Kings can’t keep repeating and repeating and repeating mistakes in their GM search

The Sacramento Kings brought in a retired Hall of Fame player as an advisor, then handed power over to said advisor, resulting in the team’s general manager resigning rather than accepting a reduced role.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.

The same process that put Vlade Divac in charge and resulted in Pete D’Alessandro’s exit played out again in Vlade’s exit that put Joe Dumars in charge as interim GM last week.

Kings chairman Vivek Ranadivé proclaims himself as a man who doesn’t make the same mistake twice. Following the hiring of coach George Karl, Vivek said, “I make new mistakes, I won’t make the same mistake again.” And yet repeating past mistakes has been the defining characteristic of Vivek’s ownership.

The Kings had positive momentum in 2014, but fired coach Michael Malone and sent the team into a tailspin. The Kings had positive momentum in 2019, but fired coach Dave Joerger, resulting in the team taking a step back this season.

Ranadivé hired Malone and then hired a GM with no allegiance to him. Ranadivé let D’Alessandro hire Karl in early 2015, only to bring in a new GM with no allegiance to Karl. Ranadivé allowed Divac to bring in Luke Walton a long-term contract, and now a year into the deal the Kings will have a new GM with no allegiance to Walton.

It’s time to stop repeating the same mistakes. Ranadivé must get this GM search right.

This is an opportunity to conduct a professional search and hire a truly qualified candidate. It’s concerning that already within the first few days of the search there are reports that there are factions of the ownership group lobbying for different candidates. Infighting among the owners and not agreeing on one direction to move forward? More of the same old mistakes.

There are just 30 general manager positions in the NBA, and most teams employ multiple assistant GMs who have their eye on the big chair. Many of the candidates have worked their way up through front office ranks for years, building credibility and connections with people and players throughout the league. The Kings don’t need to settle on a candidate immediately. Owners shouldn’t be lobbying for specific candidates until a search has been conducted to determine a large pool of interested candidates.

And to land a top candidate, the Kings ownership group must learn from another mistake they love to repeat — they need to stop getting in the way. The Kings have a large ownership group, with Ranadivé serving as the chairman, and every member of that group has been wildly successful in other ventures. But it’s time to hire the best available candidate and then get out of their way. Ranadivé needs to stop allowing advisors or anyone outside of basketball operations to fill his head with ideas. Hire a GM and let them run the team.

Anything less and the Kings will just be repeating their mistakes.

Greg Wissinger has covered the Kings for more than 10 years and is the managing editor of KingsHerald.com.