8:02 am | April 11, 2019 | Go to Source | Author:
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Adrian WojnarowskiESPN
Sacramento Kings general manager Vlade Divac is seeking to consolidate his strengthened position as the franchise’s top basketball executive and weighing a dismissal of coach Dave Joerger, league sources told ESPN.
Divac, who received a new four-year contract Thursday that run through the 2022-23 season, fired assistant GM Brandon Williams on Thursday morning, sources said. Divac plans to meet with players immediately after a meeting with Joerger that could end his tenure as coach, sources said.
What makes Joerger’s perilous job security confusing to many inside and outside the Kings’ world is simply this: He engineered a spectacular turnaround, winning 39 games and finishing ninth in the Western Conference. Point guard De’Aaron Fox has developed into one of the NBA’s bright young stars.
Tension between management and Joerger on playing time for certain young players and relationship strains have existed, but there had been some thought that the Kings’ significant overperformance based up on preseason expectations would’ve forced the organization to continue the partnership.
Joerger has one year remaining on his contract.
The Kings, in announcing the extension, praised Divac for helping in the team’s rebuild.
“Vlade has been vital to what we are building here,” owner Vivek Ranadive said in a statement. “Throughout his entire career, Vlade is someone who has always made those around him better, both on and off the court.”
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