Kings Bolster Front Office With Several Moves
Oct 13, 2020, 7:45 PM | Updated: Oct 15, 2020, 5:46 pm
New Kings assistant GM Wes Wilcox (Getty Images)
(Getty Images)
New GM Monte McNair has solidified his front office staff with a flurry of moves
The Sacramento Kings have made several moves to bolster their front office, with new general manager Monte McNair leading the way in the hiring process.
Per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, McNair has hired former general manager of the Atlanta Hawks Wes Wilcox, Phil Jabour of the Philadelphia 76ers and Oklahoma City’s Paul Johnson to his front office staff.
Wilcox was interviewed by the Kings for the general manager position last month before McNair was hired.
Clearly, McNair and majority owner Vivek Ranadive are fans of Wilcox, who will become the assistant general manager and right-hand man to McNair in Sacramento.
Wilcox helped build a Hawks team that went 91-73 over his three seasons as general manager.
Phil Jabour has been the Director of Scouting for the Philadelphia 76ers since the beginning of the 2019-20 season. Jabour has over 12 years of front office experience, as well as over seven years of scouting experience while working for the Orlando Magic and 76ers,
According to Wojnarowski, Jabour will become the Vice President of Player Personnel.
Paul Johnson, who was most recently the Pro Evaluation Coordinator for the Oklahoma City Thunder, will become the new Director of Basketball Operations for the Kings.
Johnson was part of a front office in Oklahoma City that flourished last season–even after trading away two All-Star players in Russell Westbrook and Paul George.
On the surface, these moves put Sacramento in a far better place than they were this time last year.
Replacing former GM Vlade Divac and assistant GM Peja Stojakovic with experienced personnel is something that Kings fans should be excited about.
The front office that the Kings have had over the past five years was very inexperienced. Divac and Stojakovic, while they might be fan favorites and legends in Sacramento, did not know how to run an NBA front office. This rang true time after time again, with Divac making several poor decisions that have cost the Kings wins and salary cap space over the past five years.
Sacramento now has filled their front office to the gill with some of the brightest minds in the league.
With free-agency and offseason moves approaching, the Kings have their front office lined up for what should be a very busy and very interesting offseason in the capital city.
