This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

A sudden departure has once again put Ty Corbin in the head coach's seat.

The Sacramento Kings surprised the basketball world late Sunday night by firing coach Michael Malone, a move first reported by Yahoo! Sports. So as was the case nearly four years ago with the abrupt resignation of Jerry Sloan, Corbin has been tasked with taking the reins of a team in the middle of a season.

According to Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski:

"Tyrone Corbin will take over as the interim coach, likely for the term of the regular season. Around the NBA, there's a strong belief that general manager Pete D'Alessandro will pursue ex-Denver Nuggets coach George Karl, but a high-ranking Kings source insisted Sunday night that it is unlikely a full-time replacement will be hired during the regular season.

"There has been significant tension between management and Malone on several fronts over the past year, and the firing ultimately turned out to be another cautionary tale in what happens when ownership doesn't put together management and coaching staffs that have similar philosophies and a shared partnership."

The Kings are currently 11-13 on the season, ninth in the Western Conference. They were showing marked improvement. They had finally gotten DeMarcus Cousins on the right track, with him looking like an MVP candidate. Rudy Gay, Ben McLemore and Darren Collison were all playing the best basketball of their careers. To make matters even worse, they were above .500 with Cousins in the lineup. He's missed the last nine games with an illness. 

That makes this allI very strange indeed. 

So now Corbin has another chance. He was 112-146 during his tenure with the Jazz. He inherits a team more ready to win than last season with the Jazz. Cousins when healthy is one of the top three centers in basketball. Gay is a wonderful scoring small forward, and the Kings have young talent in McLemore and Nik Stauskas. 

Feb. 7, when the Kings come to Salt Lake City, has become a day to look forward to as a result. Instead of Corbin coming back to EnergySolutions Arena as an assistant. He's now coming back as a head coach.

And this is sooner than anyone could've expected.

— Tony Jones