Scott Perry
The Kings are hiring Scott Perry as general manager, according to Shams Charania of ESPN.
It's difficult to judge a supporting executive, but Perry's teams have just two winning records – 2020-21 Knicks and 2022-23 Knicks – in his 17 seasons as a No. 2 executive.
That counts 2017-18 for both New York and Sacramento, where he spent some of the preceding offseason. With Perry working under Vlade Divac, the Kings drafted De'Aaron Fox and tried to fast-track their ascent by overpaying George Hill, Zach Randolph and Vince Carter – just to go a miserable 27-55 and ultimately delay their rise. Good draft pick, awful vision.
Monte McNair
Monte McNair didn't want to fire Mike Brown and there are questions within the Kings whether McNair wanted to acquire DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine, according to Sam Amick and Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Even in recent days, there was tension between McNair and ownership about Doug Christie, whom Vivek Ranadive is backing, per Amick and Slater.
The Kings said they and McNair "mutually" agreed to part. But he clearly lost power. If they were keeping him, regardless of title, he was no longer going to be lead executive.
So, I'm calling this a firing.
Executives
Monte McNair is the third lead executive effectively fired in the last week-and-a-half, following the Nuggets' Calvin Booth and Pelicans' David Griffin.
There hasn't been this density of front-office turnover in a while.
The last time three lead executives were fired within even a month-and-a-half of each other was April-May 2013, when there were five ousters:
- Suns: Lance Blanks
- Timberwolves: David Kahn
- 76ers: Tony DiLeo
- Raptors: Bryan Colangelo
- Kings: Geoff Petrie
And I'm not sure McNair will be the last of the spring.
Willie Green
Willie Green has "virtually zero" support from Pelicans players, according to Shamit Dua of In The N.O. David Griffin wanted to fire Green during the season but was overruled by ownership, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Green maintains ownership's support and will be remain under Joe Dumars, per Scotto.
Losing exacerbates all ills, and – for a team expected to be good – New Orleans lost a historic amount this season. It'd be hard, though not impossible, for any coach to retain player support under those circumstances.
The question: Can Green regain his players' trust at 0-0 next season, or is it gone for good? An offseason apart and fresh start can help, but it doesn't necessarily erase all bitterness.
If left to his own devices, Dumars might have kept Green, but we'll never know. The problem: Pelicans ownership shouldn't be trusted to get this call right.
Hollinger & Duncan Live
Watch John and Nate give their playoff superlatives:
Dunc'd On Live
Watch Nate and Danny analyze the play-in tournament, tackle news and preview Nuggets-Clippers:
Play-in
One thing a King(/Bull) accomplished yesterday: With 33 points in Sacramento's loss to the Mavericks, DeMar DeRozan became the all-time leader in play-in scoring.
Jonas Valanciunas entered the postseason atop the list, but he has fallen to No. 4. The top five:
- DeMar DeRozan 146
- Trae Young 137
- Stephen Curry 135
- Jonas Valanciunas 127
- Tyler Herro 125
DeRozan ought to enjoy his No. 1 spot while he can. Trae Young is just nine points behind and Tyler Herro is just 21 points behind, as the Heat face the Hawks tomorrow.
Grizzlies-Mavericks
A common sentiment: It's not fair the Mavericks (39-43) could steal a playoff spot from the Grizzlies (48-34) with a single game. Memphis has been better than Dallas throughout the season.
The difference between the No. 8 and 9 seeds in the West – eight games – is the highest in the play-in era.
But that's just how it goes sometimes.
Play-in games are TV events. A structure where the games wouldn't be held based on record isn't viable. The NBA wants to sell that inventory (and already has).
If the Grizzlies wanted to be assured of making the playoffs, they should have finished top six in the West.
The Grizzlies' superior regular season earned them meaningful advantages over Dallas – a chance to beat the Warriors and qualify for the playoffs, home court in tomorrow's game. But Memphis reasonably still has more work to do.
Nikola Jokic
Good article from Chris Herring and Tim MacMahon of ESPN on Nikola Jokic's covert defensive skills – play recognition and kicked balls (with both feet!).
Awards
John Hollinger's award picks at The Athletic are of course extremely sharp.
Corrections
- The two games separating 3-8 in the West this year tied the all-time record for smallest gap between those spots in the standings. In the 2018 Western Conference, there was also a two-game spread 3-8.
- In 2016, the Warriors (73-9) and Spurs (67-15) finished 12 games ahead of the rest of the West. However, they didn't meet in the conference finals, as the Thunder upset San Antonio in the second round. So, seven of nine previous instances where two teams were 10+ wins ahead of the rest of the conference (or, prior to conferences existing division) – like the Cavaliers and Celtics in the East this year – resulted in a conference/divisional finals matchup.
-Dan Feldman