Phil Jabour

Pacific Notes: Davis, Vezenkov, Lamb, Bazley

Terence Davis, an unrestricted free agent after the season, has seen his playing time plunge this month. He got a chance to play big minutes on Saturday due to injuries and delivered a 21-point, seven-rebound game for the Kings, Chris Biderman of The Sacramento Bee writes. Davis acknowledged that he needed an outing like that.

“I haven’t been playing well,” the Kings guard said. “So that’s just point-blank, period. I haven’t been playing well. I haven’t been locked in, honestly. I’m just trying to get that rhythm back. The opportunity opened back up for me and I was able to take advantage of it.”

We have more from the Pacific Division:

  • Kings GM Monte McNair and VP of player personnel Phil Jabour traveled to Greece to watch draft-and-stash prospect Sasha Vezenkov play, columnist Shot Vetakis tweets. The Olympiacos Piraeus forward is considered the favorite for the EuroLeague MVP award, according to Javier Gancedo of EuroLeagueBasketball.net. Kings players have endorsed bringing in Vezenkov, who is averaging 18.2 points and 7.2 rebounds in 28 EuroLeague contests this season.
  • Anthony Lamb‘s new contract with the Warriors only covers the rest of the season, Hoops Rumors has confirmed. That will make Lamb a restricted free agent after the season. The swingman was promoted from a two-way deal to a standard contract on Friday.
  • Forward Darius Bazley said that getting traded from the Thunder to the Suns jolted him, per Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. “It was kind of tough,” Bazley said. “When it first happened, it was one of those moments when you’re like, ‘Dang.’ That’s all I knew. A lot of those guys, I’ve been with them since I first came here.  In the NBA, your teammates and staff, you spend more time with them than you do your own families.” A restricted free agent this summer if extended a qualifying offer, Bazley has only made two cameos with the Suns.

Kings’ McNair Revamping Front Office, Hires Wilcox As Assistant GM

OCTOBER 14: The Kings have officially issued a press release confirming the new hires and titles detailed below. In addition to his director of basketball operations role, Johnson will also serve as the new general manager for the Stockton Kings, Sacramento’s G League affiliate.

According to the team, Wilcox will assist McNair in front office duties such as “roster construction, strategy and player evaluation,” Jabour will be responsible for overseeing the scouting department, and Johnson will lead Stockton’s front office in addition to contributing to aspects of the Kings’ basketball operations.

“I am excited to have Wes, Phil and Paul join the front office,” McNair said in a statement. “Wes’ background as an executive in the league combined with Phil’s veteran leadership through the scouting ranks and Paul’s proven experience in evaluating talent will be strong additions to the basketball operations group. Their diverse skill sets and unique perspectives will add valuable knowledge and innovative thinking as we focus on executing our vision of building a winning culture in Sacramento.”


OCTOBER 13: Less than a month after being hired, new Kings general manager Monte McNair is making major changes to the team’s front office, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

The Kings are hiring Wes Wilcox as an assistant general manager, Phil Jabour as vice president of player personnel, and Paul Johnson as director of basketball operations, sources tell Wojnarowski.

Wilcox is the most noteworthy name among Sacramento’s new additions, having previously served as Atlanta’s general manager from 2015-17. He interviewed for the Bulls’ top basketball operations job and was a finalist for the Kings’ job this summer before the team opted to hire McNair. Prior to his stint in the Hawks’ front office, Wilcox worked for the Heat and Pelicans and spent several years with the Cavaliers.

Jabour arrives in Sacramento after having worked as the Sixers‘ director of scouting last season. He also previously held positions in the scouting departments in Orlando and Houston, overlapping with McNair during his time with the Rockets.

Johnson, meanwhile, was named the assistant GM of the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder‘s G League affiliate, just two weeks ago. However, his new director of basketball operations role in Sacramento represents a promotion.

McNair had been expected to fortify the Kings’ front office after the team parted ways with several executives this offseason. In addition to the departure of former GM Vlade Divac, assistant GM Peja Stojakovic resigned and G League GM Anthony McClish was let go. Sacramento is reportedly expected to retain assistant GM and salary cap expert Ken Catanella.