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Sacramento Kings: D’Alessandro Returns to Higher Ground

By John von Volkli

Jul 1, 2013; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings general manager Pete D Alessandro during a press conference at the Sleep Train Arena press room. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 1, 2013; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings general manager Pete D Alessandro during a press conference at the Sleep Train Arena press room. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Sacramento Kings‘ front office appears to have finally emerged from its musical chairs, swamp-castle stable, A&E reality show phase.

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As has been rumored for some time now, Kings general manager Pete D’Alessandro is leaving his post in Sacramento. Through the last two years, D’Alessandro has had to deal with a number of uncomfortable situations, including the firing of head coach Mike Malone in December of 2014, the subsequent slump under interim head coach Tyrone Corbin, and then a loss of functional authority with the arrival of Kings vice president for basketball and franchise operations, Vlade Divac.

The management team that shaped the early years of Vivek Ranadive’s ownership proved to be unsuited to the rhythm and style of operation which could have stabilized a team in flux. Team advisor

Chris Mullin

spent his time with the Kings harping on Ranadive to fire Malone, whose slower and more lock-down defensive orientation was opposed to Mullin’s tastes. Ranadive, perhaps not understanding the usual cadence of turnover in the NBA, opted to push for Malone’s firing in

December

, after Malone compiled an 11-13 at the start of the season. D’Alessandro shared in Mullin’s distaste for Malone’s style, and the trio used the slump following

DeMarcus Cousins

‘ illness-related sidelining as license to make a coaching change.

NBA: Preseason-Sacramento Kings at Golden State Warriors
NBA: Preseason-Sacramento Kings at Golden State Warriors /

Though the coaching situation(s) were the marquee events of D’Alessandro’s tenure, the failure to attract the necessary talent while trading away current team assets. Even the Rudy Gay trade, which came in December of 2013, was more about acquiring a talented forward than finding a uniquely good fit for the team. The turnover on the team was necessary during the first years of a new ownership stretch, but the feeling of ill-timed, ad-hoc swaps never seemed to indicate a patient, calculated, and effective transformation of a team. Piecemeal trades for players who made up a team often all at once ball-hungry, turnover-prone, and defense-deficient.

So, interested Sacramentans will likely get over this departure fairly quickly, with their white knight Vlade Divac there to assure all is well in the kingdom. It seems that despite head coach George Karl‘s arrival predating his own, Divac is invested in working to create a trademark Karl caliber team, complete with solid playmakers and a sheen of common-sense defense to justify continued pursuits of a fast-paced and looser offensive game. The Ranadive-Divac-Karl triangle seems interdependent and mutually supportive, all determined to provide the tools necessary to make their shared vision a reality, and to back each other up during the bumpier sections of this road.

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With Mullin now basking in the hometown hero glory of his St. John’s head coaching position, D’Alessandro returns to the Denver, for whom he previously served as an advisor to then-Nuggets vice president Masai Ujiri. D’Alessandro was promoted to the post of vice president of basketball operations in 2012 before being brought into the fold in Sacramento in 2013, following Ranadive’s acquisition of the team. D’Alessandro’s new role, as yet untitled, will have him overseeing operations for not only the Nuggets, but the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche, also owned by Wal-Mart heir Josh Kroenke.

As D’Alessandro makes his return to Denver, the Nuggets continue to search for a head coach to fill the void left after the firing of Brian Shaw in March. Ironically, Mike Malone has been in the hunt for the position, but as sources have indicated to Yahoo’s Adrian Wajnarowski, Malone will be sheltered from any undue discrimination as he continues through the hiring process, which has him competing with the likes of Shaw’s immediate replacement, Melvin Hunt, as well as former Lakers, Knicks, Suns, and Nuggets head coach Mike D’Antoni.

As D’Alessandro leaves the Kings, assistant general manager Mike Bratz will ascend to become interim GM while a permanent candidate is being determined. Bratz worked under D’Alessandro in Denver, and was also brought over in 2013.

Whether Bratz becomes that permanent replacement is likely dependent on whether or not he shares the same team vision as the aforementioned triangle. Ranadive can’t possibly be interested in any more internal tensions keeping his team from progressing this season. Now, the current leadership team can turn to how best to spend their No. 6 draft pick on June 25.

Let the era of rational, effective decisions begin. Or let us pray that it begins at all.

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