SACRAMENTO, Calif. _ Months of furloughs and layoffs led to more staff cuts for the Kings this week as the organization continues to incur financial losses from the coronavirus pandemic while also reorganizing its front office under a new general manager.
The Kings eliminated a number of positions in basketball operations Tuesday, the team said. The moves impacted the NBA club in Sacramento and its G League affiliate in Stockton, but essential staff involved in preparation for the upcoming NBA draft, such as those in the front office, analytics and scouting, were not affected.
ABC10's Sean Cunningham reported Stockton Kings general manager Anthony McClish was among those who lost their jobs. The Kings confirmed the cutbacks in a brief statement issued Wednesday.
"Yesterday, a handful of full-time positions across the basketball operations departments of the Sacramento Kings and Stockton Kings were eliminated due to the ongoing impacts of the pandemic and a reorganization of the team's basketball operations structure."
The Kings hired Monte McNair as their new general manager Sept. 17 after Vlade Divac resigned in August. The change in leadership comes at a time when teams throughout the league have been hit hard by financial losses associated with the COVID-19 crisis.
The Kings have announced multiple waves of layoffs and furloughs impacting more than 100 employees over the past several months. In May, the team informed about 100 employees _ more than one-third of its full-time workers _ they would be furloughed for four months.
The Kings laid off some workers and extended furloughs for others in July. In September, they announced some employees in basketball operations had been furloughed, saying those employees were tentatively expected to return to work in November.
