What has Kangzed will Kangz again

Hold fast, brave Kings fans. We’re in turbulent but familiar waters once again. The Sacramento Kings have missed the playoffs after losing in the Play-In for the second straight year. That’s right friends, we have a new streak for missing the playoffs. With this second disappointing season, the Kings will also be searching again for a General Manager, as the Kings and Monte McNair have parted ways.

Two years ago we dealt with a much better disappointment, as the Kings lost a thrilling seven-game playoffs series to the Golden State Warriors. It sucked to lose that series, but the future still seemed as bright as the Beam, with a young core and opportunities to continue growing. Instead, the organization made multiple missteps, resulting in fewer wins in each of the following two seasons, and now a team that is older, more expensive, and without a clear direction or reason for optimism.

In the wake of McNair’s departure, we’re already seeing familiar reports. Sam Amick of the The Athletic reports that McNair’s exit was written on the walls as he no longer had ultimate decision making influence over franchise-altering choices. From Amick:

McNair didn’t want to fire Brown, league sources said, and there are internal questions about whether he really wanted to sign DeRozan or trade for LaVine. Tension also existed in recent days between McNair and the ownership group about Christie’s future with Ranadive viewed as the Christie backer.

It’s always a challenge to evaluate a Kings GM. It’s hard to know which of the decisions made on their watch, even the ones they publicly take the blame for (as McNair eventually did when speaking to the press a month after the Mike Brown firing), are actually their choices and which are influenced by Vivek Ranadive, Matina Kolokotronis, and whoever else has captured Vivek’s attention that week. It’s a perpetual narrative of this organization, that there are multiple voices whispering in Vivek’s ear, and the franchise gets upended by whatever shiny idea Vivek gets convinced is good. We are franchise run by the most gullible guy in your fantasy sports league. The job of a Kings GM is as much about managing Vivek as it is about drafting, free agency, and trades. And ultimately, it’s a result-based business and the results have been getting worse. In that sense, it’s understandable that Monte McNair is set to be replaced. But I worry about the future, because we know the results have been consistently underwhelming since Vivek took over as managing owner of this team, and that isn’t going to change no matter who the GM is.

As for the next GM, Amick reported several possibilities, including some familiar names.

League sources say Scott Perry, who was the Kings’ vice president of basketball operations for three months in 2017 before being hired away as the New York Knicks’ general manager, is expected to receive strong consideration for the job and is considered a frontrunner.

Perry, whose 25-year front office career has also included time with the Detroit Pistons, Seattle SuperSonics and Orlando Magic, had a strong working relationship with Ranadive during his Sacramento stint and worked closely with then-general manager Vlade Divac.

Former Denver Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth is also expected to be given consideration, league sources said. Booth, who was fired by the Nuggets recently along with coach Michael Malone, previously interviewed with the Kings before they hired McNair in the summer of 2020. While Divac continues to have a presence and voice around the team, including with Ranadive, team sources say he will not be returning in any formal capacity to the team’s front office.

While it’s a small relief to hear that Vlade will not be returning to the front office in a formal capacity, we know that a formal capacity is not a requirement to have influence on this organization. Vlade sits courtside with Vivek regularly, and Vlade does have an official title with the Kings already. Peja Stojakovic, Vlade’s former Assistant GM, is often there as well. Vlade Divac signed Zach LaVine to a restricted free agent offer sheet in 2018, but the Bulls quickly matched. Do we think it’s a coincidence that the Kings finally landed LaVine this season?

More than anything, these rumored names suggest that nothing has changed. Vivek is looking at Scott Perry, a name from the Divac tenure. Vivek is looking at Calvin Booth, who he wanted 5 years again before Booth withdrew from the Kings GM search. And let’s not forget the cherry on top, again from Amick:

The next general manager is expected to have influence on the Kings’ ultimate choice for head coach, but interim coach Doug Christie is well-positioned to keep the job, team sources said, though Christie said he has yet to be given any firm assurances.

The next general manager should not “have influence” in the next coach. The next general manager should be able to pick a head coach with no restraints. But that’s not how Vivek operates. He’s going to secure his chosen coach and then hire a GM, just as he’s done multiple times before. Sadly, everyone but Vivek seems to understand how that inevitably ends.

I hope my pessimism is wrong. I hope Vivek is visited by three ghosts in the night and sees the error of his meddling ways. I hope this team can be truly great for an extended period of time. But this all feels too familiar right now. We’ve seen this one before, we know how it plays out. And it’s depressing that we are enduring this cycle once again.