Joe Dumars?

#5
Just no, anyone who picks Darko in one the greatest drafts ever is just asking for trouble.

Although clearly vlade used this pick as inspiration when took Buff Bagley.

Having said that this is just the kind of basic, no thought cheap as chips move the king's are known for so good luck Joe!
 
#13
I almost wish they'd just hire some guy I've never heard of out of any random front office rather than some retread that has had minimal drafting success.
With Vivek in charge that would end up being some politics playing kissass (Pete D anyone?)

Pete D was the politics playing yesman.

Vlade was the PR hire that happened when things with the yesman inevitably went south.

Dumars is apparently going to get an increased role with Vlade still around in some managerial capacity, leaving us with multiple figures gaining and losing authority with the boss.

Bet all of these are straight from his tech company playbook.
 

SLAB

Hall of Famer
#15
Vlade's going to still be around though, and not just in a lame-duck way.

Can you imagine these two fighting over whether to draft the next Darko or Bagley while the latest generational talent smiles and waves at them from across the draft room?
Pffft, like the Kings will ever be in that position again. More like fighting over the next PapaG in the mid-late lottery!
 
#16
Pffft, like the Kings will ever be in that position again. More like fighting over the next PapaG in the mid-late lottery!
Never say never!

It's been several years of sheer dumb luck that Vlade squanders, and somehow it keeps happening. Wouldn't be surprised for more luck to shine on this ****show only for them to squander it.

They will get blessed with more luck, pass on the obvious play that would make them special, and make the worst play available to them. Scientific fact.

Over and over and over again.
 

gunks

Hall of Famer
#17
Lateral move at best. And when you need to move on from a GM that's as bad as Vlade, you gotta do better than that.

Of course, as others have mentioned, with Vivek as an owner, there is no guarantee we don't get stuck with another PDA.
 

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
#20
We’re not gonna act like Darko wasn’t hyped up and didn’t look like a cant miss guy
Yeah, people have to remember that Darko was getting pumped up as the next great big man at the time. A super young savant who could see the court like Vlade but play defense and also was athletic. Of course, this was largely pre-video on the internet being a thing so this was all largely word of mouth.

If anything, Darko flaming out in the NBA may have scared Vlade away from drafting Luka more than anything else LOL
 
#21
Vlade's going to still be around though, and not just in a lame-duck way.

Can you imagine these two fighting over whether to draft the next Darko or Bagley while the latest generational talent smiles and waves at them from across the draft room?
In a lot of ways, Dumars is occupying the Brandon Williams role. I bring that up, because I just wanna say it again: F*ck Brandon Williams.

Amick is implying that they want to bring in another FO voice. So maybe it'll be Vlade, Dumars, + _________. Tie breaker goes to? Wish we had that three headed dynamic when Brandon Williams steam rolled his FO homies into picking Bagley.
 
#22
Yeah, people have to remember that Darko was getting pumped up as the next great big man at the time. A super young savant who could see the court like Vlade but play defense and also was athletic. Of course, this was largely pre-video on the internet being a thing so this was all largely word of mouth.

If anything, Darko flaming out in the NBA may have scared Vlade away from drafting Luka more than anything else LOL
And in that era bigs were still needed
 
#23
Yeah, people have to remember that Darko was getting pumped up as the next great big man at the time. A super young savant who could see the court like Vlade but play defense and also was athletic. Of course, this was largely pre-video on the internet being a thing so this was all largely word of mouth.

If anything, Darko flaming out in the NBA may have scared Vlade away from drafting Luka more than anything else LOL
Besides Brandon Williams (see my post above), I think this is a clear example of a Vlade, Peja, and Vivek out smarting themselves--trying to do the opposite of what everyone expected them to do (draft Luka). Basically playing (naked) chess (in the dark) while most were expecting them to play checkers (at the bar).
 
#24
Read Amick's The Athletic piece. Sounds like the Kings are in the market for another FO person. In addition to the Divac, Peja, Cantenella, & Dumars bench.
What do 3 out of 4 of these guys have in common? Divas, Peja and Dumars. It is extremely rare to find an ex-player with the smarts to live in the current sophistication of an NBA front office (Jerry West ain’t walking through that door...) Decisions can’t be made based on gut feelings and how to reassemble a team that existed 20 years ago. The NBA is not comparable now to then, and a solid player does not predict a solid basketball mind. Heck, in retrospect, Dumas’ Championship GM cred looks more like capturing lightening in a bottle and that was over 15 years ago.

I love Vlade’s heart and passion for the Kings, and Dumars and Peja seem like solid dudes, but until we get serious with our front office I just cannot put any emotion behind this team. We all know the countless blunders over the past few years. I’m so tired of looking for the silver lining. It does not need to be a sexy name, but we need competence and a forward lookin basketball mind leading us.
 
#26
What do 3 out of 4 of these guys have in common? Divas, Peja and Dumars. It is extremely rare to find an ex-player with the smarts to live in the current sophistication of an NBA front office (Jerry West ain’t walking through that door...) Decisions can’t be made based on gut feelings and how to reassemble a team that existed 20 years ago. The NBA is not comparable now to then, and a solid player does not predict a solid basketball mind. Heck, in retrospect, Dumas’ Championship GM cred looks more like capturing lightening in a bottle and that was over 15 years ago.

I love Vlade’s heart and passion for the Kings, and Dumars and Peja seem like solid dudes, but until we get serious with our front office I just cannot put any emotion behind this team. We all know the countless blunders over the past few years. I’m so tired of looking for the silver lining. It does not need to be a sexy name, but we need competence and a forward lookin basketball mind leading us.
I agree. I mean, the FO of MLB teams are full of Ivy League/Stat Geeks now. The NBA is headed that way as well. And if we were nit picking, Catenella is more bean counter than he is a stat-head.

And it's even more puzzling given Vivek's background--that despite his data heavy background, he has assembled a bunch of dinosaurs (from a quant perspective) to run his team.

I wish we had a Farhan type as GM. Basically using Stockton and the 11th/12th man position to roll through rocks (players) in order to find a few diamonds.
 
#27
In a lot of ways, Dumars is occupying the Brandon Williams role. I bring that up, because I just wanna say it again: F*ck Brandon Williams.

Amick is implying that they want to bring in another FO voice. So maybe it'll be Vlade, Dumars, + _________. Tie breaker goes to? Wish we had that three headed dynamic when Brandon Williams steam rolled his FO homies into picking Bagley.
I know you're for the most part venting about missing on the pick, but Vlade is the head guy. Bagley was Vlade's pick, no matter what anyone else's opinion was.
 
#28
Let me see. How many GM’s have put together a championship team in the last 16 years? You can probably count on one hand the GMs that have done that.

And one of those guys are on the Kings payroll and can be our new GM and you guys are all complaining?

Honestly, Gregg Popovich or Pat Riley are not walking through the Golden One Centers door to take over as GM.

Dumars put together a championship team folks! Sure, he blew the Darko pick, but he won the championship that same year! If he would had taken Carmelo instead, Detroit wouldn’t have Won a championship!

If Joe Dumars comes in and give the Kings a legitimate GM and voice with the NBA agents, the Kings have a leg up on attracting some talent and making some deals.

I think this is a win-win situation. Vlade is beloved by all the fans and will still be around, but won’t be the only voice and decision maker now. Vlade is a great ambassador for the Kings brand in Sacramento, but shouldn’t be the final player personnel decision maker.

I only hope that final personnel decision goes to Dumars in this new FO alignment.
 
Last edited:

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#29
I don't know if anyone has posted this or not, but we do have to give credit where credit is due.

Dumars became the Pistons' president of basketball operations prior to the start of the 2000–01 season.[3] He was voted the league's Executive of the Year for the 2002–03 season and quietly went on to build the team that won the 2004 NBA championship. With the win, Dumars became the first African-American executive to lead a team to an NBA championship.[4][5] During the 2005–06 season, the Pistons had its best regular season record in franchise history (64–18).[6] The Pistons made it to the Eastern Conference Finals six straight years (2003–2008) under Dumars' watch.[7] This streak would come to an end in the 2008–09 season when the Pistons were swept in the first round by the Cleveland Cavaliers.[8]

Now he may have made a few mistakes along the way, but we can't discard all the great moves he made. No one is perfect
 
#30
The real gm link has a total of four sentences. It doesn't say more than 'increased role', which is obviously very vague. It does say he has a trust and synergy with Divac, so doubtful he is a second Brandon Williams who seemed to go behind Vlade's/ DJ's back at least once. I don't pay for the Athletic and imagine there is some form of content there.

If he does have more influence here, cool. I really liked the Pistons of the mid 2000's. He made good free agent signings (e.g. Billups) and trades (e.g. Stackhouse for Rip, nobody for Sheed) to assemble that team. Also, looking at his draft history, based on a pretty reasonable sample size, the majority of his picks outperform their draft position in win shares. Upwards.