Since Vivek Ranadive has been the owner of the Sacramento Kings, there have been near-constant changes to the front office and coaching staff. The latest one was Vlade Divac becoming the main basketball decision-maker, a move that happened quietly. In an interview with the Sacramento Bee's Ailene Voisin, Ranadive confirmed that Divac outranks general manager Pete D'Alessandro and he is confident the new "vice president of basketball and franchise operations" will set the Kings on the right path:
“Vlade makes the decisions,” said Ranadive, noting that Divac's title as vice president of basketball and franchise operations positions him above general manager Pete D'Alessandro. “Two people report directly to me. Chris Granger, who runs the business side, and Vlade from the basketball side. I want to make that clear as we move forward. We have a lot of work to do, and we are all in this together.”
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“All of us have different skills,” Ranadive said, “and everyone has their roles. Vlade is a unifier, a conductor, and he is very smart. People probably don't realize that when he was back in Serbia (as head of the Olympic committee), he was dealing with political leaders at the highest level. He can interact with the person who carries your bag and interact with the president of a country. And he has a strong stomach. He wears big-boy pants. George, he is a future Hall of Fame coach. I have always respected him as a coach, and now I am getting to know him as a human being. And, yes, I ask dumb questions, and I am still an irritant. But I am counting on Vlade to pull this all together.”
Given that Divac lacks experience as an NBA executive, there will be healthy skepticism about his ability to turn the team around. Sacramento hasn't made it to the playoffs since it snuck in as the eighth seed under Rick Adelman in 2006, just a year after Divac retired as a player. The Kings won 29 games this season, their highest total since 2008. They need a more balanced roster, with better defenders and guys who fit into George Karl's uptempo system. Divac, who will represent Sacramento at the draft lottery on May 19, said that this will be the last time it misses the playoffs. That's an extremely bold claim in the Western Conference, and this will be an important summer for the franchise.
With Karl and Divac in place, and Chris Mullin -- previously Ranadive's advisor -- out of the picture and coaching at St. John's, at least the Kings know who's in charge now. Personally, I'd like D'Alessandro to write a book about the last two tumultuous seasons, but I doubt that's in the cards.
