New Kings GM Scott Perry lists six key tenets for team ahead of 2025-26 season originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SACRAMENTO – First-year Kings general manager Scott Perry has a list of six tenets that he wants Sacramento to adhere to during his first season in the state capital. It’s a simple, straightforward message that he believes hopefully will establish a foundation for years to come.

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“We want to be competitive, tough, team oriented, accountable, disciplined and professional,” Perry told reporters at Golden 1 Center during media day on Monday. “Everything that we do this year, I’m going to look at it through those pillars, on the court, off the court, and how we are holding up to those values. That’s what I’m most excited about.

“It’s about establishing an identity this year of who the Sacramento Kings are going to be, both on and off the basketball court.”

Perry, who was hired in April to replace Monte McNair, is orchestrating yet another makeover of the Kings. Only two years after the team ended the longest playoff drought in NBA history, Sacramento once again is on the rebuild.

Doug Christie had the interim title removed from his name and is the unquestioned head coach. The Kings also have a new point guard, having signed Dennis Schröder in the offseason. Schröder recently was named MVP of the EuroBasket tournament after leading Germany to the gold medal.

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“Obviously kept my eye on Dennis and what he was doing, and stayed in contact with him,” Perry said. “Was really happy for him, because I know how much it meant to him and his country, for him, not only to play well, but go ahead and win the championship and be the MVP of that tournament, with so many great players in the tournament. I think that allows him to come here with even a little more confidence and really ready to take on this task and helping this basketball team.”

There have been some other minor tweaks to the roster, giving Christie some flexibility as he enters his first training camp as an official NBA head coach.

“It is different,” Christie said. “There’s a lot of different aspects to it, but I’ve just tried to relish each moment, take it as it comes, and try to deal with it head on. It’s been interesting. It’s been a lot of fun at the same time. That’s the one thing that I always try to do is be happy and have fun and enjoy the process.”

Winning will help facilitate that feeling go a long way.

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It also would help erase the sting of last season, when the Kings held high expectations heading into the campaign, only to see the whole thing blow up.

Mike Brown, the first unanimous Coach of the Year following the 2023-24 season, was fired early last season after the Kings stumbled to start the year. That was followed by a franchise-changing trade that shipped long-time point guard De’Aaron Fox to San Antonio while making way for two-time All-Star Zach LaVine.

Given the presence of three-time All-Star and double-double machine Domantas Sabonis and a mercurial scorer like LaVine, the Kings shouldn’t have much problem putting the ball in the hoop.

Christie, however, is more concerned about how his squad plays on the other end of the court.

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“More than anything, defensively, we want to create an identity,” Christie said. “There’s a beautiful side to basketball, obviously, on the offensive end, and we want to share the basketball, but defense is where we want to hang our hat.”

The hope is that, along with Perry’s six basic tenets, will get the Kings back to the promised land – the playoffs.

“Are we following those six pillars in each and every night? Are we laying it all on the line?” Perry said. “If we’re giving everything we have each and every night, whether it’s practice or game, that I can live with whatever the results are going to be. But I think it’s extremely important, though, that we identify, just identify and establish this culture this year.

“It’s all about that, because if you want to build a sustainable winner, you have to have a foundation, and our foundation has got to be rooted in how hard we play, how tough we are, and how we do this as a team, to do this together.”

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