Sacramento Kings part ways with GM Monte McNair after play-in loss
The Sacramento Kings wasted no time in starting their spring cleaning after a season of disappointment ended with a disappointing loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
A league source told The Sacramento Bee the Kings and general manager Monte McNair mutually agreed to part ways Wednesday following a 120-106 loss to the Mavericks in an NBA play-in game at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
A number of players in the locker room reacted with surprise when the news broke less than an hour after the game ended. A few were told to dress quickly and ushered away to an impromptu meeting before Kings staffers closed the locker room to the media.
McNair watched much of Wednesday’s game from the tunnel that leads to the locker room from the Sacramento bench. Kings owner Vivek Ranadive sat courtside, arms folded with a dour expression on a night his team trailed by as many as 26 points.
McNair issued a statement on social media thanking Ranadive, players, coaches, staffers and fans.
“Five years ago, I was given the opportunity of a lifetime,” McNair said. “I’ll always be grateful to Vivek and the entire Kings organization for taking a chance on me.
The Beam Team brought so much joy to so many. Thank you to the players, coaches, and staff who played such a vital role in creating those special moments and memories. To the Sacramento community—thank you for welcoming and embracing me and my family. We arrived as a family of four and leave as a family of six. As a California kid, this truly felt like a dream homecoming. To Kings fans—you’re simply the best. I’ll never forget the deafening roar before Game 1 or the countless other unforgettable moments we shared. There will be many more beams in the Kings’ future.”
McNair spent five seasons in Sacramento — amassing a record of 195-205 (.488) — after being hired in 2020 to change the fortunes of a struggling franchise. He was named NBA Executive of the Year after assembling a team that won 48 games to secure the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference in 2022-23, ending the longest playoff drought in league history.
The Kings went 40-42 to finish ninth in the Western Conference this season. They reached the 40-win mark for the third consecutive year, but the Kings had higher expectations after adding DeMar DeRozan to a core that already included De’Aaron Fox, Malik Monk, Kevin Huerter, Keegan Murray and Domantas Sabonis.
The Kings fired coach Mike Brown on Dec. 27 after the Kings went 13-18 to start the season. A midseason trade sent Fox to the San Antonio Spurs and Huerter to the Chicago Bulls while bringing Zach LaVine to Sacramento.
There was more change late in the season when assistant general manager Wes Wilcox quit to become general manager of the University of Utah men’s basketball team and assistant coach Luke Loucks left to become head coach at Florida State.
McNair and Wilcox worked together to transform the Kings’ roster during their time in Sacramento. They re-signed Fox, drafted Keegan Murray and Tyrese Haliburton, and then traded Haliburton to the Indiana Pacers in a blockbuster deal for Sabonis.
The team’s talent improved dramatically, but there were always questions about the roster construction with a lack of size, length, defense and depth. The midseason additions of Jake LaRavia and Jonas Valanciunas addressed some of those concerns, but by then Fox had been traded, signaling additional changes and a possible rebuild.
This story was originally published April 16, 2025 at 11:15 PM.
