Vlade Divac Named Kings GM, Peja Stojakovic's Front-Office Position Revealed

Vlade Divac was an NBA All-Star for the Sacramento Kings in 2001. Over a decade later, the organization is fostering a rapid front-office ascent for its former big man and one of Divac's beloved teammates in Peja Stojakovic.

After being hired in March as the vice president of basketball and franchise operations, Divac was promoted to general manager Monday as Sacramento reshuffled its front office. The Kings' official website passed along the news through a media release.

Stojakovic will now assume the role of director of player personnel and development. Sacramento has also named former Dallas Mavericks vice president Roland Beech as VP of basketball strategy and data science and Mike Bratz as assistant GM.

Divac spoke about the shake-up and expressed optimism about the future:

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We're fortunate as an organization to enter this season with three professionals of this caliber. Having such individuals as integral members of our basketball operations team offers more than a unique set of basketball philosophies, experiences and instincts, but also a depth of character commonly associated with winning cultures. With Mike, Roland and Peja on board, I'm more confident than ever in the future success of the Sacramento Kings.

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A three-point sharpshooter in his NBA playing heyday, Stojakovic was a three-time All-Star in his own right. He'll also be the GM for the Reno Bighorns—the Kings' NBA Development League affiliate.

ESPN.com's James Ham weighed in on the situation:

With 40 years of experience and a stint as a Kings assistant from 1991 to 1998, Bratz brings plenty of credibility and should help Sacramento's greener executives.

Beech was in Dallas for the team's 2011 NBA Finals triumph. He's renowned for sabermetrics and analytics—the type of cutting-edge concepts Sacramento needs to explore to increase hopes of contending in the loaded Western Conference anytime soon.

It appears the Kings are intent on collecting smart basketball minds, several of whom contributed to the franchise's most recent run of sustained success. These moves are a great way to attract fan interest and bolster the brand of basketball with people who have contributed to a winning team before.

The power structure in Sacramento seems to be on the same page. Now it's up to the players the Kings have assembled to execute on the court. Much of that will depend on how head coach George Karl coexists with standout center DeMarcus Cousins.

Karl has reportedly lobbied for the Kings to trade Cousins, per Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, which runs counter to conventional reasoning, considering how young and talented Boogie is. With marquee additions in Rajon Rondo and lottery pick Willie Cauley-Stein to join Cousins and Rudy Gay, Sacramento has a decent nucleus to work with.

But Karl will have to figure out how to handle reputedly mercurial personalities in Cousins and Rondo for the 2015-16 campaign to be a success.