Sacramento Kings: Assistant GM Peja Stojakovic steps down from his position

Sacramento Kings’ assistant general manager Peja Stojakovic has stepped down from his position.

The Sacramento Kings‘ organization has undergone a complete front-office makeover in the last two days now following assistant general manager Peja Stojakovic‘s decision to step down from his position.

This comes one day after general manager Vlade Divac announced his decision to resign from his role with the team after five years as GM. Now, his partner in crime has made the same decision.

Stojakovic is one of the most notable Kings of all time having spent eight seasons with the team from 1998 to 2006. His No. 16 is retired by the organization and he holds the record for most three-pointers made in a career.

But while his playing career will always be looked back on fondly, the same can’t be said for his limited front-office tenure.

Stojakovic was appointed director of player personnel and development for the Kings in August of 2015 shortly after Divac took over as the team’s official GM. And in May of 2018, he was promoted to the role of assistant general manager.

Prior to his departure, Stojakovic was the acting assistant general manager and GM of the Stockton Kings, the NBA’s G-League team. Stojakovic and Divac were good friends and the former often served as the latter’s right-hand man.

But now, both former Kings players have been essentially removed from their positions.

The Sacramento Kings will now begin a search to replace both Vlade Divac and Peja Stojakovic.

At the time of writing, there has been no word about the Kings’ other assistant general manager, Ken Catanella. As for special advisor Joe Dumars, he’s expected to lead the search for the team’s new general manager.

It doesn’t appear as though that search will lead them to internal options.

Stojakovic had the following to say about his time in the Kings’ front office in a statement released by the team on Saturday.

"“It has been a great joy and honor to work in the Kings front office for the past five years. I want to thank the organization and especially the incredible fans around the world for the support over the years. Sacramento will always be home to me and I wish the franchise nothing but the very best.”"

Despite some moderate improvements over Divac’s tenure as general manager, there were simply too many unforgivable blunders to ignore. From draft-day regrets to free-agent mistakes, the Kings have had no shortage of gaffes over the last few years.

Ultimately, Divac — and now Stojakovic — have taken the fall for it.

The Kings will restart in their front office as the organization looks to rebound from the previous disappointing regime.

Here’s to hoping that their replacements could usher in a new era of Sacramento Kings basketball — on hopefully more fruitful than the last.