Where does Vlade rank among current GMs?

Okay, I remember the time not so long ago when there was a prevailing attitude among a certain set of Kings fans that considered Vlade an incredibly poor choice for GM. His inexperience was of paramount concern, and some were totally convinced he would never amount to anything and might, in fact, end up being the worst GM in the history of the NBA.

So, what do people think now?

Where do you think Vlade ranks among his current peers?

Still hard to say because of small sample size but I feel positive about how his first two drafts have gone and how the team is shaping out. Because there are about 10 gms I would say are PROVEN to be bad gms I would have to say 16-20 for right now

He's in the top 30.

too early to say. He's had a lot of guidance from Perry & Cantella. Also need to wait and see how the youth he drafted pan out.

That's not the question. This is a "benchmark" kind of poll. Something we can use further down the road. Saying it's too early to say is IMHO a copout.

Also, saying he's had help from Perry and Cantella - two guys HE HIRED - would only raise his stature.

How is it a copout? In order to fairly assess Vlade as a GM, I need more than three offseasons to do so. I say the bare minimum should be five seasons but that's just my view on things. The two hires were a job well done no doubt, he is definitely improving every season, got to give him credit there.

Joke post aside, I never thought he was "worst all time". Did Philly win the trade? It appears so, but had we been able to succeed with the signings we made or landed higher caliber talent, I feel it was worth the dice roll.

At the moment his stock is clearly rising. The FO he has helped build, the coach, we've got a nice little organization in place. But it's far too early to put him top 10. I'd say somewhere between 12-18 for now? Right on the fringe of building a playoff team.

It's a copout for the simple reason the question is specific. Where do you think he ranks right now with just the information you have available? Nobody is going to hold you to your initial assessment. It's a way to gauge our perceptions and his performance as we go down the road.

Last year I hated his draft and in hindsight it looks like he may have made three very solid picks in what so far looks like a disappointing class.

This year, while I might have done things differently, I loved his draft, but that doesn't mean anything yet.

He's added proven veterans to guide the kids along but is that better than taking on bad contracts for more future assets to further the rebuild? It's too early to tell.

Vlade started his tenure with that horrible Sixers trade and some questionable FA signings. But since then I think he's done a lot more right than wrong.

I don't know where I'd rank him today but at the moment he looks smarter than Kevin Pritchard. I couldn't imagine saying that a year or two ago.

The best thing you can affirmatively say about Vlade as of July 4, 2017 is that he has changed the narrative/dialogue about the Sacramento Kings. We aren't the joke we were two seasons ago. Or even last season when he was being second guessed left and right. I fully expect some of these moves to be disappointments, but it sure looks like he is getting enough cracks at the plate to hit a few home runs too.

He is still pretty low. That lost 2019 pick coupled with both a weak return and poorly PR-ed Cuz trade puts him in a wait and see. Proof will come evently, one way or another.

Upper part of the Lower third, working his way up with continued good decisions?

It's all about how things work out. If the Philly salary dump works out; and Boogie finally leads his Kings to the playoffs, GENIUS! It obviously didn't.

If the youngsters start to pan out, and we have home grown all-stars and a Buddy Hield that lead us to the playoffs? GENIUS! If they stall out, we're even worse than the Boogie square one. Sure, maybe we'd have temporary respect and all that noise, but it matters with Wins and Losses.

We'll see.

too early to tell since results are the ultimate decider...but to have the roster completely turned over from the time he took the job with 8 first round picks with amazing upside and some good veterans...and it shouldn't be ignored that George Hill has won every place he's been and Utahs rise to playoff caliber can be greatly attributed to him as much as Gobert and Hayward..he can be considered one of the best outsider free agents the Kings have ever lured to Sacramento since...well Vlade Divac.

Personally, I think the Kings next season will be better than any of the DMC teams. Which isn't Cousins fault...Though I predict they won't win enough to make the playoffs since the West is trending towards the 50 wins or bust era again...but even a 30 something win season takes on a completely different meaning when applied to such a young team.

I figured right about the middle of the pack. Has he drafted well? I guess. I mean, on paper, I'm pretty sure he did a good job, but we have to see what pans out. Skal looked good in spurts. Malachi showed promise when not required to be a major cog. PagaG is, well, big, so there's that, and, he does set a solid screen. He's still a project. What will things look like when teams actually start gameplanning against them? Fox was objectively BPA at a position of need - if he messed that one up, we would crucify him. I think Fox will be great, but again, we'll have to see. Trading down has been a good thing so far in terms of gathering potential value. Giles could be could, but he could be terrible. It looks like he went with big school pedigree on his picks, which is fine. No reaches this year. (Except maybe Giles, in terms of health, etc.)

He's done a pretty decent job with free agents. The Kings aren't locked into long term, cap-sucking contracts, so that's good. He seems to understand that the top tier FAs aren't really coming into Sacramento, so it's all about finding the right people at the right price point, and I think Vlade's done well in this regard. Bogdanovic could be the next Peja, or he could be another flameout. We really won't know until the season starts. I like the mentality of the players he's bringing in, although you could question the whole ZBO/culture/character thing if you really wanted to.

Getting Joerger was a major coup. I'm not sure how it happened, but I'm excited about it. He coaches to win. It's not his job to tank, nor should it be. That's how you establish a winning culture. Great move - let's hope he stays long term.

Trading has looked to be pretty terrible. Regardless of how they ultimately pan out, (if we're judging in terms of current actions), they have not looked good on paper. 1.5 games out of the West, and you throw in the towel after half a season of genuinely trying with Cousins? We can't say that De'aaron Fox was part of the trade, because we lucked out in terms of the lottery balls. That's not on Vlade. A pick swap AND an outright pick in 2019 to "unload" Stauskas, Landry, and Thompson, for two players that might never see court time? That's a tough one to defend.

TL;DR

Drafting: Good on paper - let's see it on the floor.
Coach: YES!
FA: Solid
Trading: NO!

Kings are on the right track, but it's still very early to judge. We obviously had great draft on a papper, but it doesn't mean a lot to me if we don't use them in the system. We could trade #10 pick for #60 pick and if 60th pick becomes All-Star calibar, i wouldn't care, it would be great move because we developed that kid. Metaphor, but you understand a point
This is a rebuilding proccess (i hope), so all of the answers will come up for 2,3,4 years. Meanwhile, we will see how young players will be developed and what moves on the market will be made in next few years.

However, definitely excited about Kings future. Total support for Vlade and crew.

I'm with you but I can't agree on this part. We kept our pick because of the trade, it wound up being Fox, but we'd have not picked in the first round at all had we kept moving with Cousins. There's always luck getting "your guy" unless you have the #1 pick.

Getting guidance from people on his staff doesn't count against him... Any good ceo uses his employees to the fullest.

When you trade a popular george hill for an unknown Leonard THATS when you become top 5. Not draft whomever you were supposed to draft. Vlades stock hasnt risen in my book (i wanted monk and he was on the board) it just has stopped dropping, thus far. No one has proven anything, vlades faults still heavily outweigh this draft, thus far. Too soon.

I'm not counting it against him. Vlade going out and hiring those two individuals does put him in a good light. For all we know, maybe someone else in the front office recommended Cantella & Perry, we just don't know so the best thing we can do is speculate. The CEO can't do it all so he needs a branch that extends from the top to the bottom of the tree and springs to life with more leaves by the years.

Gotcha and I agree.

I would say top half. The team completely changed direction from trying to make the playoffs to a complete rebuild. That's not necessarily on him, but might be the directive from the ownership. Yes, he takes the blame for the trade, since that's his job. However, in any good organization, the people at the top have to work towards the same goal, even if they disagree with it. If the ownership wanted to make the playoffs, it would be in everyone's interest if the FO works towards that, instead of a rebuild.

We don't know what his own thoughts were. I thought that apart from the trade, the hirings were good, and we had a genuine shot at the post season. I was quite down on Boogie's trade, and still am. That said, seeing the returns some other teams have received for their stars leaves me less mad about it.

If some of the kids develop into real stars, this would be one of the most dramatic rebuilds, particularly for a small market team with not such a good reputation in the league.