Sachin Gupta wishes Sacramento well; says Monte McNair is home run hire for Kings
Minnesota Timberwolves executive vice president of basketball operations Sachin Gupta believes the Kings hired an excellent general manager — even if they didn’t hire him.
Gupta, one of three finalists for the position, spoke to The Sacramento Bee by phone Thursday after the Kings announced they hired Houston Rockets assistant general manager Monte McNair to lead their front office. Gupta asked not to be quoted and declined to say if he had been offered the job, but he agreed to discuss what he described as the many positive aspects of his experience with the Kings.
Gupta expressed confidence in McNair, one of his closest friends, and gratitude toward the Kings. He admitted he was disappointed the situation in Sacramento didn’t work out and said McNair would have been his top choice as a right-hand man if he had gotten the job. Gupta acknowledged a report that the Kings considered pairing him and McNair together in the front office, but he politely declined to address it.
Gupta said he enjoyed getting to know Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé, his son, Aneel Ranadivé, and Joe Dumars, the organization’s newly appointed chief strategy officer. All three participated in the interview process. League sources told The Bee it was ultimately Ranadivé’s decision.
Gupta visited Sacramento, toured the team’s Golden 1 Center facilities, and met with Chief Operating Officer Matina Kolokotronis and President of Business Operations John Rinehart. Gupta repeatedly stated the Kings made a great move in hiring McNair, noting that they have known each other for 15 years.
Gupta and McNair worked together twice before in Houston. Both are disciples of Rockets general manager Daryl Morey and former Philadelphia 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie. Both have rich backgrounds in basketball analytics.
McNair joined the Rockets as an analyst in 2007. He was named director of basketball operations in 2013, vice president of basketball operations in 2015 and assistant general manager in October 2018. In addition to his analytics work for the Rockets, McNair has been involved in all aspects of player evaluation, including trades, free agency and the draft.
Gupta, 38, earned a computer science degree from MIT and an MBA from Stanford. He began his career at ESPN, where he was a pioneer in basketball analytics. Gupta became well versed in the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement while developing ESPN’s Trade Machine. He later worked in the front offices of the 76ers, Rockets and Detroit Pistons before the Timberwolves hired him in July 2019.
Morey met Gupta after delivering a guest lecture to MIT alumni in March 2005. Morey hired Gupta when he was named general manager of the Rockets in 2006. He added McNair to his staff a year later. The three of them worked with Hinkie, the Rockets’ former executive vice president, until Hinkie left Houston for Philadelphia in 2013.
Gupta spent six seasons with the Rockets, laying the foundation for the team’s analytics department while assisting with strategy, salary cap management and trades. Gupta returned to Houston as a special adviser to Morey in 2017-18 before joining the Timberwolves.
This story was originally published September 17, 2020 at 6:29 PM.
