The Kings today announced that Director of Player Personnel Shareef Abdur-Rahim will be the new General Manager of the Reno Bighorns, Sacramento's D-League Affiliate.  Chris Gilbert, a new member of Sacramento's Basketball Operations team, will join him as Assistant General Manager.  Both Abdur-Rahim and Gilbert will retain their current positions within the organization in addition to these new jobs.

This move coincides with the announcement last month that the Kings had reached an agreement to run the Bighorns Basketball Operations.  That deal is for two years with a future right to buy.

The Kings will have much greater control of their D-League affiliate now, both in choice of playing style, personnel and management.  This will be a very good way for Sacramento to both develop existing young talent sent down to the D-League, or find new talent in the D-League.  Multiple NBA teams have seen success through increased use of the D-League, particularly the Houston Rockets.

The Kings currently have a few players who are eligible to play in the D-League: Ben McLemore, Ray McCallum, and Trent Lockett.  McCallum and Lockett are probably the only realistic choices to join the Bighorns this season, given the amount of guards Sacramento has.

More from Sactown Royalty: