The Sacramento Kings finalized the deal to hire general manager Scott Perry in hopes that he can get the team back to the playoffs after losing in the play-in tournament the past two years.
The Kings reached an agreement with Perry last week just hours after parting with Monte McNair and announced the deal on Monday. Perry will be introduced at a news conference on Wednesday.
Perry will oversee the basketball operations department and report directly to owner Vivek Ranadive.
"Scott brings a wealth of experience, a sharp basketball mind, and a strong track record of building talented rosters,” Ranadive said in a statement. “He shares our commitment to developing and sustaining a winning culture, and I am excited to welcome him back to Sacramento.”
After snapping an NBA-record 16-season playoff drought in 2022-23 when McNair was named executive of the year, the Kings fell just short of returning to the playoffs the past two seasons, leading to the change.
Perry returns to Sacramento after spending three months in the front office as vice president of basketball operations in 2017.
“I appreciate the opportunity to rejoin the Kings organization and help build a successful team that competes at a high level,” Perry said in a statement. “I’m eager to get to work with the players and staff to continue moving the organization forward.”
Perry was hired away from the Kings to become general manager of the Knicks under team president Scott Mills. Perry ran the Knicks briefly on an interim basis in 2020 following Mills’ firing before returning to his role of GM under team president Leon Rose through the 2022-23 season.
Perry spent more than a decade in the front office for the Pistons, playing a role in building a roster that won the 2004 NBA Finals and made six straight Eastern Conference Finals appearances.
Now he will try to do the same with the Kings after becoming the franchise’s fifth lead executive since Ranadive took over the team in 2013. The Kings have gone through nine coaches in that span — including interims — and have the fifth-worst record in the NBA.
One of the first decisions will be on the status of interim coach Doug Christie, who went 27-24 after taking over when Mike Brown was fired in December.
Perry inherits a core of Sabonis, DeRozan, Zach LaVine, Keegan Murray and Malik Monk. He likely won't have a first-round draft pick as the Kings have a 3.8% chance of moving into the top four in the lottery. Otherwise the pick will go Atlanta as part of a previous deal made for Kevin Huerter.
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Josh Dubow, The Associated Press
