Kings Announce Former NBA Champion as Assistant GM

Perry is right - Armstrong’s experience is not up for debate. He worked in the Chicago Bulls’ front office as Special Assistant to the Vice President of Basketball Operations after a productive 11-year playing career, winning 3 championships with the Jordan-era Bulls. After his front office stint in Chicago, Armstrong joined Wasserman Media Group, where he was the co-head of basketball. 

Notable clients during his time at Wasserman include Derrick Rose, Bismack Biyombo, Emmanuel Mudiay, JaVale McGee, Denzel Valentine, and Josh Jackson. The agency (not Armstrong personally) also represents Jalen Suggs, Evan Mobley, could-have-been King Stephon Castle, and, importantly, Domantas Sabonis. 

Armstrong has made the rounds on podcasts as well. Displaying shades of J.J. Redick, the new Assistant GM has recently opined on the state of the Kings and basketball generally. 

Armstrong was a member of the Hoop Genius Podcast, where Perry also had a presence before being hired by the Kings. Armstrong made several notable comments about the Kings. In an episode several weeks ago, he noted that the roster “doesn’t look like a team” and questioned what their identity was. 

While these are some harsh truths, most Kings fans would agree that the team appeared disjointed after the trade deadline. The players were not blind to this, either. 

Listeners have gotten insight on Armstrong’s broader thoughts on basketball, as well. He has been on record noting his dissatisfaction with most teams and players’ shot profiles, saying that players have essentially become robots that only look for several types of shots. 

If nothing else, Armstrong’s prior comments clearly show he will not be content to keep the roster the same and run it back next season. They also show that he will not push Doug Christie and his new coaching staff to have the team live or die by the three point shot. 

It has been some time since Armstrong has been on the team side of the table - two decades, to be exact. While his agency perspective will be valuable, time will tell if it translates back to running a team. 

Regardless of the returns of Armstrong as a decision maker, it is refreshing to see an important hire that (1) comes from outside the usual circle of hires made by Sacramento over the last 13 years, (2) is respected around the league, arriving with a deep and respected network, and (3) appears to have been directly hired by Scott Perry. 

Our first look at how the Perry-Armstrong tandem work together will come next month in the NBA Draft, where the Kings will pick 42nd.