The Kings’ hunt for a new general manager could end this week. Here are the finalists
The Kings reportedly have a list of three finalists in their search for a new head of basketball operations and a decision could be made by the end of the week.
Minnesota Timberwolves executive vice president of basketball operations Sachin Gupta, Houston Rockets assistant general manager Monte McNair and former Atlanta Hawks general manager Wes Wilcox are considered finalists, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Denver Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth has withdrawn his name from consideration.
Booth agreed to have an informal conversation with Kings owner Vivek Ranadive on Sunday before formally withdrawing. Booth’s initial interest in the Sacramento job was legitimate, but he had made up his mind by Saturday after discussing the timing with his family, sources told The Sacramento Bee. The Nuggets promoted Booth to general manager in July to work under president of basketball operations Tim Connelly.
There was increasing talk in NBA circles Wednesday indicating the Kings would hire Gupta to replace Vlade Divac, who resigned in August after five seasons as general manager and president of basketball operations. KHTK reported Tuesday the Kings were showing strong movement toward hiring Gupta as head of basketball operations and McNair as general manager, but a league source told The Bee no decision had been made and other scenarios were still possible.
The Kings are hiring a top basketball executive who will report directly to Ranadive, and that person will have the power to appoint his second in command, but exact titles have not been determined, the source said.
Sachin Gupta
Gupta and McNair worked together twice before in Houston. Both have rich backgrounds in basketball analytics, but neither has led a front office before. Wilcox is the only reported finalist with general manager experience.
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’s analytics movement. 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 Philadelphia 76ers, Rockets and Detroit Pistons before the Timberwolves hired him in July 2019.
Rockets general manager Daryl 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 and added McNair to his staff a year later. They all worked under executive vice president Sam Hinkie until Hinkie left Houston to become the general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers 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.
Monte McNair
McNair is a Southern California native who played football at Princeton. He joined the Rockets as an analyst in 2007.
McNair was named director of basketball operations in 2013. He transitioned to vice president of basketball operations in 2015 and was promoted to assistant general manager in October 2018.
In addition to his analytics work for the Rockets organization, McNair has been involved in all aspects of player evaluation, including trades, free agency and the draft.
Wes Wilcox
Wilcox served as director of player personnel for the Cleveland Cavaliers before joining the Hawks as assistant general manager in 2012. He was promoted to general manager at the age of 36 in June 2015 and spent two seasons in that role before resigning in May 2017.
Wilcox helped construct the Hawks team that reached the Eastern Conference Finals after going 60-22 in 2014-15. Wilcox became general manager the following season. The Hawks won 48 games in 2015-16 and 43 games in 2016-17.
ESPN reported Wilcox interviewed for the Chicago Bulls’ executive vice president of basketball operations job in April. He was a finalist for the Milwaukee Bucks’ general manager job in 2017.
This story was originally published September 16, 2020 at 2:35 PM.
