Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports breaking the news on Twitter:
Keith Smart has agreed to a two-year coaching deal with the Kings, source tells Y! Sports. Agreement guaranteed through the 2012-’13 season.
Update (4:50 pm): The Sacramento Kings have confirmed the decision via press release.
Statement from Kings president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie:
“Keith will bring a new perspective to the team as we try to move forward with the season,” said Petrie. “He’s very well prepared and will assume the job with some new ideas and new approaches of his own. We’re all excited and looking forward to working with him.”
Statement from new head coach Keith Smart:
“I had a chance to work for Paul Westphal in the brief time that I’ve been here and really enjoyed it,” explained Smart. “He was very supportive every step of the way. I want to thank Geoff Petrie and the Maloof family for giving me this opportunity. I’m looking forward to implementing a few new things with what we want to try to do with our basketball team. Hopefully, they’ll respond to what I want them to do, and I believe they will. I think our players will be excited with some of the ideas that I have for our team moving forward.”
More to follow later tonight. Follow Cowbell Kingdom for continued coverage of the Westphal firing.
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