From drafting Fox to passing on Doncic, here are Divac’s best and worst moves as Kings GM
Vlade Divac stepped down Friday as general manager of the Sacramento Kings. While his fame as a winning player lives on, his infamy as a losing executive now lives alongside it.
The Kings did not make the playoffs or register a winning season in his five years as the primary decision maker. The team’s record of 162-238 was an inescapable bottom line, but his fate was likely sealed by only a few major mistakes.
We’ve combed through every trade, draft pick and free agent signing to figure out where he deserves credit and where he deserves blame.
DIVAC’S BEST DECISIONS
Divac drafted the Kings a franchise player in De’Aaron Fox. He is the face of the team and could easily become an All-Star in the next couple of seasons. Divac selected him with pick No. 5 in the 2017 draft. He was the right pick. No one would dispute that. It was a clear win for Divac, though perhaps his only one in five years.
The most pleasant surprise of Divac’s tenure was acquiring Bogdan Bogdanovic on draft night in 2016. The trade sent out the No. 8 pick and brought in Bogdanovic, pick No. 13, pick No. 28 and a future second-rounder. It could have been an even bigger coup for Divac if he did not waste the late lottery selection on Georgios Papagiannis.
Harrison Barnes is a divisive figure, especially when it comes to his contract. He plays an important role, but few would argue that he is worth the roughly $20 million per year that he will cost the Kings into 2023. Still, Divac acquired Barnes by sending out Justin Jackson and Zach Randolph at the 2019 trade deadline. Divac did well to get something for nothing.
Divac also has a few wins to his name in free agency. Richaun Holmes and Nemanja Bjelica headline the group. Both have outperformed their contracts. The problem is that these small victories have been vastly outweighed by big misses.
DIVAC’S WORST DECISIONS
Luka Doncic is the best young player in the NBA. He could win an MVP soon, and likely a championship or two at some point in his career. He fell directly into Divac’s lap in the 2018 draft, but Divac selected Marvin Bagley III instead. While Bagley is struggling to get on the court, Doncic is collecting awards and playing in the postseason. It’s the type of mistake that could haunt a franchise forever.
One of Divac’s first transactions was among his most baffling. Shortly after he took over in 2015, the Kings traded Nik Stauskas, Jason Thompson, Carl Landry, an unprotected 2019 first-round pick and a right to swap another first-rounder for essentially nothing. Divac acquired the rights to two international players that never came to the NBA. Divac wanted salary cap space and he used it to sign players that did little to help the team.
The players Divac signed that offseason weren’t his only misses. Across the years he agreed to deals of $57 million for George Hill, $40 million for Dewayne Dedmon, $37 million for Cory Joseph, $33 million for Kosta Koufos, $25 million for Trevor Ariza, $25 million for Arron Afflalo, $24 million for Garret Temple and $24 million for Randolph. Those were the eight largest contracts for incoming free agents under Divac’s tenure. One or two were decent, at best.
Divac also made illogical changes to his staff. Dave Joerger coached the Kings to their best season in 13 years, yet he was fired the day after the 2018-19 season ended. Divac hired Luke Walton soon after – without interviewing any other candidates. It was a bold display of confidence, but it did not pay off. The team’s winning percentage dropped by the equivalent of five losses this season.
WEIGHING THE BIG PICTURE
Every other move Divac made was more or less a push.
The Kings acquired Buddy Hield and a 2017 first-rounder in exchange for DeMarcus Cousins. Hield has been up and down while Cousins looked like a superstar before injuries derailed his career. That first-round pick could have landed Donovan Mitchell or Bam Adebayo, but Sacramento traded down.
The selection of Willie Cauley-Stein did not work out long term, but it was an understandable pick at the time. The same could be said for Harry Giles III, though Divac may have ended Giles’ time in Sacramento early by declining his team option for next season.
The expensive but defensible new deals for Barnes and Hield could go in the neutral category as well. Trades involving Hill, Ariza, Dedmon and Marco Belinelli brought in minor assets, but the Kings would have been better off if they had simply played up to expectations.
Divac’s only undeniable hit was Fox, but it was a move that was somewhat expected. It’s the pick he should have made. Divac deserves credit for actually doing it, but many other general managers would have done the same.
However, few others would have drafted Bagley over Doncic. Even fewer would have traded an unprotected first-round pick for nothing. And no one else would have considered Papagiannis worthy of a lottery pick.
It’s the bold moves that matter most, and Divac’s boldest moves were failures. That is ultimately why the Kings are now conducting a search for a new general manager.