The search should be coming to an end soon.

It looks the Sacramento Kings have narrowed their list of potential candidates for their next head of basketball operations down to three. One interesting tidbit coming out over the last few days is that interim executive Joe Dumars is not participating in the interviews.

The Athletic’s Sam Amick says Kings’ owner Vivek Ranadive and Mike Forde of Sportsology are heading the search as Sachin Gupta, Monte McNair and Wes Wilcox have emerged as the front runners.

Interesting revelation on the Kings front office search front: Sources say interim EVP of b-ball ops Joe Dumars is NOT taking part in interviews. It's owner Vivek Ranadive and Mike Forde of Sportsology firm heading the searchhttps://t.co/PfNL9YzEzY

— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) September 13, 2020

Why Dumars isn’t a part of the interviews remains a mystery, bur Ranadive has been hands-on since he began his tenure with the team. Forde may be a mystery for Sacramento fans, but NBC Sports’ Kurt Helin provided some background information about the 38-year-old:

“Forde spent six years as the Forde director of football operations for Chelsea in the English Premier League — winning the Premier League multiple times and winning the FA cup and the Champions League — before forming a consulting firm, Sportsology. Forde was someone who brought advanced statistics and cutting edge thinking/technology into the front office, now he helps other teams do just that. Forde consulted with Washington owner Ted Leonsis after Ernie Grunfeld was let go. Forde has also worked with the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams and Atlanta Falcons.”

The Kings have to get this decision right. The fanbase is one of the most loyal in the league, but patience can only be expected for so long. Winning franchises usually have great owners who hire the right people and stay out of the way. Ranadive has been meddling in basketball decisions for far too long, and if he wants to continue this trend, it will scare away some of the best candidates.

Sacramento has a future All-Star to build around in De’Aaron Fox, but the new regime will have its work cut out. Bogdan Bogdanovic is an RFA, while wing Buddy Hield seems disgruntled with his role on the team under head coach Luke Walton.

The Kings hold the No. 12 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft and should be able to add a good young talent to their rotation. But, with limited cap space, the new general manager will have to get creative in filling out the roster around Fox. The other option to completely rebuild the team around Fox, but that may not go over well with the fans who haven’t seen a playoff game since 2006.

Which of the three candidates do you prefer?