The Kings announce the hiring of Scott Perry as their general manager

The Sacramento Kings finalized the deal to hire general manager Scott Perry in hopes that he can get the team back to the playoffs after losing in the play-in tournament the past two years.

The Kings reached an agreement with Perry last week just hours after parting with Monte McNair and announced the deal on Monday. Perry will be introduced at a news conference on Wednesday.

Perry will oversee the basketball operations department and report directly to owner Vivek Ranadive.

"Scott brings a wealth of experience, a sharp basketball mind, and a strong track record of building talented rosters,” Ranadive said in a statement. “He shares our commitment to developing and sustaining a winning culture, and I am excited to welcome him back to Sacramento.”

After snapping an NBA-record 16-season playoff drought in 2022-23 when McNair was named executive of the year, the Kings fell just short of returning to the playoffs the past two seasons, leading to the change.

Perry returns to Sacramento after spending three months in the front office as vice president of basketball operations in 2017.

“I appreciate the opportunity to rejoin the Kings organization and help build a successful team that competes at a high level,” Perry said in a statement. “I’m eager to get to work with the players and staff to continue moving the organization forward.”

Perry was hired away from the Kings to become general manager of the Knicks under team president Scott Mills. Perry ran the Knicks briefly on an interim basis in 2020 following Mills’ firing before returning to his role of GM under team president Leon Rose through the 2022-23 season.

Perry spent more than a decade in the front office for the Pistons, playing a role in building a roster that won the 2004 NBA Finals and made six straight Eastern Conference Finals appearances.

Now he will try to do the same with the Kings after becoming the franchise’s fifth lead executive since Ranadive took over the team in 2013. The Kings have gone through nine coaches in that span — including interims — and have the fifth-worst record in the NBA.

One of the first decisions will be on the status of interim coach Doug Christie, who went 27-24 after taking over when Mike Brown was fired in December.

Perry inherits a core of Sabonis, DeRozan, Zach LaVine, Keegan Murray and Malik Monk. He likely won't have a first-round draft pick as the Kings have a 3.8% chance of moving into the top four in the lottery. Otherwise the pick will go Atlanta as part of a previous deal made for Kevin Huerter.

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FILE - In this July 17, 2017, file photo, New York Knicks general manager Scott Perry poses for a picture after a news conference in Greenburgh, N.Y. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV baptized 20 babies in the Sistine Chapel on Sunday beneath Michelangelo’s frescoed ceiling, continuing an annual tradition that marks the end of the Christmas holiday period at the Vatican.

Later, speaking to the crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square, the pontiff offered his blessing to all infants receiving the sacrament of baptism in these days, "in particular those born in difficult conditions of health or external danger.''

In his first baptismal ceremony as pope, Leo celebrated the Lord’s gift of faith to the children, saying that it gives sense to the gift of life.

“When we know something is essential, we immediately seek it for those we love. Who among us, in fact, would leave a newborn without clothing or nourishment, waiting for them to choose when they grow up how to dress and what to eat?'' the pontiff told the families gathered in the Sistine Chapel.

“Dearest ones, if food and clothing are necessary to live, faith is more than necessary, because with God, life finds salvation,’’ he said.

The pontiff personally administered the sacrament of baptism to the infants, who are the children of Vatican employees working at the Holy See. The parents approached the baptismal font placed within a bronze base representing the Tree of Life with the babies’ godparents and any siblings. The ceremony took place without tears and minimal fussing.

The celebration marks the feast day that recalls Jesus’ baptism in the River Jordan and was established in 1981 by St. John Paul II. The event is depicted on the Sistine Chapel’s north wall in a fresco by Pietro Perugino.

During the ceremony, each father was given a candle representing the Christian light that “illuminates our path.”

“I wish you to continue with joy during the year that has just begun and for all of your life, certain that the Lord will always accompany your steps.’’

Pope Leo XIV delivers the Angelus noon prayer in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Faithful listen to Pope Leo XIV's Angelus noon prayer in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

The lit Christmas tree is backdropped by the St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Leo XIV holds his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)