Sacramento Kings: Which GM Should They Bring In?
New Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive is wasting no time rebuilding his newly acquired franchise. He recently hired Mike Malone as the new head coach and has now moved on to searching a general manager.
According to sources from ESPN, Memphis’s general manager Chris Wallace is the top candidate for the position with Golden State’s assistant general manager Travis Schelenk next.
Chris Wallace
Jan 27, 2013; Memphis, TN, USA; Memphis Grizzlies ceo and managing partner Jason Levien Memphis Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace and Memphis Grizzlies director of player development Stu Lash during the game against the New Orleans Hornets at the FedEx Forum. New Orleans Hornets defeat the Memphis Grizzlies 91-83. Mandatory Credit: Spruce Derden–USA TODAY Sports
Wallace is currently leading all candidates for the general manager position.
He has a lot of experience as both a general manager and a director of player personnel.
Before Memphis, Wallace was the GM for the Boston Celtics and the Director of Player Personnel for the Miami Heat. His vision and belief in undiscovered players have proven his value in the league. He helped assemble a Heat roster that won a franchise-record 61 games in 1996-1997 season and a Celtics squad that finally got back to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2002 after a decade of not making it.
His latest success was with Memphis where he was able to acquire Tony Allen, Mike Conley, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. Wallace was heavily criticized for trading the then-Grizzles franchise player Pau Gasol for Marc Gasol; however we now see that that was a brilliant move by him. Wallace brought in a supporting cast to compliment these core players and that team made it all the way to the 2013 Western Conference Finals.
Wallace steered the Grizzles in the right direction and he can definitely do the same in Sacramento.
Travis Schlenk
April 28, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers (left) and assistant general manager Travis Schlenk (right) watch before game four of the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs against the Denver Nuggets at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Next possible candidate is Schlenk who Ranadive interviewed this past week. He is currently the assistant general manager and the Director of Player Personnel for the Warriors.
Schlenk played an important part in assembling the current Warriors roster that had such a successful year. He has a great reputation for finding talented basketball players and the Warriors wouldn’t be where they are without his expertise.
Schelenk also has a great track record of completely redefining a franchise.
Ranadive and his staff have been working nonstop this week searching and interviewing potential general managers. The Kings should hire Chris Wallace, but if that doesn’t work out, Schlenk also has the ability to bring success to the team. Look for Ranadive to announce his decision in the next week or so.