By Mark Haynes | OBSERVER Correspondent
The Sacramento Kings’ newly appointed general manager, Scott Perry, held an introductory press conference inside the Golden 1 Center Wednesday. Accompanied by his wife, Perry displayed his personality and assertively answered questions from the local media, which lasted nearly 30 minutes.
Perry begins this new journey in Sacramento with an interim head coach and other front-office vacancies. He will be in charge of filling all positions and says he will often have conversations with owner and chairman Vivek Ranadive. Perry is already interviewing current staff members in the basketball operations department to learn everyone’s backgrounds and personalities before making decisions on who stays and who goes. This process could take weeks.
Some positions may take longer to figure out, but when it comes to the head coach opening, Perry says he wants to handle it quickly and correctly. He said that he wants to have the position filled within the next week or so. He’s had conversations with interim head coach Doug Christie, and he plans to have more discussions leading up to his decision.
“What I’m looking for in the coaching position is someone to carry through a number of things I’ve talked about here,” Perry explained. “Someone who is going to be committed to having a tough-minded defensive-oriented team that shares the basketball on offense, a team that is disciplined, professional, and accountable. The coach has got to be aligned with that goal.”
It marked Perry’s first day of work in Sacramento. Sounding eager and excited to attempt to turn things around to create sustainable, winning basketball for the fans and organization, Perry told the media he would actively try to improve the roster and that it could happen through the draft or free agency.
Perry’s career as an NBA executive began in 2000 with the Detroit Pistons. He played a key role in helping rebuild a franchise that was on the decline after having success in the mid-80s and early 90s. In his tenure with the Pistons, the team advanced to six Eastern Conference championships and won the NBA Finals once. When Perry looks at the Kings, he sees the possibility of duplicating the success he saw with Detroit.
“I love taking on challenges,” Perry told the media. “If you’ve followed my career, a lot of the organizations I worked with when we first came were struggling or non-playoff teams. But by the time we left, the organizations were better. I enjoy that. I enjoy challenges.”
Although Perry has worked with small market teams before, he understands that things will sometimes be challenging. However, his relationship and understanding with Ranadive assure him that he has everything necessary to give Sacramento fans what they deserve.
“In my conversations with Vivek, it’s clear what the mandate was,” Perry said. “He wants me to come in here and lead the charge, bring my expertise to this building, to this organization, to build a sustainable platform, and he has pledged his support and resources to be able to do that.”
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