The Sacramento Kings wasted no time in filling their vacant general manager spot.
Less than 12 hours after parting ways with general manager Monte McNair — a move that came almost immediately after their season-ending, Play-In loss to the Dallas Mavericks — team sources say they finalized a deal with longtime front office executive, and former Kings vice president of basketball operations, Scott Perry.
The 61-year-old Perry, whose 25-year front office career has also included time with the Detroit Pistons, Seattle SuperSonics, Orlando Magic and New York Knicks, had a strong working relationship with Vivek Ranadive during a three-month-long Sacramento stint in 2017 before he was hired away to become the Knicks’ general manager (he was there through 2023).
Perry’s last two stops make him uniquely positioned to potentially succeed in Sacramento, as the past two owners with whom he has worked — the Kings’ Ranadive and the Knicks’ James Dolan — are widely known to be among the most involved in the league. Perry, who worked well alongside former Kings executive Vlade Divac during his time in Sacramento, remained on good terms with both despite dealing with difficult dynamics along the way.
Before hiring Perry, team sources say the Kings also inquired about former Denver Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth and Joe Dumars, the former Kings adviser and Hall of Famer who joined the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday as their president of basketball operations.
While Perry is expected to have influence on the Kings’ ultimate choice for head coach, team sources say interim coach Doug Christie is well-positioned to keep the job, though Christie said he has yet to be given any firm assurances.
“None,” Christie said after the Kings’ 120-106 loss to Dallas. “But this is where I want to be. You guys know that. I need to finish what I started.”
The McNair departure, which was first reported by The Athletic, concluded a five-year tenure as the team’s general manager. Two Aprils ago, he was named the NBA’s Executive of the Year after hiring Mike Brown as the head coach and watching the roster he built around De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis put up the league’s top offensive rating and break the franchise’s 16-season playoff drought.
Now, with questions looming about the future of core players like Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine, it’s Perry’s turn to turn it around — again.
(Photo: Dustin Satloff / Getty Images)
