Kings general manager Monte McNair is under pressure as the team heads into the play-in tournament. Hired in September 2020, he helped end a long playoff drought but the team has not improved significantly since, facing elimination again this spring unless they defeat the Mavericks and Grizzlies. After a drop to a 40-win season, the Kings’ key acquisition, DeMar DeRozan, failed to meet expectations, and star point guard De’Aaron Fox was traded. With changes already in the front office, Calvin Booth is a potential replacement for McNair, while interim coach Doug Christie’s future remains uncertain amid McNair’s job security concerns.
Kings general manager Monte McNair finds himself under pressure as the play-in tournament approaches, according to league sources reported by Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
Since his hiring as the Kings’ general manager in September 2020, McNair played a pivotal role in ending the franchise’s lengthy playoff drought in 2023. However, progress has stalled, as the team was ousted in the 2024 play-in tournament and faces a similar fate this spring unless they secure victories against the Mavericks at home on Wednesday and the Grizzlies in Memphis on Friday.
After a successful 48-34 record in the 2022/23 season, the Kings won 46 games last year but have since fallen below .500 with only 40 wins this season. DeMar DeRozan, the marquee addition made by Sacramento last summer, has not delivered the expected impact, while De’Aaron Fox’s tenure with the team ended earlier this season following a trade after he expressed no intention of signing an extension.
This year has seen changes within the Kings’ front office, with assistant general manager Wes Wilcox departing Sacramento to take on the general manager role at the University of Utah. Reports at that time suggested potential instability among the Kings’ top executives.
Scotto mentions that if McNair is let go in the offseason, former Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth is regarded by several league insiders as a candidate to monitor for the Kings.
As for McNair, some sources indicate that a return to the Rockets may be a possibility should he part ways with the Kings, given his extensive history in Houston’s front office prior to joining Sacramento.
The head coaching situation for the Kings is also unsettled, with Doug Christie serving as the interim head coach since December. Management’s choice regarding Christie may hinge on the future direction the franchise takes with its front office, though Scotto notes that team owner Vivek Ranadive has a favorable view of Christie, who also enjoys support from Vlade Divac.
Divac, the Kings’ former general manager who was dismissed in 2020, returned to the organization in a team ambassador capacity in 2023 and has been more involved recently, as initially reported by Sam Amick of The Athletic and confirmed by Scotto. According to Scotto, Divac’s increased visibility has led league personnel to speculate about a potential return to a front office role should McNair exit.