"IN EARLY AUGUST, just four months into his tenure as Sacramento Kings general manager, Scott Perry took assistant GM B.J. Armstrong and coach Doug Christie to Latrobe, Pennsylvania. For three nights, Perry, Armstrong and Christie stayed in the dorm rooms at Saint Vincent College and were given unfettered access to coach Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers. "I went to the offensive line meetings," Christie said. "Defensive back meetings. Quarterback meetings.""
"The reason was simple: Perry, who joined the Kings in April, wants his new team to emulate the Steelers and needs the leaders across his organization to feel that same spirit. Perry, a Steelers fan with a 15-year personal connection to Tomlin, is also a longtime NBA executive who has worked in the front offices of the Detroit Pistons, Seattle SuperSonics, Orlando Magic and New York Knicks."
"But this opportunity with the Kings provides him with a level of autonomy to mold an NBA culture to a degree he never quite had before. Handpicked by team owner Vivek Ranadive, Perry, 62, is the unquestioned voice guiding the direction of the franchise. Perry is transparent about what lies ahead -- a second go-around with the organization after a brief stint under former GM Vlade Divac in 2017 --"
Scott Perry brought Kings leaders to the Pittsburgh Steelers' facilities for immersive access to coaching meetings to instill a similar culture. Perry has a 15-year personal connection to Mike Tomlin and extensive front-office experience with multiple NBA teams. Team owner Vivek Ranadive handpicked Perry, giving him autonomy to reshape the franchise. The Kings have had chronic instability, cycling through front offices and eight coaches and missing the playoffs 19 of 20 years. Perry frames his mandate as building a sustainable winner and acknowledges skepticism from a demoralized fan base and the challenge of earning owner patience.
Read at ESPN.com
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