A native of Oak Park, Calif. outside of Los Angeles, McNair played football at Princeton University, where he majored in computer science. Side note, I honestly don’t think it’s a surprise that the Rockets “have Harden and haven’t won a title”. 34 comments. Right around the 33:20 mark of the video, Luke mentioned data on making and missing shots, FG%, and how to better measure a player’s shooting ability. Yup, I was thinking the same thing. You guys made me somewhat cautiously optimistic about this whole ordeal — even with Dumars around. The team announced the move to replace Vlade Divac… Due to his background in analytics with the Rockets, McNair has been featured as a panelist a few times at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. The data is just enormous and you simply need the infrastructure, and that’s another one where we’ve learned from other sports who have had more data or even other industries like retail, or finance where they have tons of data and how do we actually get this in a form that we can pull it out and give it to our analysts. whose eyes probe the passing landscape for a diner. He graduated in 1958 with a Bachelor of Science degree. I feel pretty good about McNair after reading your article, even if I’m skeptical about Vivek. He spent 13 years with the Rockets, holding a variety of positions. Who are we?” says Evan, wondering who they are. The year that Ranadive took over the Kings, the league installed SportVU player tracking capabilities to deliver more data to teams. Ok. I’ll bite. It’s pretty rare air, right? There’s a reason he moved on and away from the day to day workings of the team. Monte McNair Full Press Confe… Monte has 2 jobs listed on their profile. He hopes for a sign. So being around the coaches more, them knowing that we’re on the same team trying to do the same thing allows them to at least get straight to the merits of what I’m trying to tell them instead of them trying to think, well does he have some other agenda here he’s trying to push?”. (IE possibly taking Dumars side over Monte) but I’ve seen crazier things happen in the Vivek era. I like that word.”. the NBA Privacy Center, it will apply to data controlled independently by the NBA. Prior to joining the Rockets, McNair … Manage Preferences, Postgame Interviews: Jae'Sean Tate 3-16-2021, Postgame Interviews: Coach Silas 3-16-2021, Postgame Interviews: Victor Oladipo 3-16-2021, Photo Gallery: Rockets Vs. Hawks 3/16/2021, Practice Interview: Sterling Brown 3-15-21. “Moreyball,” it is largely based on taking only three-point shots, layups and dunks because the data behind the method suggests it makes more sense mathematically to do so from an efficiency standpoint. WarnerMedia Privacy Center | Terms of Use | Inwardly, he hopes that whoever has imagined them will treat them gently, justly. Monte McNair. Sam Amick and Shams Charania of The Athletic named six executives the Kings have interest in and one of them is Monte McNair, current assistant GM of the Houston Rockets. The Kings will introduce McNair during an introductory press conference on Wednesday at 11:30 am. Then you’ve got people who have worked with imaging and more spatial areas as opposed to a lot of the regressions that we’ve kind of started with. Monte McNair’s background before the Sacramento Kings. Privacy Act, please use the links below to visit each company’s privacy center. Check out this biography to know about his childhood, family, personal life, career, and achievements. Both Moneyball and Moreyball have given rise to the debate in front offices across different leagues about analytics v. traditional strategies to building teams. it will apply to data controlled jointly by the NBA and WarnerMedia as well as other data controlled by WarnerMedia. It doesn’t have to be. Do we count KD? I am hungry,” says Lyle. So it might point to a direction on other things, but it’s not going to change big-picture stuff.”. It’s a tool. Read up on Monte McNair's biography, career, awards and more on ESPN. So, I don’t think you’re ever going to change your entire scheme or use just that. I really enjoyed the video of that Sloan discussion. 100% Upvoted. Assuming McNair is a believer of something akin to Moreyball (dibs on the term: Monteball), you have to wonder how much time Fox has to show he can hit the 3 consistently. Ronald McNair was an MIT-trained physicist who specialized in laser research before joining NASA in the late 1970s. View Monte McNair’s profile on LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional community. save. McNair and the Rockets, therefore, sought the outliers despite the risks as way to gain a competitive advantage. Kings vice president of strategy and analytics, McNair assisted the Rockets with everything from free agency, the draft, trades and player evaluation, Kings Pulse: Full 2021 Trade Deadline Primer, Another day, another round of Harrison Barnes speculation, was let go in 2015 as former general manger Vlade Divac reportedly expressed opposition to utilizing analytics for player evaluations. hide. No portion of NBA.com may be duplicated, redistributed or manipulated in any form. By using NBA sites, you are agreeing to our revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, including our cookie policy. Monte McNair Named Sacramento Kings’ New General Manager. A native of Oak Park, Calif., McNair worked at STATS Inc. as a researcher prior to latching on with the Rockets. Kings GM Monte McNair speaks with media following the 2020 NBA Draft. Independent Sacramento Kings Coverage. “You said we are a figment of a man’s imagination,” says Lyle, whose eyes probe the passing landscape for a diner. Monte McNair is a graduate of Princeton University with a degree in computer science and began his career as a sports programmer. Kawhi, Curry, LeBron. Granted they have Harden and haven’t won a title, but consistent winning is a success in its own right, and Morey has given McNair a great deal of credit for that success. Maybe McNair is the diamond in the rough Sacramento needs. To opt out of the sale of your personal information as permitted by the California Consumer Rockets exec Monte McNair on expectations, fit and an evolving NBA. So it would seem he is more than just a data guy. I really just hope Vivek has changed for the better. Filed Under: Sacramento Kings, Vlade Divac. Of course, that would have had to be balanced against the HC’s need to review the tapes! Monte McNair's "Exciting" Offseason. The Sacramento Kings are hiring Monte McNair, the assistant general manager of the Houston Rockets, as their new head of basketball operations, according to … McNair has spent the last 13 seasons working his way up in the Rockets system under one of the more progressive general managers in the NBA in Daryl Morey, but this is his first opportunity to run an organization on his own. “I think the initial kind of thrust to try to get them to buy in is tough, but once you get a few wins and they see that what you are doing helps them and works it just makes it easier to keep going down that path. He likes diners more than anything. “Obviously, credit to coach [Mike] D’Antoni who has been innovating for decades at this point. He joined Houston as a developer/programmer in 2007 then worked his way up the organization. “Monte has been absolutely critical to the success of the Rockets over his long tenure,” said Morey. All rights reserved. If I recall correctly, he originally expressed his desire to spend time on the bench during games to provide real-time analytics to the coaches. “His unique combination of analytical skills and ability to work with our coaching staff was a key driver in our record breaking season last year.". He has always been driven by disruption and innovation, and some of his reported ideas have raised questioning eyebrows – there’s the reports of wanting try playing 4-on-5 on defense and the test experiments with the Reno Bighorns/Stockton Kings. Monte McNair, the VP of Basketball Operations for the Rockets, participated in a panel with Scott Brooks, Mike Brown, and Vinny Del Negro at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference.. It is good to hear he believes in having strong relationships with coaches as well. While it wasn’t a conventional press conference filled with handshakes and photo ops due to social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic, the Zoom video was nonetheless informative. But what about the small sample size there is when you are choosing methods that aren’t common? best. I would love to hear his response. McNair originally joined the Rockets as an analyst in 2007 and became Director of Basketball Operations in 2013 before transitioning to Vice President of Basketball Operations in 2015. Out of the car’s window he sees a red fox chasing its tail amongst dried grass. Its going to be a long time before the stink of stale Vlade smoke is gone from this franchise. Independent Sacramento Kings Coverage. McNair, on the other hand, comes from an analytics background, and has spent over a decade learning the ropes in one of the NBA's best organizations. “Well then, I hope she will makes us ‘immutable’ and will write that we will stop at a diner soon. In February 1984, he became … This isn’t new to Ranadive, of course. And Ill even justify keeping Walton on for 1 more season due to the fact that he will have lost the locker room by the close of training and then let the tank a thon begin. you have to wonder how much time Fox has to show he can hit the 3 consistently. Seems that strategy has never worked as Dubs great at taking High Pct 2 point shots as was Toronto and Cleveland ! Based on comments from Morey, McNair assisted the Rockets with everything from free agency, the draft, trades and player evaluation. Prior to joining the Rockets, McNair worked as a researcher at STATS LLC. If you make a request through the WarnerMedia Privacy Center, … You need people with different skills and it’s great, it’s another place to find an advantage.”. “We used to get 200 events per game in the play by play, and now we’re getting thousands of events per second. “And I hope she will insert the word ‘filament’ somewhere in the story. Presented by Michelob Ultra. So would he announce a new coach for the team on his introduction cos’ that would be so BOSS. I’d imagine Monte will be working on clearing the lane so Fox can get more drive and kick opportunities for his teammates. McNair was promoted into the assistant GM role in 2018. Most sports fans are aware of “Moneyball” the famed story about how the Oakland A’s and general manager Billy Beane introduced the usage of data to build a competitive team on a low payroll. Read more →, About Podcasts Advertise Contact Community Guidelines, © Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy. But yeah, organizationally it helps to have that philosophy that hey, we’re going to try stuff until it works and I think you can look across other sports and see what they’ve done to innovate. HOUSTON – Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that Monte McNair has been promoted to assistant general manager. Monte McNair stepped to the microphone Wednesday to answer questions for the first time since becoming general manager of the Kings late last week. They don’t search for 3s at the expense of easy 2s. His 10-game absence started as a coach’s decision, then was described as being due to personal reasons and then was attributed to back spasms. NBA sites use cookies and similar technologies. They search for 3s and easy 2s at the expense of moderate and low percentage 2s. The Kings hired analytics legend Dean Oliver in 2014, but Oliver was let go in 2015 as former general manger Vlade Divac reportedly expressed opposition to utilizing analytics for player evaluations. |, Ken Catanella expected to stay and join Monte McNair’s staff, Chainmail: Answering your questions about the Sacramento Kings. A native of Oak Park, Calif. outside of Los Angeles, McNair played football at Princeton University, where he majored in computer science. He has been the assistant general manager since 2018 and also was integral in the team’s analytics department, working closely with the coaching staff on strategy. Maybe with Monte in charge he’ll be more actively involved again. Sounds like he has the info and data available for the player on the Kings, and it is not being used. I’d imagine McNair would utilize his services adequately. “I said ‘man’s imagination,’ ” says Roger. He was drafted third overall by the Titans in 1995, becoming the team's regular starting quarterback in 1997, their first season in Tennessee, and remained the starting quarterback for the Titans through 2005. Sell high on Barnes and gain assets. I was wondering if it was a lack of resources to mine the data, or just Vlade saying up front that he doesn’t care. For instance, a guy’s three point percentage is probably a little more useful from the analytics perspective, whereas something like how a team does against pick-and-roll coverage, I might be able to, actually J.B. [Bickerstaff] and I just had this conversation the other day, I said there’s nothing conclusive here, but here’s where it leads and here’s some video to go watch. report. But yeah, again, that’s why maybe you are going to have to be the first mover in your sport, but if you’ve seen somebody else in another sport do it, you know that you at least have a little bit of, like Luke [Bornn] said, you get a little bit of cover there.”, “There’s also another lesson there, which is that if your objective function is championship and that’s all you want, you should be chasing volatility. We already have Bornn, and I’d assume he is retained if he wants to be here still. 3 Georgia teachers died after contracting COVID-19. I was going to post the same. Westbrook is not a great 3 pointer shooter so I doubt it will be a huge deal. I think you are responding to the original source. The NBA has certainly become more data driven and the Rockets have proven to be successful over an extended period of time. Kings GM Monte McNair. McNair was asked about the challenges of trying to get an NBA coach to buy into analytics. After the 2005 season, McNair was traded to the … The Houston Rockets, behind general manager Daryl Morey, have relied on data to build a formula that goes against the grain in the NBA. Since I am unfamiliar with this dialog, if you would be so kind as to cite the original source, I would like to test my own ability to deduce the point from there. Monte McNair is a graduate of Princeton University with a degree in computer science and began his career as a sports programmer. I think the other thing is getting over the initial kind of us verse them mentality, which especially there was when I was upstairs and they’re downstairs. In this role, McNair will be responsible for all decisions made in the Kings basketball operations department and … Former Texas starter Keaontay Ingram to transfer to play college football for USC. He likes diners more than anything. “Somebody has got to be the first mover. McNair also discussed how the amount of data available in basketball has increased and the infrastructure you need in place just to manage it. He was also asked if coaches should change their game plans based on analytics. The Sacramento Kings have hired former Houston Rockets executive Monte McNair as their new general manager. And he joined the NBA as a majority owner just as analytics were becoming more prevalent in the league. That works for me. McNair could be the person that believes in fully adopting it with more of a strategic plan. “Perhpas we are a figment of man’s imagination,” says Roger, who doesn’t like to be left out of conversations. McNair grew up in Forest City, North Carolina, a town of about 7,500 in the foothills of western North Carolina. “I hope he will write that were are ‘immutable,’ ” says Evan. McNair is a Southern California native who spent 13 years working for the Rockets. Bob McNair, or Robert C. McNair, was an American philanthropic businessman. level 1. As a result, the A’s and Major League Baseball are largely credited with helping push analytics into professional sports. Marc J. Spears: Kings name Monte McNair as General Manager. McNair discussed how the Rockets front office has visited with outside non-sports organizations that are doing interesting things, such as hedge funds. | | Support Us On Patreon. “The hedge funds are looking for the black swan to avoid it, and we’re looking for it to get it. appeared in a panel on coaching with Mike Brown, Vinny Del Negro, Scott Brooks and Brian Scalabrine as the moderator. Hopefully get a … He graduated from the University of South Carolina in Columbia, where he was initiated into the Sigma Chi Fraternity. The way to get there is to sort of add randomness and hope it works. NBA Privacy Center | share. “Thank you, mam,” he whispers. Monte McNair shares his thoughts at the 2017 MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. Monte Melkonian ( classical Armenian: Մոնթէ Մելքոնեան; reformed: Մոնթե Մելքոնյան; November 25, 1957 – June 12, 1993) was an Armenian - American revolutionary, left-wing nationalist militant, and national hero. The Kings have analytics people already and Ranadive obviously believes in it, but up until now it has been a little unclear how dedicated basketball operations has been to it, at least during Divac's tenure. but Oliver was let go in 2015 as former general manger Vlade Divac reportedly expressed opposition to utilizing analytics for player evaluations. By Fans, For Fans. test experiments with the Reno Bighorns/Stockton Kings. Based on McNair’s Rockets tenure it could be assumed that Vivek Ranadive and the Kings are going to put more of an emphasis on analytics and using data to find a competitive advantage moving forward. Hopefully he and McNair can start to implement the data that they have in order to better evaluate player talent on this team. Sort by. He spent 13 years with the Rockets, holding a variety of positions. It reminds him of a very small, well-contained grass fire. We are a Sacramento Kings blog dedicated to providing independent coverage of the team. He whispers it to himself so the others cannot hear. was let go in 2015 as former general manger Vlade Divac reportedly expressed opposition to utilizing analytics for player evaluations. McNair is a strong basketball mind with a particular affinity for analytics. McNair married his wife, Cheryl Moore, in 1976 when he was 25 years old, a decade before he would perish in the Challenger disaster. “Who says a ‘man’ determines our adjectives?” asks Roger, annoyed. If you make a request through The Kings hired analytics legend Dean Oliver in 2014, but Oliver was let go in 2015 as former general manger Vlade Divac reportedly expressed opposition to utilizing analytics for player evaluations. We had a physics major with us at one point and doing some shot arc stuff and things you would never have to do before. In 2016, he appeared in a panel on coaching with Mike Brown, Vinny Del Negro, Scott Brooks and Brian Scalabrine as the moderator. Before joining the Rockets, McNair worked as a sports programmer and researcher at STATS LLC. This site is operated jointly by NBA and WarnerMedia. September 17, 2020 at 7:32 am. Copyright © 2021 NBA Media Ventures, LLC. McNair also was posed a question about NFL teams going for it more on fourth down as a way to gain an advantage, but how coaches may be hesitant to do that because of job security. As a Sacramento Kings news outlet created by fans for fans, we also serve as a community that allows everyone to have engaging and fun discussions about the team. Last month, new Kings general manager Monte McNair said that one of the advantages to taking the Sacramento job was that the "cupboard definitely is not bare." What would you do if youre in his shoes? Given who McNair is and what he’s done already for basketball as well as the rockets organization, Vivek would have to be severely mentally impaired to not back him at any possible juncture right now. Author: Josh Lyle Published: 9:15 AM PDT September 17, 2020 In 2007, he joined the franchise as a Basketball Operations Senior Analyst, moving up from there to Director of Basketball Operations and Vice President of Basketball Operations, before being named Assistant General Manager in 2018. New Kings GM Monte McNair will try and change the culture in Sacramento Jas Kang 9/23/2020. It was nice hearing McNair talk about analytics. The Rockets, on the back of James Harden, have had a fair share of success over the last decade – eight straight playoff appearances, two Western Conference Finals appearances, but no Finals appearances. And if it doesn’t you quickly pivot, but you have to sort of do things to try to continue to leapfrog.”. “We are what we are,” says Lyle, who is always hungry. Now, Ranadive may have more of a partner in out-of-the-box thinking. In addition to managing the analytic efforts of the Rockets basketball operations department, McNair is involved with all avenues of player evaluation, including trade, free agency, and the draft. Newly appointed Kings general manager Monte McNair is a Princeton man. The Sacramento Kings officially announced the hiring of Monte McNair on Sept. 17.Three days earlier, the seeds of a monumental shake-up were being planted in … SCORES 20 days ago. Accessibility and Closed Caption | It appears that the Kings have made the decision to hand the lead basketball operations position to former Rockets assistant GM Monte McNair. Someone needs to get a question regarding that to Vivek. As a result of the playing style, the team also has set records for the most threes made. By Fans, For Fans. After all, he has a background that includes being credited with digitizing Wall Street in the 1980s. I am certain that there must be a clever or very valid point hidden in this passage… but alas, I am not well read enough to decipher it. Log in or sign up to leave a comment Log In Sign Up. Geez Daddy Bags is down voting everything these days. “Certain things they’re [analytics] going to be more helpful on. Searching for 3’s at the expense of easy 2’s has killed the Rockets in playoffs ! Monte McNair replaces Vlade Divac who stepped down as Kings GM following the season. Over the past four seasons, McNair has worked closely with the coaching staff to provide on-court strategy and analysis along with opponent preparation. His wife, Janice, attended nearby Columbia College. He then made a sly comment about how “why aren’t we using this?” a different panelist made a remark of “who says we arent using it” and Luke said “well you guys might be”. Do Not Sell My Personal Information | If you follow the traditional path to try and get there, with actually more constrictive resources because if you are good consecutively, you don’t get good draft picks all that kind of stuff. Kings land Monte McNair to run basketball operations moving forward. “I like that word.”. Sometimes referred to as "Moreyball," it is largely based on taking only three-point shots, layups and dunks because the data behind the method suggests it makes more sense mathematically to do so from an efficiency standpoint. They had two … Let's review some of McNair's history and comments about analytics. Let's start by diving into McNair's personal background: Native of Oak Park, California; Played football at Princeton University Majored in computer science RELATED: Monte McNair faces six major decisions as Kings' new general manager The current roster in Sacramento is built for speed, although they finished just 20th in … Earlier this year, McNair returned to the Sloan Conference in a panel with Robert Eenhoorn, Joe Sill, Luke Bornn (who coincidentally is the Kings vice president of strategy and analytics) and Tom Haberstroh about learning across different sports. District officials refused to wear face masks. A native of Oak Park, California, outside of Los Angeles, McNair played football at Princeton University, where he majored in computer science. Morey’s right-hand man in Houston since 2018 is now the general manager of the Sacramento Kings. We need that variance and so it’s like let’s just apply what you do, but instead we’re just going to take the opposite.”. Fair wonder, two months in, if … Well logically fire Walton and analytically bring in Donovan. McNair played football at Princeton University, where … “Who are we?” says Evan. It doesn’t have to be Fox taking all of the shots, though he does need to get back at least to his 2nd year percentages. McNair played college football at Alcorn State in Lorman, Mississippi, where he won the 1994 Walter Payton Award as the top player in NCAA Division I-AA. The [Philadelphia] Eagles had two huge fourth down conversions in their Super Bowl victory, and to see teams that have done that and reap success, it just gives you a little more confidence to kind of go for it.”.