A Royal Pain
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The Sacramento Kings Are In Good Hands

By Jake Fitzgibbon

Mar 16, 2015; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings former center Vlade Divac speaks with the press after being named Vice President of Basketball and Franchise operations at Sleep Train Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 16, 2015; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings former center Vlade Divac speaks with the press after being named Vice President of Basketball and Franchise operations at Sleep Train Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports /
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There is no denying that the Sacramento Kings 2015-2016 season was a disappointment. Expectations heading into the season were high for a re-furbished Kings team.

Vlade Divac believed the team he had assembled had enough talent to make the playoffs, but here we are yet again in late April discussing who the Kings should draft in the lottery.

I don’t blame Vlade for having these expectations, I had these expectations too, along with many Kings fans.

However, with a combination of poor coaching, under used players, and unnecessary drama, the Kings only have themselves to blame. This was their chance to move up in a weakened Western Conference where a record of 41-41 was good enough to make it into the playoffs.

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Moving forward, the Sacramento Kings are in good hands. Despite what some may say, Vlade Divac is the right man for the job.

He knows the game of basketball better than anyone in the business; Vlade is a winner and the Kings need a winner. Today it was reported by ESPN’s Marc Stein, that Ken Catanella, will be the new Assistant General Manager for the Kings:

The Kings hit a home run here. Someone of Ken’s expertise was what the Kings front office was lacking. Catanella is a stats guru and salary cap expert.

February 19, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings general manager Vlade Divac during the first quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Sleep Train Arena. The Kings defeated the Nuggets 116-110. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
February 19, 2016; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings general manager Vlade Divac during the first quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Sleep Train Arena. The Kings defeated the Nuggets 116-110. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

With the addition of Catanella, Mike Bratz will now serve as Vlade’s advisor and resume the role of Director of Scouting. The Kings front office has everything they need, now they can focus on hiring the head coach.

The Kings are bound to be criticised for whomever they decide to hire as the head coach.

At first I’m likely to be skeptical too, but I will be at ease knowing that Vlade would have made the right decision going forward; whether it’s McHale, McMillan, Messina or even Vinny Del Negro.

The Kings aren’t as far away as some may think. A head coach should be hired in the coming weeks and once a coach is in place it should be full steam ahead.

As the Kings begin yet another offseason early, I think it’s safe to say that this Summer will be no easy task for Vlade. It couldn’t have had a better start with the hiring a well re-nound front office executive in Ken Catanella.

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Hire a head coach, draft a young talented player, sign some free agents and this time next year we may be watching the Kings play basketball. One thing is for sure, with Vlade Divac at the helm, Kings fans have good reason to believe.

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