2:51pm: The Kings have made it official, formally announcing Perry’s hiring in a press release.
“I’m thrilled that Scott will be joining our front office team,” Divac said in a statement. “His extensive experience in the league and management talents will help build on our progress are we work to develop a winning franchise.”
2:40pm: Just over a week after he was dismissed from the Magic front office along with Rob Hennigan, former Orlando assistant GM Scott Perry has found a new job. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter links), the Kings are hiring Perry as their executive VP of basketball operations and intend to have him work closely with Vlade Divac.
Perry, a seasoned NBA executive who has strong relationships throughout the league, is expected to execute many of the general manager duties in his new role with the Kings, though Divac will still have the final say on basketball decisions, Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter).
Shortly after word broke last Thursday that the Magic had fired Hennigan and Perry, multiple national reporters expressed surprise that Orlando would let Perry get away, since he and Hennigan had different voices in the front office. According to multiple reports, Perry wanted to make a trade with the Kings that would have landed DeMarcus Cousins in Orlando, but Hennigan wasn’t on board with the proposed deal — Perry will now join the other team involved in those Cousins talks, though the All-Star center is obviously no longer in Sacramento.
Perry began his career as an NBA executive back in 2000 when he was hired by the Pistons to work under GM Joe Dumars. Perry won a title with the club and later worked for the SuperSonics under Sam Presti before returning to the Pistons and eventually joining Hennigan’s front office in Orlando.
Perry will add a veteran voice to a decision-making process that has been headed by Divac and controlling owner Vivek Ranadive, two men without extensive NBA front office experience on their respective résumés.