Source: Kings let two assistants go; Joerger has ‘clear path'

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SACRAMENTO - Vlade Divac found a way to silence the room mid press conference on Tuesday morning. After telling a joke or two, Divac and newly hired head coach Dave Joerger were asked about what the new coaching staff might look like moving forward. Divac stepped in and made a slightly jarring announcement.

“I’m going to let them go, unfortunately, and going to leave Dave a clear situation to bring in whoever he wants.”  

He later took the time to clarify his comments with CSNCalifornia.com.

“I want to make sure that Dave has a clear path,” Divac said. “Definitely Corliss (Williamson) and Nancy (Lieberman) and some of the other guys are going to stay, and I’m going to talk to John (Welch) and Chad (Iske) about their future.”

Following the press conference, CSNCalifornia.com has confirmed that Chad Iske and John Welch have now been let go by the team. Both were brought on by former Kings head coach George Karl, so their release doesn’t come as a shock.

As for Williamson and Lieberman, their fate will be decided at a later date, but there is a possibility that both will return.

“One of the things that I like of what Vlade’s done, is kind of bring back some of the family,” Joerger said. “I’m a big fan of Rick Adelman, I know obviously Vlade and Peja are and I think consulting with him is important. And bringing back some people who have had touches of when this thing was really rolling is I think is very positive. So that’s all I’ll say about the candidates that we’re perhaps looking at for assistant coaching positions.”

Joerger will be allowed to bring in his own staff, which could include former Kings assistant Elston Turner, who worked under him in Memphis, as well as Bill Bayno, another current Grizzlies assistant.

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