The Sacramento Kings will officially introduce Monte McNair as the team’s new General Manager today at 11:30 AM PT. The press conference will be live streamed on Kings.com, and can be viewed here. The team generally makes the video of these press conferences available after, and we will share that video once it becomes available for those who are unable to watch live.
This will be our first chance to hear from McNair, and hopefully we can begin to get a sense of his plans for the team moving forward.
Update: The press conference can now be watched via Kings.com
Narrator: The words Go with my gut were not uttered at this introductory press conference.
“Luke is going to be our coach next year.
Team should be about next years draft, not sure Luke hinders that (after hearing Monte, not sure he disagrees)
besides the fact that it’s not conclusive he is a bad coach. Lot of moving parts, injuries, and the west got a lot better, and Covid struck in the bubble etc
I don’t mind all in all, after the financial commitment they made to him that he’s here next year
Yup, let Luke stink things up until the deadline then fire him. Promote one his assistants to interim and let the tank begin. Get a tip 5 pick in 2021 and Monte pick his new head coach.
Just expecting to throw a year away seems pretty cavalier. Unless Monte doesn’t feel that anyone on the roster currently is worth keeping long term, I suppose.
Of course this assumes we will be having a normal NBA season next year. In the big picture, if there are no fans in the arena or it’s a shortened season, is it really throwing away a year?
I mean really, for a non playoff team is there any incentive to spend big next year if there are no ticket sales to worry about? From an owner and management perspective, why not cut salary and get another year knocked off of Walton’s deal. Might as well round out the roster with 10 day deals and 2-way players. Just spend to the salary floor.
I respectfully disagree with you on Luke. We’re talking about a Kings team that took big steps backward in so many areas. They flat out stunk some games. Don’t even get me started on the god awful “plays” he would draw up during timeouts or in crunch time. He couldn’t even get a team with Lebron on it to the playoffs which speaks volumes on his coaching ability in my opinion.
Don’t think the Kings’ injuries were abnormal compared to the rest of the league. And I’m pretty sure everyone was dealing with COVID, not just the Kings.
He did get the benefit of Bagley being injured though – Joerger had to play that guy like 1,000 minutes more than Walton did.
I’m w/e about it at this point. He’s obviously a dead man walking, and if this year is a total transition/tear-down year, the coach will be a baby-sitter more than anything else. My only concern is how it affects the development of any rookies the team acquires.
Monte spoke highly of Buddy Hield and sounded like he wants to use him on this roster (not trade him). I’m curious about how he sees Walton utilizing Buddy effectively.
Hopefully as a catch and shoot player. It would be hard to be the new GM and not speak highly of a player at his introductory press conference. Could just be a solid poker face.
Yeah, you’re totally right. Now that I think more about it, a GM should speak highly of the players that they might want to trade, too, because you don’t want to lower their value on the trade market.
Bingo.
“But he has to earn it.” 😛
Honestly as a deadman walking, there is no coach better than Walton to help us get that top pick in 2021. People can keep talking about the injuries and the moving parts but the simple fact that he couldn’t figure out how to utilize Buddy the entire season despite watching every film possible on him is all the evidence you need.
I’m seeing Luke as a holdover for the next coach.
I wonder if Walton will be as receptive to Monte’s involvement with coaching decisions as it was in Houston.
Vivek hired McNair as “General Manager” to slowly but surely take over coaching duties from Luke Walton, so Luke eventually resigns in protest and McNair becomes coach! It’s Kangz all the way, baby!
Vivek has now hired his coach before his GM three times in a row.
Third time’s a charm?
If Walton wants to keep his job, then I’m sure he’ll be receptive. Also, I think Walton will probably appreciate a GM that can actually help his team win. I doubt Magic/Vivek/Pelinka were in the film room talking about different pick and roll coverages.
Vlade, Vivek same difference really.
McNair will have to tape his advice for Walton to take it seriously.
Wait…they had a STR guy there asking a question! Do we have a TKH person on the line to ask questions?
A STR guy that isn’t even a Kings fan? 😉
I’m sure he/she asked very insightful questions, like how will the team incorporate next year’s draft pick into a roster featuring LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Alexa, why was the old site, which barely gets a handful of comments per article, allowed into this press conference, and not the one that gets hundreds of comments per article?
Blake was on the call but wasn’t able to ask a question because he was helping his kid with distance learning. Blame the children.
Damn, not only do you ruin marriages, you ruin the children, too. An impressive double step, to be sure.
Feet This, Not That!
This Jordan image paired with “Fuck them kids” made me want to google ‘Nike Sweatshops’ and I found this:
https://goodonyou.eco/how-ethical-is-nike/
And reading about alternative shoes endorsed by the author I learned about “Vegetable-tanned leather”.
Uh, is that supposed to appeal to vegetablearians like me?
A lot of talk about flexibility.
It was the common phrase of the press conference
I’m thinking Monte may be down with the rebuild with youth
Yeah it was one of those read between the lines statements that he kept making. I think this also means that he is not just going to trade players away if the deals are bad. Sounds like nothing will be forced.
Monte McNair’s first order of business: When the time comes, offer the maximum amount of Whataburgers to De’Aaron Fox.
But what about In-N-Out burgers?
Gotta save those for Buddy. I believe it is one of the incentives on his contract.
What a Burger is so lame. It’s arguably worse than In N Out. Which is an achievement.
You have insulted and offended so many people in two short sentences. And these people are Kangz fans who suffered the basketball hell for 15 years now
So? The only thing new about me offending someone is I’ve never done it on 9/23/20 before.
How do you feel about waffles?
This is a silly question. And you know damn well it’s silly. How do I feel about waffles? Shiiiiiiiiiiiiit. If you have to ask…….
my first impression: Monte’s a serious dude.
Personality-wise, he’s more Petrie than Vlade, which as a GM is probably a good thing.
I couldn’t help thinking that he seems like the type of GM that would have worked well with Malone. Malone’s a bit more gregarious, but they both seem like no nonsense kind of guys.
Ooh, that would’ve been nice.
If the nuggets don’t make it to the finals Malone might be fired so we can dream
Firing a coach that has improved the team every season, and reached the conference finals with a team where their best players are all under 25 just because they lose to the LeBron/AD Lakers would be spectacular.
With Vivek still owning the team, Malone’s not coming back.
A professional General Manager AND Head Coach? What are you smoking Rory and can I have some? I like this idea!
I prefer edibles
Of course you do. I err’d in smartassing on that one. Oh well, anyways a next time!
He’s going to be one of those guys that never reveals much, and that’s fine.
Our last GM was all about the FLOP.
I missed this, but was Pony Tail guy there?
HMMMMM……
EXHIBIT A:
.
.
.
EXHIBIT B:
Pony Tail Guy was NOT there.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
CONFIRMED: A_Night_At_The_Arco is Pony Tail Guy.
This is weird, but I’m far more excited to see how the front office performs next year that I am the players. Maybe I should start a fantasy front office league?
Yeah, I feel the same way
Someone should do a league power ranking of front offices by Glassdoor employee reviews.
Be sure to invite Vlade and Pete D and Peja so they can better their front office skills
Problem is, it will take at least two years to evaluate GM moves.
Not if he fires Walton within the next 6 months 😉
“Hey Luke, what’s your favorite burger?”
Whataburger was founded in Texas. In-N-Out was founded in California.
Lines must be drawn.
De’Aaron Fox
grew up in Texas = would prefer Whataburger to In-N-Out.
Monte McNair
homestate is California, but spent over a decade in Texas = states that Fox is wrong.
Luke Walton
southern california guy = WHO YOU GOT, LUKE? (choose wisely)
Luke’s a Beyond Burger kinda guy.
A lot of GM speak, praising all players that are on the roster and saying nothing tangible. That was to be expected.
But he can string together coherent sentences so I call it a win.
Tfw someone who knows how to do “GM Speak” is actually a refreshing change of pace.
While I won’t miss Vlade, I will kind of miss his ability to give an entire press conference without using the word “the” once.
Monte dodged the tough questions, praised everyone, was professional, and said all the right things. Does this mean that we will stop having confidential kings info leaked to the media?
Hopefully, although maybe not with the hierarchy Vivek has set up?
Amick has known McNair for a few years, so I think the leaks will still flow. Sam has mentioned a couple times that the Rockets actually let Sam sit in on meeting during the the playoffs a few years back.
Ultimately, stuff is always going to get leaked. It’s just the nature of the business. What hopefully happens is that the Kings are no longer (as) dysfunctional, so there aren’t a ton of negatively story that can be leaked to the media in the first place.
It’s not the leaks, it’s WHY the leaks.
This ownership has thought more about their image (3.0) than their actual basketball product.
Stop worrying about what you freaking look like and build something. I don’t care about transparency, just build something for once.
Excellent summation Marty.
I’ve seen that word transparency used quite a bit over the last few weeks.
I don’t know if it’s because I’m 50, or because I’m so East Coast, or both.
I don’t care about front office transparency. I don’t care about press conferences, I don’t care about availability.
At least in my mind some of the most successful franchises had GM’s that you never heard from, they were just shadow figures. But you knew they were in the back room wheeling and dealing.
I heard Damien talking today wondering if it was a problem that Vivek wasn’t at the press conference. I prefer Vivek not being at the press conference. I prefer him not being seen. I prefer the GM not being seen.
I prefer reading from Sam how they are collecting more assets and building something cohesive.
Well, I certainly understand this sentiment. I personally don’t care either way, just do your job. Help this team improve where it counts. I don’t really care how it gets done.
I will say this: Hinkie was seemingly so removed from the actual Sixers during those years and burned so many bridges with that approach I don’t see how anyone could succeed doing that. You weren’t bothered, lots of Sixer fans were.
What I’m interested to see is how McNair does his job. And only time will tell. But I will also say last, but not least, it really doesn’t matter if Vivek is there or not. Either McNair is empowered or he isn’t. Being at a presser proves nothing.
I’m not going to waste my time watching it. We’ll find out if Monte McNair can do the job or not. A few years ago Tim Connelly was a dumb shit who knew not the CBA (was famous for the Faried gaffe) . Now he’s one of the influential people who put the Nuggets together. Time heals all wounds. If McNair comes in and is allowed to run the show, and I think it’s quite possible he is allowed just that, we’ll find out the answers.
No incoming outside the organization GM inherits perfect situations. Monte McNair didn’t either. But he inherited a manageable set of issues and we’ll see how he does!
I’m interested to see the dynamic between Walton and McNair. If they’re keeping him, then I think they need to also be willing to give him a far shot at keeping the job after this season. Part of the rebuilding process will need to be to rebuild the Kings reputation. NBA coaches are a tight knit community. They kind of stick up for their own when they perceive a coach has been treated unfairly. If they believe the last coach was treated poorly, then that will limit the total number of qualified candidates who willing to become Luke’s replacement.
Now if this team under performs next season compared to their talent level, then the firing would be completely justified obviously. I just don’t want to see a scenario play out that’s similar to Joerger’s last season in which the the team vastily out performed expectations, but he still got fired.
Eh, I don’t think that’s really an issue.
Many coaches have been treated unfairly and the teams managed to find successors in all cases.
but the Kings have a reputation of consistently treating their head coaches poorly. That’s something that needs to improve if they’re ever going to be able to go after the top coaching candidates.
Nah. To stay on theme; this is a nothingburger.
or a nothingrordog, if you like.
They’ve treated their good head coaches poorly. Bad head coaches being fired shouldn’t give a team a poor reputation.
I said if the team continues to under perform versus expectations, then the firing would be justified. I just don’t like the idea of assuming Luke and his staff are gone regardless of the outcome of the season. That’s not a good process for any GM to follow even if it ultimately has no impact on the next coaching search. If you have goals at the beginning of the season, and your coaching staff meets or exceeds those goals, then they shouldn’t lose their jobs. The GM should also do everything in his or her own power to support their staff in meeting those goals.
I don’t necessarily have a problem with this philosophically. But I don’t think anyone needs to let Walton know he’s the coach for the entirety of the year either. Just say “we are evaluating all aspects of the basketball organization”.
The staff is a red herring. That’s part of being an assistant coach. If any of them are worth keeping around, Monte would certainly do so.
Adding, I think this gets us in the weeds a bit too much. The reality is, it was financially untenable to fire Walton right now. We all know it, and that was likely a prerequisite for Monte – that Walton stays on board for at least next season (or at least most of it).
Yeah, I do feel like the Kings have a poor reputation based on the way they’ve handled coaches (and maybe players) that have come and gone through here.
I was going to add “Well, Walton didn’t care that Joerger was unfairly let go.” That rat!
This makes me wonder how the other coaches felt when Malone was fired by the Kings.
Would you stop making sense Rory? Gosh jiminy crickets, dude!
I just really think Luke is the next Popovich, and I don’t want the Kings to miss out on a generational coach okay?
(that was my best attempt at not making sense without doing an impression of Bill Walton)
Ay ay ay. Don’t quit your day job!
I’d hope potential coaches are unwilling to come here because the franchise stood behind a guy who sexually assaulted (oh, sorry…”allegedly”, always “allegedly”) a woman, not because they think Coach Terms-Were-Not-Disclosed has been treated unfairly.
True, but I doubt coaches around the league spent too much time googling articles about how that all went down. And it’s not just Luke who would lose his job. Obviously members of his staff like Bob Beyer, Roy Rana, Stacey Augmon, Rico Hines, Lindsey Harding, etc would all most likely be out of a job as well. Those men and woman all seem to be well respected throughout the league, and the optics would just be bad if they lost their jobs even if the team overachieved.
As a poster noted elsewhere here, does it really matter? Malone’s firing was not well received around the league, yet Joerger (who was a coaching commodity) took the job. Joerger’s firing, after a great season, didn’t stop Walton (ostensibly a coaching commodity) from taking the job.
It only takes one dope to make someone a coaching commodity. Luckily, he was our GM.
A simple question for the group after watching Murray evolve.
Has the game slowed down for Fox yet?
Remember the Fox vs. Murray arguments? Those were fun.
I would say Fox is maybe a little over season from being as effective as Murray. Right now, Murray is in another tier.
I would say that Fox has a looooooooong way to go to get to Murray’s level. And I like Fox.
Murray was always an excellent scorer. I saw a Calipari interview yesterday and he mentioned that Murray was the first 20PPG scorer at Kentucky under his watch. That is really remarkable with the players that have gone through there.
I do think Fox got more comfortable on his dribble drives this season using the threat of his speed to manipulate the defense. Before he’d just do a lot of straight line drives that ended with a tough shot and Fox falling to the court looking for a foul.
I don’t think he’s really where he needs to be as a playmaker though. He doesn’t have a Jokic to work off of, but just in general, he doesn’t really seem like he has great on-court chemistry with any specific player. Hopefully, the Kings will finally have some continuity, so the chemistry can just naturally grow over time.
I think Marvin Bagley the tree will have to evolve as that player who grows with De’Aaron Fox.
Agreed.
Good question. But De’Aaron doesn’t have his Joker going all hog wild on folks either. It’ll be interesting to see how the kid evolves as a 2 way player, if he even can. He’s shown signs, but, potential gets you fired as the saying goes.
It’s been eye-opening watching Murray slowly drift his way through the defense looking for developments and opportunities. I love seeing a leader emerge like that. I’m sure it helps when two defenders are worried sick about Jokic however, his BBIQ is so damn high.
Malone really hit the jackpot.
He did hit the jackpot, and should probably also get some credit for their development.
I don’t know if he inspired Jokic to get in shape, but the guy seemed pretty ambivalent on the floor most times I watched him before the league shut down.
Some of that might have been encouragement to pace himself. But….Jokic wasn’t as good as he needed to be early on in the season either.
This man is gonna be ruthless. I’m pleasantly surprised.
Predictions:
Roster building methodology: TRADES
“flexibility” (2+ times)
“ready when opportunity arises” (3+ times)
“aggressive” (aggressively draft? No. aggressively sign free agents? Ha!)
-flexibility means not having overpaid roles players
-this may include draft picks (“utilize this pick to improve the team”)
-he will choose Buddy > Bogi unless Bogi is surprisingly cheap
-H. Barnes is possible without taking back more bad money
-culture can’t be reset with the same players and the same coach.
-THIS MAN WILL TRADE YOU
Front office hires: BLACK EX-PLAYER
“diverse”
-at least one FO will be black (rightfully so), probably a relatable ex-player not named Joe Dumars so he isn’t reliant on Joe.
Style of play: MODERN: 3s, RIM, PACE
“we pushed things to the extreme”
“some tenants will apply here: play fast, spread the floor”
-not permanent small ball (referenced how Houston was extreme and it made sense there).
Reason to fire Luke Walton in the future:
“be more consistent in our night in & out efforts”
-inconsistent effort = you’re outta here!
I agree that I sense some Ruthlessness in Mcnairs interview. Could be a really good poker player if you asked me. Says a LOT of positive things about his players and boom! next thing that said player is traded. Wouldn’t shocked me if that actually happens next season.
My guess is “versatility” = unfocused role. Analytics guys like players with well-defined roles, no?
Not probably. I mean in this era of basketball they narrowed it down to guards, wings or bigs as oppose to the traditional PG, SG, SF, PF and C.
He probably means roster versatility in which we have multiple guys who can play and handle different roles.
“Diverse” can mean many things. Diversity of thought, opinion, ideas, strategies, theories, etc. My guess is he will hire someone that a different view of things related to basketball team building to offer discussion ideas and to force others to not get set in their ways/views.
… My job is to fill in the rest of the front office with people who are smart, talented, diverse and
complementcompliment me.– Kings GM Monte McNair
.
.
.
You’re dressed sharply today!
-future front office hire
Made me think about a similar Vivek quote. And not in a good way.
I am just glad there was no I could’ve sign on to be the GM for a different team 2 days ago nonsense
interesting that Vivek feels the need to have Dumars
he got burned twice by giving two newbie GMs full reign without oversight. Imagine a second GM overseeing the Luka/Malone situations
if your not going to be able to attain a true vetted GM with past experience that you don’t have to worry about, he may think there is nothing wrong with some oversight on the newbie
whether or not they could’ve gotten a better GM than McNair without Dumars is another issue. But if Vivek knew he had to go with new blood either way, given his list of 6, he may feel secure with oversight
Sounds like he’s not showing many of his cards. Saying all the right things. Has a calmness about him. It’s hard to read his intentions from this press conference. I am sure we will see what changes take place in these quick 2 and a half months. He has a lot of work ahead of him. I would surmise he doesn’t want to sound too aggressive or impetuous with any decisions he may have in mind. His actions in Oct-Nov will start to lay the foundation and groundwork for building this Kings team moving forward. Nonetheless, it’s a great start with a real basketball mind who has had success in this league.
OT: We need the BabyGiraffe to know:
I totally forgot about the fact that McNair and Catanella worked together on that Shump trade until McNair mentioned it today. It would be funny if McNair can somehow turn the Rockets second rounder in this year’s draft into an actual productive NBA player for the Kings.
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