Kings mailbag: Who is top GM candidate? Is Luke Walton’s job safe? NBA Draft targets?
The Kings are moving into the interview phase of their search for a new general manager. Names have surfaced, leading candidates have emerged and there is reason to hope the hiring process could be complete in time for a delayed NBA Draft.
The league is tentatively planning to push the draft back from Oct. 16 to Nov. 18 and the 2020-21 season will begin no sooner than Christmas Day, sources told The Athletic’s Shams Charania on Thursday. That gives the Kings more time to sort through a list of candidates that features a number of smart young executives who have studied under some of the brightest minds in the NBA.
League sources told The Sacramento Bee the Kings have requested permission to interview Miami Heat assistant general manager Adam Simon; Minnesota Timberwolves executive vice president Sachin Gupta; Denver Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth; Houston Rockets assistant general manager Monte McNair; New Orleans Pelicans general manager Trajan Langdon; and former Atlanta Hawks general manager Wes Wilcox.
Langdon withdrew his name from consideration on Wednesday. Another candidate is likely to withdraw soon, a league source told The Bee on Thursday. Interviews are set to begin next week.
Who will get the job? How much power will he have? What will he do with the roster? What will happen to Kings coach Luke Walton? You have questions and we have answers in this week’s Kings mailbag.
Some questions have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Who are top GM candidates?
@KangzDraft asks: With Trajan now out of the picture, can you list the Kings’ five other GM candidates in order of your preference and why?
I wouldn’t want to frame this discussion that way. As a beat writer who covers the Kings, I should not and do not have any preference in their job search. If I were conducting the search, I wouldn’t make that kind of decision before speaking to each candidate at length about their vision, goals and view of the team’s roster.
Having said that, based on resumes I think it’s fair to say Simon and Gupta are certainly two of the most intriguing candidates.
Simon, 46, has helped assemble the Heat team that defeated the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference semifinals. This is Simon’s first season as vice president of basketball operations and assistant general manager under GM Andy Elisburg and team president Pat Riley, but that doesn’t begin to describe his experience.
Simon has been with the Heat for 25 years, soaking up the culture and thinking of a winning organization under Riley’s tutelage. Simon began his career with the Heat as an intern in the video room under current Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and has held numerous titles in player personnel and scouting. Simon played a key role in drafting Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo, Justise Winslow, Josh Richardson and KZ Okpala, and acquiring undrafted players such as Derrick Jones Jr., Duncan Robinson and Kendrick Nunn.
Gupta, 38, has a computer science degree from MIT and an MBA from Stanford. He began his career at ESPN, where he helped usher in basketball’s analytical movement and became well versed in the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement while developing ESPN’s popular Trade Machine. He worked in the front offices of the Philadelphia 76ers, Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons before the Timberwolves hired him in July 2019.
“Sachin is an extremely talented basketball mind who brings a diverse and unique background to our staff,” Timberwolves president Gersson Rosas said after hiring Gupta. “Known as a pioneer of basketball analytics and one of the leaders in the CBA, I’m thrilled to partner with Sachin as we aim to build the Timberwolves into one of the most modern and dynamic franchises in the NBA.”
Simon’s a pro. Gupta might be a genius. I would still want to engage in some in-depth discussions with them and others before moving anyone to the top of my list, but both enter the process as uniquely qualified candidates.
Is Luke Walton’s job safe?
@MoneyMafia15 asks: Do we hire a new GM and if so is Walton gone? Is it time to rebuild?
Yes, no and maybe so.
Yes, the Kings will hire a new general manager. No, Walton is not gone. League sources tell The Bee Walton is safe and will coach the 2020-21 season. Beyond that, there are no assurances.
The idea of another rebuild is something the new general manager will have to discuss with owner Vivek Randivé, interim executive vice president of basketball operations Joe Dumars, assistant general manager Ken Catanella and Walton. It wasn’t long ago we were all being sold on the idea of an exciting young core featuring De’Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Harry Giles III and Marvin Bagley III. We didn’t see the natural progression of that group this season for numerous reasons, but a new basketball boss may decide he would rather accumulate assets of his own than marry himself to the decisions of former general manager Vlade Divac.
The new balance of power within the front office and Dumars’ role moving forward is still uncertain and remains a point of confusion among candidates, sources said, but I’m told the new general manager will be the team’s top basketball official and will report directly to Randivé.
What’s Dave Joerger doing?
@Jim38576775 asks: What’s the last coach they fired doing? He seemed to have things moving in a positive direction.
You’re referring to former Kings coach Dave Joerger, whose name has come up a couple of times in recent weeks in connection with two high-profile job openings.
Charania identified Joerger as a potential candidate for the Philadelphia 76ers on Aug. 24. On Wednesday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski named Joerger as one of more than a dozen candidates expected to conduct virtual interviews with the Indiana Pacers.
Joerger spent three seasons in Sacramento, compiling a 98-148 record. He was fired after the Kings went 39-43 in 2018-19, their best season since they last made the playoffs in 2005-06.
Joerger previously spent three seasons as head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies. He led the Grizzlies to the playoffs all three years and has a career record of 245-247.
NBA Draft
@streetsavvyGMG asks: Who are our preliminary draft targets?
The Kings have the 12th pick in the opening round of the draft. They also hold the No. 35, No. 43 and No. 52 picks in the second round.
Forecasting who the Kings will target is difficult without knowing who will make that decision and how he will view the rest of the roster. Even so, we have a general idea of which players might be available when the Kings are on the clock.
Sacramento should have options with some combination of the following players available at No. 12: Devin Vassell, a 6-7 guard/forward from Florida State; Tyrese Haliburton, a 6-5 point guard from Iowa State; Aaron Nesmith, a 6-6 small forward from Vanderbilt; Percious Achiuwa, a 6-9 power forward from Memphis; Saddiq Bey, a 6-8 small forward from Villanova; and Patrick Williams, a 6-8 power forward from Florida State.
This story was originally published September 11, 2020 at 4:00 AM.
