Sources: Joerger to meet with Kings on Sunday

11:28 PM ET

The Sacramento Kings have scheduled an interview Sunday to meet face-to-face with the freshly available Dave Joerger as they ramp up the intensity of their coaching search, according to league sources.

Sources say that the Kings, who had been hoping to secure permission from the Memphis Grizzlies to pursue Joerger before the Grizzlies abruptly fired him Saturday, are known fans of the 42-year-old and regard him as a serious candidate for the post.

The Kings, sources say, have become increasingly intrigued by the idea of hiring Joerger away from the Grizzlies over the past week, but only now can the parties truly get to know each other in the wake of Saturday’s events.

Joerger will join a group of experienced NBA head coaches already interviewed by the Kings that is approaching double digits, with Sacramento having planned from the start to commission a broad, deliberate search for a successor to George Karl.

In pure on-court terms, Joerger is coming off perhaps his best-ever coaching job, having guided Memphis to a 42-40 record and a spot in the Western Conference playoffs as a No. 7 seed despite a slew of injuries that led the Grizzlies to employ an NBA-record 28 players this season. No previous NBA team that ever employed 24 players ‎or more in a single season had ever reached the playoffs.

But ESPN.com reported as far back as …

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