Source: Kings GM Vlade Divac steps down after five seasons; Joe Dumars will take over
His jersey will always hang in the rafters at Golden 1 Center as a symbol of his storied playing career in Sacramento, but Vlade Divac will no longer hold his post as the team’s general manager.
Divac, 52, stepped down Friday after five tumultuous seasons as the team’s general manager and vice president of basketball operations. Joe Dumars, who joined the organization as an adviser last summer, will serve as interim general manager and executive vice president of basketball operations until a permanent replacement is found.
Sources told The Sacramento Bee discussions about parting ways with Divac intensified as the Kings concluded their season with a 31-41 record, the franchise’s 14th consecutive losing season. One line of thinking within the organization was that the team had no choice but to stay the course after a season plagued by injuries and enormous financial losses stemming from the coronavirus pandemic. Others felt a change was necessary.
“This was a difficult decision, but we believe it is the best path ahead as we work to build a winning team that our loyal fans deserve,” Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé said in a news release. “We are thankful for Vlade’s leadership, commitment and hard work both on and off the court. He will always be a part of our Kings family.”
The team also issued a statement from Divac.
“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as the General Manager for the Kings,” Divac said. “I want to thank Vivek for the opportunity and recognize all of the incredible colleagues who I had the great pleasure of working with during my tenure. Sacramento and the Kings will always hold a special place in my heart and I wish them all the best moving forward.”
A respected league executive said earlier Friday that Divac sealed his fate with a series of bad decisions over the past five years, pointing specifically to the decision to pass on Luka Doncic in the 2018 NBA Draft.
“When you pass on generational players, you can’t win in this league,” he said. “You just can’t.”
The source predicted Dumars would take on a larger role within the organization, saying “that would help, but they need to get somebody younger in there.”
A larger role for Dumars
The team said it will work with Dumars to establish a “long-term strategy for the organization’s basketball operations structure,” including a search for a permanent general manager. The team said no further personnel decisions will be made until a new general manager is in place, so coach Luke Walton, his staff and assistant general managers Peja Stojakovic and Ken Catanella are safe for now.
Dumars, 57, was a six-time All-Star and two-time NBA champion with the Detroit Pistons. He served as the team’s president of basketball operations from 2000-14 and was named Executive of the Year in 2002-03 while constructing a team that would win the NBA championship in 2004.
Dumars joined the Kings organization as a special adviser to the general manager in June 2019. He has more than 30 years of NBA experience as a player and front office executive and an extensive executive business background. The organization believes Dumars will provide stability through the draft, which will be held Oct. 16, and free agency, which will begin Oct. 18.
“Joe has become a trusted and valued adviser since joining the team last year, and I am grateful to have him take on this role at an important time for the franchise,” Ranadivé said.
Divac, who was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019, was a part of the golden era of Kings basketball from 1998-2004. He averaged 11.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists over six seasons in Sacramento.
Divac helped lead the Kings to six of their eight consecutive playoff appearances under former coach Rick Adelman. The Kings reached the Western Conference finals in 2002 with a team that included Stojakovic, Chris Webber, Mike Bibby, Doug Christie, Bobby Jackson, Hedo Turkoglu and Scot Pollard.
Divac made his only All-Star appearance with the Kings in 2001. The team retired his No. 21 jersey in 2009.
Beloved player returns as GM
Divac returned to the Kings organization in an advisory role in March 2015. By the end of the summer, he had replace Pete D’Alessandro as the team’s general manager.
One of Divac’s first big mistakes was the trade that sent Nik Stauskas, Jason Thompson and Carl Landry to the Philadelphia 76ers in a salary dump. The Kings gave up their 2019 first-round pick and two draft swaps in a cap-clearing move The Big Lead described as a “crazy dumb Sacramento salary dump.”
Divac freed up money to sign Rajon Rondo, Marco Belinelli and Kosta Koufos in an attempt to build a winner around Cousins, but the losses continued to mount.
The real rebuild didn’t begin in earnest until Divac traded Cousins to the New Orleans Pelicans in 2017. After making the trade, Divac famously told The Bee he would resign if the team wasn’t better within two years.
“That’s my job, and I take responsibility,” Divac said. “And I totally understand why some fans would be upset. They supported DeMarcus, and I like DeMarcus a lot. But I believe we are going to be in a better position in two years. I want to hear again from these same people in two years. If I’m right, great. If I’m wrong, I’ll step down. But if I go down, I’m going down my way.”
Despite their setbacks, the Kings believed they had assembled a talented young group with the acquisitions of De’Aaron Fox, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Buddy Hield, Marvin Bagley III and Harry Giles III. In June 2018, Divac said: “My team is a superteam, just young.”
The Kings unleashed an uptempo attack and went 39-43 with that group under former coach Dave Joerger in 2018-19. It was their best season since 2005-06, the last year they made the playoffs.
The organization rewarded Divac with a four-year contract extension. The team also gave Divac the power to decide the fates of Joerger and assistant general manager Brandon Williams, who feuded over Joerger’s handling of Bagley.
Divac fired Joerger and Williams on April 11, 2019. Two days later, he hired Walton. The organization gave itself one contingency, hiring Dumars later that summer to advise Divac.
League sources said Ranadivé began spending more time with Dumars as the team showed regression leading up to the All-Star break. Divac remained calm despite a series of injuries that stunted the team’s growth, but Ranadivé grew more alarmed as various players seemed to regress from the prior season.
“This season has been disappointing, frustrating for a lot of reasons,” Divac said in late January “We expected better results.”
In a Jan. 30 interview with Bee columnist Marcos Bretón, Divac was asked directly if he was worried about his job.
“We’re not happy where we are, but (Ranadivé) is letting me do what I think we have to do,” he said.
Draft history
Divac will be remembered for his humanitarian work and his brilliant playing career, but his tenure as general manager has been defined by the decision to pass on Doncic.
The Kings had a poor draft record long before Divac took over as general manager. In 2011, they drafted Jimmer Fredette over Klay Thompson. In 2012, they picked Thomas Robinson over Damian Lillard.
In 2013, they took Ben McLemore over CJ McCollum in a draft that also included Steven Adams, reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and two-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert. In 2014, the Kings drafted Nik Stauskas over numerous players who had better careers.
In 2015, with Divac in the front office, they chose Willie Cauley-Stein over the likes of Myles Turner and Devin Booker. Divac acquired the rights to Bogdanovic during the 2016 draft, traded Cousins and then selected Fox with the fifth pick in the 2017 draft.
The team moved up in the NBA draft lottery to get the No. 2 pick in 2018. The team’s fan base was delirious with excitement, knowing the Kings would have an opportunity to draft Doncic after the Phoenix Suns selected Deandre Ayton with the No. 1 pick, but Divac drafted Bagley instead.
Bagley has been limited to 75 games due to injuries over his first two seasons. Doncic has already emerged as an MVP candidate. That decision became a major point of contention from Divac and Ranadivé.
The league executive who spoke to The Bee said the Kings have stood in stark contrast to organizations that encourage dissenting voices and value robust debate.
“People making decisions, of course, are the ones who are going to determine success or non-success of a franchise,” he said. “You get a few chances in the world of basketball where, if you make the right decisions and if you take responsibility for what’s going on, you can make a difference. Some people will not admit they made a mistake, and it doesn’t work for them.”
This story was originally published August 14, 2020 at 3:36 PM.
