Vlade Divac Had a Truly Awful Tenure as GM of the Sacramento Kings

Vlade Divac has stepped down as general manager of the Sacramento Kings after what was a horrific stretch running the team. Divac has been in charge for five years and in that time the Kings haven't reached the postseason and he's made numerous blunders that have only set the franchise back further.

The Kings haven't reached the postseason since 2006 and finished the 2019-20 season with a 31-41 mark. It was time for a change, and Joe Dumars will be taking over as the team's GM.

There were a ton of issues during Divac's tenure but we'll highlight a few here. the saga with the firing then un-firing of George Karl was messy and embarrassing. Other than landing De'Aaron Fox, Divac's draft selections have been a disaster. Among numerous puzzling draft night decisions were his trade of Zach Collins to Portland for Justin Jackson and Harry Giles -- neither of whom panned out. He scored when he landed Gary Trent Jr. with the 37th pick in the 2018 draft, but promptly traded him to Portland for two second-rounders. Perhaps most unforgivable, he had the second pick in the 2018 NBA Draft and passed on Luka Doncic in favor of Marvin Bagley III. That came despite the fact that Divac is good friends with Doncic's father.

Oh, and he handed Harrison Barnes a four-year, $85 million contract extension two years after he peaked.

As if the messy roster and coaching decisions weren't enough, the team is 162-238 (.405) since Divac took over and there has been no real pattern of improvement. The biggest indictment of Divac is that he took over a bad franchise and it isn't in a better place at the end of his tenure. The franchise has largely become a laughingstock while he's been in charge.

Dumars is a former general manager with a track record of success and three NBA titles under his belt -- two as a player, one as GM of the Detroit Pistons. He's the kind of guy Kings owner Vivek Ranadive should have hired years ago.