When news broke two weeks ago that the Kings were hiring agent and attorney Jason Levien as their assistant general manager and team general counsel, plenty of questions were asked both by fans and within the organization about what it meant.

Part of the reaction was only natural given the history, as the Kings' front office had been manned mostly by basketball president Geoff Petrie and vice basketball president Wayne Cooper for the past 15 years. This wasn't just new blood, either; it was unorthodox in the sense that agents don't all that often find their way into front offices. When the hiring became official Tuesday, the significant parties did their best to answer the queries thrown their way in these phone interviews.

Petrie

Opening comment on Levien: He's bright. He's knowledgeable, has a breadth of experience now in terms of the collective bargaining agreement. He's a lawyer. He has a good network of people and resources that I think he's developed over the years. I think he'll add a lot.

When did you start to think about this guy in this capacity in terms of bringing him in house?

Obviously, going way back to when we drafted Hedo (Turkoglu), he was working for (agent Lon) Babby. He was doing some of the point work there. Over the years, I had different conversations with him – obviously Kevin (Martin), and there were other players in that arena. I was impressed with his preparation, his knowledge. Again, it's his ability to do some things in house for us along with his basketball background (that) will be valuable.

When the story came out last week, by far the most frequent question being asked by your fan base was not only 'What is this guy going to do?' but – so long as your deal doesn't go beyond next season – people wonder where your career is at. Does this have any impact on that? Is there a bigger picture at play here at all?

I don't think so. I really don't. I mean, I want to continue doing what I'm doing as long as it works for everybody. Obviously, you're healthy enough, and you think your track (record) is good, and you're accomplishing something. I don't think people should be really caught up in that at all.

Did it surprise you that an agent would want to switch sides, so to speak?

There's a lot of people who would like to get into the basketball side of the business, regardless of what their profession or qualifications are. I think the world of Lon Babby, too. I think he's terrific, and Jason worked for him. He's carved out a niche for himself on the player side of things. And to do that, especially when you're a sole proprietor, you have to have some sense of whether a player can make it in the NBA. … If your clients aren't doing anything, you can't make a living. Right?

Again, he's got a breadth of experience that's really valuable.

Kings co-owner Gavin Maloof

Opening comment: I know Jason pretty well. He's certainly a very bright individual. He loves basketball, cares about the Kings, has a good rapport with Joe (Maloof) and I and Geoff. It's just another set of eyes and ears and an opinion that we could use to help us draft other picks, help us with our current roster. … He knows basketball, and he's a bright guy, so you can't have too many of those around.

Were you looking to make an addition and you started looking around and you honed in on this guy, or was it the other way where the more you got to know him the more you thought you'd want to bring him in?

You run across a lot of people in the basketball business. I guess there are a lot of competent individuals, but you have to find someone that you really get along with and that you really hit it off with. We kind of all just hit it off. That's what happened with us and Jason. …

He'll work well under Geoff. He'll review players' contracts. He'll help us form the contracts, do a lot of legal work that we need done. … And he's a basketball junkie, which is great, too. You've got to find somebody who eats, breathes and sleeps basketball, and that's what he does. I feel fortunate to have him, and I think he's going to bring a lot to the table.

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