Chris Webber Should Have Been The Kings’ GM
The former long-time face of the Sacramento Kings and now NBA color commentator, Chris Webber, revealed on The Ringer’s ‘Real Ones’ podcast this past Monday that he strongly pushed to be the Kings GM when the position opened in 2015. Ultimately, his former teammate Vlade Divac was chosen for the role instead. Divac recently resigned as the Kings’ GM in August of 2020, and the Kings hired Monte McNair, who was previously the assistant GM for the Houston Rockets.
Chris Webber was among the most prominent players to ever wear a Kings uniform and is up there with guys like Oscar Robertson and DeMarcus Cousins in my opinion. The Kings franchise loved Webber so much they even retired his number in 2009. Yet the Sacramento ownership hired one-time All-Star Vlade Divac over Chris Webber.
Being Authentic Is No Longer Valued in GM’s Apparently
During his interview with the Kings in 2015, Webber claimed he truly was authentic and tried to convince the owner that he truly wanted to be there. Sadly, that wasn’t enough. Speaking on the ‘Real Ones’ podcast, Webber said:
“I don’t want to start nothing,” Webber said. “What I said was the truth — I went there and interviewed, it was nothing more that I wanted and I loved it. I got things to do now. That ship has sailed but that was what I wanted more than anything in the world.”
Webber took the high road when discussing the disrespect he’s gotten from the Kings, and it turns out he wasn’t even offered a different position with the team. Of course, now Chris Webber is doing just fine for himself. He’s a regular commentator for Turner Sports during primetime games, teaches a course for Morehouse College, and he’s even involved in the Cannabis business.
Number four still had high praise for the city of Sacramento and its fans, which is quite a surprise considering the franchise was almost relocated a few years back. Not many people can stand playing for a perennially losing franchise, but Chris Webber loved it, and he was a true King.
During the time he played, Webber even served up pizza for fans that were camping out just to get Kings playoff tickets. Webber reminisced on those times and said:
“That’s Sacramento. That’s why I love Sacramento. The people are the best, man.”
