Report: Monte McNair likely to receive an extension in the new year

The Kings will give their GM his long overdue new contract.

One of the more intriguing things going on in the Sacramento Kings’ organization is the question of General Manager Monte McNair. Currently in the final year of his three-year deal, McNair has certainly done enough to retain his position and be rewarded for the job he’s done thus far. But why have owner Vivek Ranadivé and the rest of the front office waited so long to make their decision?

According to a recent report by Marc Stein on his sub stack, that decision is likely to be made sooner than later.

One league source told me this week that there is a growing expectation around the organization that an extension for McNair is indeed forthcoming and likely to be announced in early 2023. The fact it hasn’t happened yet is an undeniable curiosity in league circles.

In my mind, and likely that of most Kings fans, McNair has done more than enough to receive a lucrative extension. During his tenure, the Kings have not only begun to consistently draft well (Tyrese Haliburton, Davion Mitchell, Keegan Murray, etc.), but they made one of the biggest trades in franchise history to acquire Domantas Sabonis and surround the star duo of Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox with complimentary talent. The team also currently has one of the best coaching staffs Sacramento has seen in a long time.

Oh, and the beam (I don’t know if it was his idea but it happened while he was here).

Due to the efforts of McNair, the Kings are now in a position to compete and end their playoff drought. Before he was in Sacramento, there was no clear path on what the team needed to do in order to change things up. But now, we can see the vision and there is a legitimate culture building and chemistry between the team and the front office. I could argue that because of McNair, the Kings are fun again like they were 20 years ago.

Now maybe McNair and Ranadivé had agreed to make the deal only after some sort of milestone was passed. But as an outsider, the deal needs to happen right now. He should get a multi-year, highly compensated deal frome Santa this Christmas. McNair has earned it.