Sacramento Kings: Goodbye, and thank you, Vlade Divac

Vlade Divac has stepped down as Sacramento Kings’ Vice President of Basketball Operations. Although this move was necessary, it was a shame.

After concluding yet another disappointing season, the Sacramento Kings made big moves towards their upper management team. According to The Athletic’s Sam Amick, Vlade Divac has stepped down as the Kings’ Vice President of Basketball Operations. The job is now handed to Joe Dumars, with the intern tag, and the team is now in search of a new general manager.

As of now, Luke Walton‘s job as the Kings’ head coach is safe. With that being said, however, many reports have stated that once the team has a new general manager hired, he or she will have the final say in who will coach the team next season and beyond.

The fans of the purple and white pleaded for this to happen and they finally got their wish. Divac stepping down was justified as he made more bad decisions than good in the years he managed the team’s player personnel, resulting in the Kings to remain in the basement of the NBA standings with very little momentum going forth. But just because the decision to part ways with Divac was the right call, it is bittersweet to see his tenure end this way.

Divac was the glue for the Sacramento Kings

When he joined the Kings in 1998 as a player, Divac was a significant piece for those entertaining Sacramento teams in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was not the best player based on statistics or talent but was the glue that kept everyone together which showed while they played on the court.

Even Chris Webber, the Kings’ multiple All-Star player during that era, thanked Vlade for being the reason the Kings were so competitive during their time as teammates.

Although Divac was part of the greatest time in Sacramento Kings history, there was unfinished business. Even though the Kings were a powerhouse in the league during that time, there was no championship to be celebrated.

Vlade’s intentions were good

Vlade Divac was a great player for the Kings, but not a good VP of Basketball Operations. There were a lot of mistakes that he made during his tenure that has kept the Kings in the bottom tier of the league, but there is no question that he did his best to fulfill the goal of winning an NBA championship that was incomplete decades ago.

Most people in the NBA, whether it is a player, coach, etc., do not want to be in Sacramento working with the Kings, but Vlade chose the Kings and nowhere else. Divac did not become the Kings’ VP of Basketball Operations to develop a career within the NBA. The only motive for the Kings legend was to make the team good again. To take care of what should have happened years ago. A championship for the city.

Unfortunately, that goal will fall short for Divac. Going forward, he will have to watch the Kings not as a member of the organization, but as a fan.

As Vlade’s connection with the Kings comes to an unhappy end, the Sacramento Kings community should still revere him as a monumental figure in the team’s history. As the person who made the Kings a championship contender as a player. As someone who truly loves being a King.