Kings general manager Monte McNair is on the hot seat entering the play-in tournament, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
McNair, who was hired as Sacramento’s general manager in September 2020, helped the franchise end its long playoff drought in 2023, but the team hasn’t progressed as hoped since then. The Kings were eliminated in the play-in tournament in 2024 and will face the same fate this spring unless they can beat the Mavericks at home on Wednesday and the Grizzlies in Memphis on Friday.
After going 48-34 in 2022/23, the Kings won 46 games last season and dropped back below .500 with just 40 victories this season. DeMar DeRozan, Sacramento’s major acquisition last summer, hasn’t had the sort of impact the front office envisioned, while De’Aaron Fox time as a King came to an end earlier this season when the club decided to trade its star point guard after he made it clear he didn’t plan to sign an extension.
The Kings’ front office has already undergone some changes this year — assistant general manager Wes Wilcox left his position in Sacramento to become the GM for the University of Utah. Reporting at the time suggested it was a signal that the Kings’ top executives may be on shaky ground.
According to Scotto, if McNair is replaced this offseason, former Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth is considered by a number of people in league circles as a possible candidate to watch in Sacramento.
As for McNair, some of Scotto’s sources believe a reunion with the Rockets would be a possibility for him if he’s let go by the Kings. McNair worked in Houston’s front office for over a decade before being hired by Sacramento.
The Kings’ head coaching position is also in flux, with Doug Christie having held the job on an interim basis since December. Management’s decision on Christie could depend in part on which direction the franchise goes with its front office, but Scotto notes that team owner Vivek Ranadive is fond of Christie, who also has support from Vlade Divac.
Divac, Sacramento’s former general manager who was fired in 2020, returned to the organization in a team ambassador role in 2023 and has been around the club more frequently lately, as Sam Amick of The Athletic first noted and Scotto confirms. According to Scotto, Divac’s increased presence has league personnel wondering if he could return to a front office role in the event of McNair’s exit.