Kings fire Paul Westphal

SACRAMENTO, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- Paul Westphal, who had coached the Sacramento Kings for just more than two seasons, was fired Thursday by the NBA team.

The Kings have opened the lock-out shortened 2011-12 season 2-5, leaving Westphal with a record of 51-120 for a .298 winning percentage in Sacramento.

That is well below the .628 mark (268-159) Westphal built while coaching the Phoenix Suns for four seasons and the Seattle SuperSonics for just more than two.

"I would like to thank the Maloof family (which owns the team) for the incredible opportunity they gave me to participate in the attempt to bring the Sacramento Kings back to prominence," Westphal said in a team release. "While the job is far from finished, I am proud of the strides we were able to make."

Westphal also expressed gratitude to the Kings' front office and fans, adding: "Finally, I want to thank my loyal staff and players for their efforts in attempting to climb out of the hole we shared. Nothing comes easy in the NBA and I know they will not rest in their efforts to rebuild this team."

The Kings said assistant coach Keith Smart would lead the team Tuesday night against Milwaukee. Smart has been the head coach at Cleveland for 40 games and Golden State for one season. His overall record is 45-77.