ESPN Insider Blasts Sacramento Kings After Major GM Decision

The Sacramento Kings ended their 2024-25 season with a play-in tournament loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night, but they did not take long to get their offseason started.

About an hour after the final buzzer, the Kings and general manager Monte McNair decided to mutually part ways. While this move was not shocking to most, the speed at which it happened was. Then, within 12 hours, the Kings had their new general manager ready to sign a deal.

The Kings have reportedly agreed to a deal with longtime NBA executive Scott Perry as their new general manager after the dismissal of McNair. While Perry is expected to do a great job in Sacramento, how the franchise handled the entire situation rubbed many people the wrong way.

No search. No process. Just hiring a new GM less than 12 hours after firing the last one.

I like Scott Perry a lot. Hoping he can be successful here. But the way ownership goes about these things continues to be flawed. They haven't exactly earned confidence & faith. https://t.co/Gg6pyNPoPt
— Matt George (@MattGeorgeSAC) April 17, 2025

ESPN insider Brian Windhorst went on NBA Today to blast the Sacramento organization over their process of parting ways with McNair and hiring Perry all within a 12-hour frame.

"It's not a good organization," Windhorst said. "I wish Scott Perry the best... Domantas Sabonis gave his exit interview today, and they said 'What do you need to do in the offseason?' He said, 'We need to get a point guard.' They just had a franchise point guard that they let their relationship go south on. I'm sure everyone has their stories, but the relationship went south.

"[McNair] knew he was getting fired because they already had Scott Perry hired. He knew for weeks he was getting fired. His assistant, Wes Wilcox, left weeks ago to take another job, but he was a big part of their rebuild.

"How many coaches did they go through in Sacramento over the last 17 years? They finally found a coach who put them on the right path in Mike Brown. They liked him so much that they gave him a contract extension last summer. They fired him two months into the season. This is the definition of why they have been a bad organization for decades."

.@WindhorstESPN isn't optimistic about the current state of the Sacramento Kings.

"This is the definition of why they have been a bad organization for decades." 😕 pic.twitter.com/cQi4ne7qmM
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 17, 2025

Windhorst does not hold back on the Kings, and most fans cannot even rebut what he has to say. The Kings continue to shoot themselves in the foot, and Windhorst goes on to use the DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine pairing as another example.

LaVine and DeRozan are two talented stars who were teammates on the Chicago Bulls for three years and had no success, yet the Kings still decided to test it again in Sacramento, while trading away their franchise point guard in the process.

Feb 24, 2025; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Zach LaVine (8) and forward DeMar DeRozan (10) and forward Keegan Murray (13) walk up the court during the first quarter against the Charlotte Hornets at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images | Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images

Many Kings fans are not opposed to the hiring of Scott Perry, and even more are fine with the dismissal of Monte McNair, but one huge question remains: Why would the Kings allow McNair to make franchise-shaking decisions, even though they knew his time as general manager was running out?

This season, the Kings fired head coach Mike Brown, hired Doug Christie as interim, traded away De'Aaron Fox, acquired Zach LaVine, and have now parted ways with Monte McNair.

Nobody expected Sacramento to have this hectic of a season, but it was certainly the last thing the struggling franchise needed.

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