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The final whistle had barely sounded on the Kings’ season and their general manage was out the door.

Sacramento and its general manager mutually parted ways after a season-ending 120-106 loss to the Mavericks in the play-in tournament Wednesday, according to multiple reports.

McNair agreed to the divorce due to concern over losing decision-making power, according to The Athletic, with a verdict on interim coach Doug Christie looming following Mike Brown’s dismissal and questions about his role in acquiring DeMar DerRozan and Zach Lavine this season.


  McNair won Executive of the Year honors in 2023. AP McNair won Executive of the Year honors in 2023. AP

“McNair didn’t want to fire Brown, league sources said, and there are internal questions about whether he really wanted to sign DeRozan or trade for LaVine,” the outlet reported.

“Tension also existed in recent days between McNair and the ownership group about Christie’s future with (owner Vivek) Ranadive viewed as the Christie backer.”

The Kings are not wasting time in hiring McNair’s replacement with former Knicks general manager Scott Perry finalizing a deal to be their next general manager, according to ESPN.

This front office shakeup comes just two seasons after McNair won NBA Executive of the Year after earning the franchise’s first playoff berth since 2006.


  Kings owner Vivek Randadive (second from L) sits to the right rapper/mogul 50 Cent in April 2025. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect Kings owner Vivek Randadive (second from L) sits to the right rapper/mogul 50 Cent in April 2025. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

McNair spent five seasons running the team’s basketball operations, with the Kings going 195-205 (.488) during his tenure and falling to the Warriors in seven games in the first round of the 2023 playoffs in their lone playoff appearance.

McNair’s departure completes the full remodeling of the team’s previous coach-general manager setup, with Brown having been dismissed earlier in the season.

The Kings also previously lost assistant general manager Chris Wilcox to the University of Utah.

It seems McNair is paying the price for the Kings not building off their 2023 season, when they won 48 games and secured the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.

Sacramento only won two fewer games in the 2023-24 campaign but fell to the No. 9 seed before losing losing to the Pelicans in the play-in tournament in their clash for the No. 8 seed.

This year’s team took a sizable step back, going 40-42 and again finishing with the conference’s ninth-best record before bowing out of the play-in tournament after one game.

The Kings signed DeRozan this offseason in a quest to improve, but then tried rearranging the chairs amid a middling start by trading star De’Aaron Fox to the Spurs and acquiring LaVine from the Bulls.

Brown received the boot after just 31 games and the Kings went 27-24 in the regular season under Christie, who is “well-positioned” to remain in the role, per The Athletic.


  Acquiring DeMar DeRozan did not lift the Kings this season. AP Acquiring DeMar DeRozan did not lift the Kings this season. AP

McNair could land with the Rockets or 76ers due to relationships with executives running those franchises, per the publication.

He reportedly spoke with the team about the “bigger-picture view” after Wednesday’s loss, only for the players to learn soon after he would not be the one making the calls for the future.


  Scott Perry in 2021. Getty Images Scott Perry in 2021. Getty Images

Perry will now be the one guiding the ship and he returns to a franchise he spent a brief stint with in 2017 before leaving to the Knicks’ general manager.

He served in that role through the 2023 season before the team did not renew his contract.

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