Sacramento Kings Look to Shake Things Up
Jun 3, 2013; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings new head coach Michael Malone (left) and owner Vivek Ranadive speak during a press conference at Sleep Train Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
A New Coach and GM
The Sacramento Kings certainly have had their plate full during the last several weeks. The Kings have started to assemble what is already a very talented front office group consisting of new General Manager Pete D’Alessandro, Assistant General Manager Mike Bratz, and new head coach Mike Malone.
D’Alessandro has hand picked his management staff, and has already found his new assistant GM in Bratz. Bratz is a former NBA player and coach, with a very strong reputation around the league.
D’Alessandro has been in talks with Shareef Abdur-Rahim about retaining his services, Abdur-Rahim is all that is left from last season’s management and has received high praise from his new GM.
D’Alessandro has also offered former NBA star Chris Mullin a consultant job with the Kings. While the status of Mullin’s future with the team has yet to be determined, D’Alessandro hopes to hear back from Mullin within the next week and has offered nothing but the highest praise with regards to Mullin.
Mike Malone has also been hard at work assembling his new coaching staff. Malone looked to his father Brendan Malone and added him to the coaching staff almost immediately after being hired by the Kings. While Brendan Malone was only introduced as part of the coaching staff early Tuesday, he has been helping run the Kings pre-draft workouts since his son was hired.
The Kings announced that they had hired Chris Jent as an assistant coach Monday June 10th. Jent was an assistant coach for his alma mater in 2011 and 2012, helping lead his Buckeyes to the Final Four in 2012.Jent has also served as an assistant coach for both Philadelphia and Orlando, and acted as the interim head coach for the Orlando Magic in the final 18 games of the 2005 season. Jent then moved on to Cleveland where he was the director of player development for the Cavaliers from 2006-2009 before being promoted to assistant coach.
The Kings need the experience that D’Alessandro has brought to the table. Ranadive’s decision to hire Malone before finding his new GMhas been criticized around the league and said to be highly unprecedented. Most owners generally look for a GM before hiring a new coach simply because GMs like to be involved in the process of picking a new coach
While Ranadive has received harsh criticism from several owners around the league, he has stated on several occasions that he was almost certain Malone was his man from the start.