How Monte McNair’s contract could affect Kings’ decision with No. 4 pick in NBA draft
Kings general manager Monte McNair entered the summer on a seat warmer with a modest war chest and limited means of improving the team enough to satisfy the apparent demands of ownership.
McNair strengthened his position considerably when a flash of lottery luck gave him a big bargaining chip — the No. 4 pick in Thursday’s NBA draft — but the heat is on and critical decisions must be made in the hours, days and weeks to come. McNair is on the clock, it seems, in more ways than one.
McNair is entering what could be his third and final season in Sacramento, apparently with his job on the line amid reports of a win-now mandate from the powers that be. His first two years were plagued by COVID-19 and the past sins of an organization that keeps repeating the same mistakes. In the remaining year, it’s fair to wonder how McNair’s contract status will influence decision making and discussions inside the palace walls.
It’s also fair to ask why this wayward franchise keeps fomenting this kind of dysfunction. In fact, this situation raises all kinds of questions as the Kings prepare to make their biggest draft decision since 2018, when they chose Marvin Bagley III over Luka Doncic.
Should the Kings select Jaden Ivey, who will likely be the best player available at No. 4?
Should they take Keegan Murray, the player who is probably best equipped to help them fight their way into the play-in tournament next season?
Should they trade away the pick — and the opportunity to draft a potential star on a rookie contract — in order to acquire expensive vets who might help them reach the playoffs immediately, possibly mortgaging their future?
Are rival executives using this leverage against McNair and assistant general manager Wes Wilcox in trade negotiations this week? What happens if they make a big move but the Kings come up short?
We know what happens because we’ve seen it before. McNair will be replaced, leaving what could be a messy situation for the next general manager to clean up.
The Kings have seen what constant turnover, instability and internal power struggles can achieve after setting a record for the longest playoff drought in NBA history over 16 consecutive losing seasons. They fire the general manager and hire a new one, who later fires the coach and hires a new one. Before long, they fire the general manager again, and then they fire another coach, and the cycle continues.
Every general manager comes with a new staff of executives. Every coach comes in with a new group of assistants. Players come and go. Their fates are all the same.
Nobody wins. Everybody loses. Fans suffer and keep dreaming of the day winning basketball returns to Sacramento. This happens like clockwork in Kings Land. Now might be the time for continuity and a clear vision for the future, but beyond next season, the Kings haven’t committed to McNair, who just introduced Mike Brown as his new head coach Tuesday at Golden 1 Center.
So, here we go again, maybe. Or maybe Kings owner Vivek Ranadive will decide he finally has the right man for the job. He might know that two years — both plagued by COVID-19 and the organization’s past missteps — would not be enough to clean up this mess.
A long-lasting relationship between former president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie, vice president Wayne Cooper and coach Rick Adelman once helped this team reach incredible heights. Maybe McNair, Wilcox and Brown can do it again if given enough time.
Petrie was hired June 1, 1994. He didn’t fire a coach until March 21, 1997, when he let Garry St. Jean go in a move that led to the eventual hiring of Adelman on Sept. 17, 1998.
McNair doesn’t have that kind of time. The Athletic’s Sam Amick confirmed McNair is going into the final year of his contract. Marc Stein reported McNair’s uncertain future was an issue among candidates during Sacramento’s coaching search. Coaches know what happens when general managers get fired. Before long, they get fired, too.
That pattern could continue in Sacramento next summer if the Kings don’t make an extraordinary leap into the postseason after finishing 30-52 this season. According to Stein, coaching candidates were informed the organization is counting on the kind of jump the Minnesota Timberwolves made this season, going 46-36 to reach the playoffs after winning 23 games in 2021-22.
“Candidates were told that team officials are counting on a Minnesota-esque surge in the standings in Year 1 after a league-record 16 consecutive seasons out of the playoffs,” Stein wrote.
That kind of progress in a single offseason is almost unheard of in the NBA, but patience has worn thin in Sacramento. The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor reported the Kings are looking for a “win-now player” with the No. 4 pick in the draft, “whether they draft one or deal the pick to acquire one.”
Any win-now edict would be meant more for McNair than Brown, who is just now making the move to Sacramento after attending a championship parade with the Golden State Warriors on Monday. The Kings aren’t going to fire Brown after one season, but by all appearances, they could part ways with McNair if they don’t make a monumental leap next season.
So what would you do?
Would you draft the best player available? The player who gives you the best chance to win right away? The player who could become an NBA superstar if given enough time to develop?
We probably won’t know what the Kings willo do until NBA commissioner Adam Silver announces they are on the clock with the No. 4 pick Thursday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. At this point, it’s fair to wonder if they will be on the clock in more ways than one.
This story was originally published June 22, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
