next season, sources add, but the extension conversation could complicate the partnership. 

The NBA announced the finalists for 2023-24 Sixth Man of the Year. The finalists are Malik Monk of the Sacramento Kings, Bobby Portis of the Milwaukee Bucks and Naz Reid of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

All three players are first-time finalists for Sixth Man of the Year.

Tuesday night's Play-In Tournament game between the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings averaged 4.05 million viewers across TNT and truTV.

It is the second most-watched game in the history of the Play-In Tournament.

The Lakers' win over the Pelicans earlier in the night averaged 3.91 million viewers.

The two games are the fourth and sixth most-watched of this season. 

The Brooklyn Nets will hire Jordi Fernandez as head coach.

Fernandez is currently the top assistant coach of the Sacramento Kings under Mike Brown. Before joining the Kings, Fernandez spent several seasons under Michael Malone with the Denver Nuggets. Fernandez was also a head coach in the G League with the Canton Charge and also currently serves as head coach of Canada.

The Nets parted ways with Jacque Vaughn as head coach in February and had Kevin Ollie as interim for the remainder of the season.

The Western Conference seeds are set following the end of regular season on Sunday. The first round begins on Saturday, April 20th.

First Round Matchups

• No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. No. 8 (Pelicans, Lakers, Kings or Warriors)

• No. 2 Denver Nuggets vs. No. 7 (Pelicans or Lakers)

• No. 3 Minnesota Timberwolves vs. No. 6 Phoenix Suns

• No. 4 LA Clippers vs. No. 5 Dallas Mavericks

Play-In

• No. 7 New Orleans Pelicans vs. No. 8 Los Angeles Lakers

• No. 9 Sacramento Kings vs. No. 10 Golden State Warriors

The Charlotte Hornets have received permission to interview multiple current assistant coaches for their head coaching vacancy. The Hornets are looking for a replacement at head coach for Steve Clifford. 

• David Adelman, Denver Nuggets

• Jordi Fernandez, Sacramento Kings

• Charles Lee, Boston Celtics

• Kevin Young, Phoenix Suns

The Sacramento Kings are going to start their postseason run without one of their best players. Sixth Man of the Year contender Malik Monk will miss four-to-six weeks due to a sprained right MCL.

Monk was injured early in the Kings loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Friday. The veteran guard left in the first quarter and didn't return. The Kings also lost guard Kevin Huerter to season-ending shoulder surgery earlier this week.

This season, Monk has averaged 15.4 points and 5.1 assists in 72 games off the Sacramento bench. That production has Monk as one of the leaders to win Sixth Man of the Year.

The Kings have nine games remaining in the season. The Play-In Tournament starts in just over two weeks. As of Saturday, Sacramento is the 8th seed in the Western Conference. The NBA Playoffs start in three weeks. That means Monk likely needs the Kings to advance past the first round before he'd be able to return.