It didn’t take very long for Vivek Ranadivé to decide that Michael Malone was the right man to coach the Sacramento Kings. But it’s taking the new owner a little more time to figure out who will run the Kings’ front office.
Ranadivé has yet to name a successor for current basketball president Geoff Petrie, whose contract will not be renewed at the end of this month.
“I speak with Vivek a couple times a day and he’s been very thorough and he’s gonna take his time with this decision,” Malone said following yesterday’s pre-draft workout with Cody Zeller. “I think probably in the near future, he may have somebody. But one thing I’ve learned about Vivek, he’s not gonna make any rash decisions. He’s gonna take his time and when he feels it in his gut that he has his guy, he’ll make that decision.”
Some new names have surfaced in the Kings’ search for a new general manager, particularly Rick Sund of the Atlanta Hawks and Scott Layden of the San Antonio Spurs. However according to multiple reports, Chris Wallace of the Memphis Grizzlies, David Morway formally of the Indiana Pacers and Layden currently lead the pack.
Is Malone offering any input to help Ranadivé in his search? The Kings new head coach says he’s giving his owner space when it comes to deciding on a new front office.
“I’m a head coach,” Malone said with a smile. “I don’t make those decisions. He’s the owner and he’s gonna hire the guy that he feels comfortable with and I’ve told him that. I know whoever you hire, it’s going to be a great decision.
“Hey, he hired me so he’s got a good eye for talent.”
Malone is in the midst of his own hiring process as well. He is trying to fill his coaching staff with presumably two more assistants. So far, only Chris Jent has officially started working for him. Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing and former NBA big man Roy Rogers were actively courted as well. But Ewing took a job to be an associate head coach with Steve Clifford in Charlotte and Rogers recently signed on to Jeff Hornacek‘s staff in Phoenix.
Malone says his father Brendan will be joining Jent and him in Sacramento. But right now, the 26-year coaching veteran is helping assist his son from New York before making the leap to head west.
“He’s chomping at the bit,” Malone said with a grin. “He keeps on asking me. I think my mother wants him out here as soon as possible to get him out of the house. But he’s doing a lot of work back there in New York right now, and trying to be an asset, watching a lot of film, so I speak to him all the time and he’ll be out here at some point.”
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