Kings GM Monte McNair wins 2022-23 Executive of the Year

Kings GM Monte McNair wins 2022-23 Executive of the Year

Sacramento Kings general manager Monte McNair earned the 2022-23 Executive of the Year award, the league announced Wednesday. The Kings finished 48-34 and made the playoffs for the first time since 2005-06.

McNair became the first Kings executive to win the award since Geoff Petrie won in 2000-01, his second time winning the award in three seasons after Sacramento finished 55-27. McNair was also the third member of the Kings organization to win a postseason award this season; head coach Mike Brown, who McNair hired last May, won Coach of the Year while star guard De’Aaron Fox earned the first annual Jerry West Clutch Player of the Year award.

McNair was one of seven executives to earn first-place awards. He earned the most with 16, while the others who garnered first-place votes were Cleveland’s Koby Altman (7), Boston’s Brad Stevens (2), Milwaukee’s Jon Horst (2), Utah’s Justin Zanik (1), Phoenix’s James Jones (1) and Brooklyn’s Sean Marks (1).

Sacramento ended their 16-year playoff drought this season after finishing No. 3 in the Western Conference. The Kings got bounced in seven games to the Golden State Warriors Sunday, but this season was still nothing short of remarkable for an organization plagued with bad luck and misfortune for the better part of two decades.

Here were a few notable moves that McNair, who was hired ahead of the 2020-21 season, and the Kings’ brain trust made over the last year:

• Hired Mike Brown as head coach
• Drafted Keegan Murray No. 4 overall; Murray averaged 12.2 points and 4.6 rebounds on 45.3/41.1/76.5 (59.7 TS%) shooting splits, breaking the rookie record for most made 3-pointers in a single season (206).
• Signed Malik Monk to a two-year, $19.4 million deal via the mid-level exception. Monk was one of the most productive bench players in the NBA, averaging 13.5 points and 3.9 assists with a 58.7 true-shooting percentage. He had a pair of 20-point games in the first round off the bench, including 28 points on 8-of-14 shooting (3-6 3PA) in 32 minutes in Game 6.
• Traded Justin Holiday, Maurice Harkless and a future first-round pick to the Hawks for Kevin Huerter, who averaged 15.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists with a 61.7 true-shooting percentage this season.

That’s a pretty good season if you ask me.

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