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Kings hire Nuggets VP Pete D'Alessandro as general manager

Kings hire Nuggets VP Pete D'Alessandro as general manager

The Sacramento Kings have reached an agreement in principle to hire Denver Nuggets vice president Pete D'Alessandro as the franchise's general manager, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

D'Alessandro beat out a strong field of candidates, including Memphis Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace, for the job. New Kings ownership is replacing outgoing GM Geoff Petrie.

D'Alessandro's departure from Denver is another blow to the Nuggets' senior leadership. D'Alessandro had been a strong candidate to replace Masai Ujiri as Denver's GM, but ultimately accepted the Sacramento offer that was made within the past 48 hours.

After nearly a decade in front offices with Golden State and Denver, D'Alessandro developed a strong reputation with executives throughout the NBA. He worked closely with Ujiri on the Carmelo Anthony trade that replenished the Nuggets' roster with young talent, and played a part in the procurement of top young draft picks, including Kenneth Farried and Ty Lawson.

D'Alessandro's first orders of business with the Kings will be the June 27 NBA draft, where the Kings select seventh, and how to proceed with talented, but enigmatic center DeMarcus Cousins. D'Alessandro has been a proponent of giving Cousins every opportunity to succeed with the Kings and creating a culture with which he could flourish, sources told Yahoo! Sports.

The Kings ownership hired Mike Malone as the franchise's new coach, and Malone had some input into the process that led to D'Alessandro's hiring.

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