Kings hire Ken Catanella as assistant general manager
Ken Catanella, assistant general manager of the Detroit Pistons and a former salary cap expert for the NBA, has been hired as the Kings’ assistant general manager.
Former assistant GM Mike Bratz will remain with the organization as special adviser to general manager Vlade Divac and director of scouting.
A formal announcement is expected Thursday.
Divac, who is in the process of interviewing head coaching candidates and strengthening his basketball operations department, engaged in a prolonged search for his No. 2 basketball executive. Former Indiana Pacers executive David Morway appeared to be the leading candidate for several weeks before discussions broke down.
Catanella also previously headed the analytics department for the New Jersey Nets.
A graduate of Amherst and Duke’s School of Business, Catanella developed systems and analytics scouting methods while serving as a graduate assistant for Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski (2004-06) before being named coordinator of statistical analysis for the Nets (2006-08).
Catanella leaves a Pistons organization that expanded the size of its front office substantially when Stan Van Gundy took over as coach and basketball president two years ago. Once among the leaner franchises, the Pistons staff includes GM Jeff Bower, assistant GM Jeff Nix, four pro scouts, a director of strategic planning and, for now, an assistant GM vacancy.
Divac is thought to be intrigued by Catanella’s diverse background and salary cap expertise – an increasingly important element of today’s NBA. The Kings’ GM plans additional hires to bolster his scouting and player development staff once a new coach is selected. Former NBA coaches Mike Woodson, Vinny Del Negro, Kevin McHale and Sam Mitchell have interviewed for the position, with Divac likely to interview additional candidates before making a decision.
Ailene Voisin: 916-321-1208, avoisin@sacbee.com, @ailene_voisin
This story was originally published April 27, 2016 at 6:38 PM with the headline "Kings hire Ken Catanella as assistant general manager."