Kings mailbag: Who’s in charge here? Vivek Ranadivé, Joe Dumars lead team’s GM search
The transition of power within the Kings organization has already gotten messy as the franchise begins its search for a new general manager following the resignation of Vlade Divac, but the team appears to be taking steps to clean it up.
Divac stepped down last week after Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé decided to put team adviser Joe Dumars in charge of basketball decisions, a move that would have essentially made Dumars president of basketball operations. When Divac resigned, the Kings announced Dumars would serve as interim executive vice president of basketball operations and general manager.
The team said ownership would work with Dumars to develop a long-term strategy for the organization’s basketball operations structure, including the search for a new general manager. People around the league — including possible candidates for the GM job — wondered who was in charge.
“Is Joe hiring for the position or is Vivek hiring for the position?” one potential candidate asked during a conversation with The Sacramento Bee.
Sources told The Bee another question that looms large among candidates is whether they would have control over basketball decisions. If the Kings aren’t offering autonomy, the job won’t be attractive enough for some of the candidates they are believed to be considering, sources said.
The preliminary list of prospective candidates in Sacramento could include New York Knicks general manager Scott Perry; San Antonio Spurs vice president of basketball operations Brent Barry; Toronto Raptors general manager Bobby Webster; Boston Celtics assistant general manager Mike Zarren; Miami Heat assistant general manager Adam Simon; and Los Angeles Clippers assistant general manager Trent Redden.
These people may have some questions and so do you. Let’s start our search for answers in this week’s Kings mailbag.
Note: Some questions have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Does Joe Dumars want the job?
@richnguyen asks: Is Joe Dumars interested in a permanent management job or is he just leading the search committee?
Let’s say right up front Dumars is more than qualified for this job. He served as president of basketball operations for the Detroit Pistons for 14 years and was named NBA Executive of the Year in 2003 while assembling the team that won the NBA championship in 2004.
“Joe’s the best,” one league source said. “Everyone knows what he’s done as a player and he should probably be in the Hall of Fame as an executive as well for what he’s been able to accomplish.”
Some believe Dumars wanted the job for himself all along. If that’s true, he should bow out of the hiring process and make himself a candidate, but that would leave the Kings without experienced leadership as they prepare to make important decisions about the future. The Kings believe having Dumars onboard will help provide stability leading up to the NBA Draft and the start of free agency in mid-October, but at this point it’s unclear what role he will play after a new general manager is hired.
All of this has left people around the league to wonder if the Kings knew what they were doing when they decided to make a change and how the front office will be structured. Does Dumars plan to remain with the organization in a role similar to Miami Heat president Pat Riley? Or will his role resemble Jerry West’s current position as an adviser with the Los Angeles Clippers?
We still don’t know what Dumars will do when a new general manager is hired, but on Wednesday sources told The Athletic the new GM will answer to Ranadivé — not Dumars — and Dumars has no interest in being the long-term head of basketball operations. However, he is expected to play a pivotal part in the hiring process and will likely interview candidates along with Ranadivé.
The more immediate question is who’s in charge right now and even that has been a source of confusion. The Kings addressed that specific question Tuesday when Dumars issued a statement to The Sacramento Bee.
“My role as interim Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations is to immediately assume General Manager duties during this transition period and assist Vivek in developing a long-term strategy for the basketball operations department,” Dumars said. “As part of that process, I will support a thorough national search for a permanent General Manager over the coming months. The search will be run by an outside firm and Vivek will have the final decision making authority.”
Who will be the decider?
@mbkings1052 asks: Will the next general manager have more decision making authority than Kings COO Matina Kolokotronis and Joe Dumars?
The first part of your question was answered Tuesday when the Kings told The Bee that while Kolokotronis remains a trusted adviser to Ranadivé who is responsible for the team’s business operations, she does not have decision-making authority in basketball operations. The second part of your question was answered with the aforementioned report on Wednesday which made it clear the new GM will answer to Ranadivé, not Dumars.
Do Kings have a timetable?
@Michael_is_Me asks: Is there an official time table for hiring a GM? Are they trying to get someone in before draft day?
There is no stated timetable. This is an important decision and the Kings will take their time, but it would be ideal if they could get it done before the NBA Draft on Oct. 16 and the start of free agency Oct. 18.
The Kings have four picks in this draft — their lottery pick plus three second-round selections. They also have to negotiate a huge contract extension with De’Aaron Fox and decide whether to keep players such as Buddy Hield, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Nemanja Bjelica, Harry Giles III, Kent Bazemore and Alex Len.
These are important decisions that should be made with purpose and a sense of direction. If the Kings don’t hire someone before the draft, whoever they end up hiring will go into his first season with the coach Divac hired, the roster Dumars assembled and no salary cap space.
The Kings would surely prefer to let their new general manager make those decisions, but time is not on their side. The draft is only eight weeks away. Some organizations might not grant the Kings permission to interview their employees if their teams are in the playoffs. Some teams will be in the playoffs until the second week of October. The Kings may have to wait.
Is this a real search?
@kingsfa88388663 asks: Do you think the Kings will actually SEARCH for a GM? I would like Bobby Webster.
Despite some of the other confusion and awkwardness, it does appear the Kings are preparing to conduct a thorough search. They hired Sportsology CEO Mike Forde’s executive search firm to help them find a new general manager.
Forde reportedly helped the New Orleans Pelicans and Washington Wizards conduct their general manager searches in 2019. The Pelicans ended up hiring Trajan Langdon. The Wizards’ search came down to Wizards vice president of basketball operations Tommy Sheppard, Denver Nuggets president Tim Connelly and then-Oklahoma City Thunder vice president of basketball operations Troy Weaver.
The Wizards promoted Sheppard after Connelly turned down the job. The Pistons hired Weaver as their general manager in June.
More questions
@Kellen_Browning asks: How much do we need to crowdfund to get the Raptors guy?
That would be the aforementioned Bobby Webster, whose name was on the preliminary list of candidates we reported on earlier this week. I don’t know how much he’ll cost, but he might be worth every penny.
Webster has a pretty good gig already as general manager of the Toronto Raptors, but Webster and Raptors president Masai Ujiri both have contracts that expire in 2021. Webster is not likely to walk away from Toronto for just any job, but at some point he might want to run his own team.
Webster worked for the NBA office from 2006-13. During his time with the league office, he advised all 30 teams on issues relating to the collective bargaining agreement, salary cap and luxury tax planning. He served as the NBA’s associate director for salary cap management before joining the Raptors front office in 2013.
Webster became the youngest GM in the NBA in 2017 when he was promoted into that role at the age of 32. He helped Ujiri construct the team that won the 2019 NBA championship.
@kevsource asks: Is Sam Hinkie being courted?
Not that I’m aware of, but it’s early in the process.
@hixhicks asks: Whoever the GM, the NBA bubble revealed a distinct deficit on the Kings compared to other West teams with young stars such as New Orleans, Memphis and Phoenix. Do you foresee a roster overhaul over the next three years?
Yes, there are sure to be some significant changes. The Kings are going to look to get better defensively and they may look to get younger again if the new general manager leans into a real rebuild.
The Kings have committed long-term money to Harrison Barnes and Hield and they have extensions coming up for Fox and Marvin Bagley III, but no one else on the current roster is on the books for guaranteed money beyond the 2020-21 season.
This story was originally published August 20, 2020 at 4:00 AM.
