The Sacramento Kings announced staff updates within the basketball operations department ahead of the 2021-22 NBA regular season, including the promotions of Paul Johnson to Vice President of Player Development (in addition to his current role as Stockton Kings General Manager), Jonah Herscu to Sacramento Kings Assistant Coach, Rahsaan Gethers to Director of Media Relations, Penny Chatzis to Director of Team Player Development, Robbie Lemons to Director of Basketball Operations and Akachi Okugo to Stockton Kings Assistant Coach.
“Today we are announcing a number of promotions within the Kings basketball operations department,” said Kings General Manager Monte McNair. “Over the course of our first and unique season together, many in the department deserve recognition for their contributions. I am pleased to congratulate Paul, Jonah, Rahsaan, Penny, Robbie and Akachi on their promotions.”
Johnson joined the organization in 2020 as Director of Basketball Operations and General Manager of Sacramento’s G League affiliate Stockton Kings, where he has led Stockton’s front office with involvement in multiple aspects of Kings basketball operations. With more than eight years of experience in the NBA, Johnson served as the Assistant General Manager of the G League’s Oklahoma City Blue prior to his arrival in Sacramento. Additionally, Johnson was Pro Evaluation Coordinator for the Oklahoma City Thunder and a Referee Operations Analyst with the NBA. Johnson played collegiate basketball at La Salle University in the Atlantic 10 Conference where he served as team captain.
Herscu has served as Advance Scout with Sacramento for the past two seasons since joining the Kings in 2019. Previously, Jonah spent three seasons as an advance scout and player development assistant (2018-19) with the Los Angeles Lakers, along with assistant video coordinator (2016-18). Herscu carries 13 seasons of professional experience having worked in the NBA, NBA G League and WNBA as either an assistant coach or video coordinator. Herscu began his career with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in 2013, and was also an assistant coach for the WNBA’s Chicago Sky. Additionally, he has served in the video department for the Chicago Bulls.
Gethers has served eight seasons with the Kings. He has most recently worked with current Kings Director of Media Relations Alexander Sigua on basketball communications strategies, arranging interviews and attending to media. He has also been responsible for producing all sports information for all games, practices and offseason publications. The Colorado native started as a game night staff member of the Nuggets media department for three seasons, prior to becoming an intern with Denver. Gethers is a 2008 graduate of the University of Arizona.
Chatzis has served four seasons with the Kings, most recently as Executive Assistant to Kings General Manager Monte McNair and as Player Services Administrator. Chatzis supports all areas of basketball administration and proactively manages the day-to-day needs of the Kings front office. Penny has also been responsible for overseeing Player Services and Player Relations, which includes the onboarding of players into the organization, while also assisting with community integration. Chatzis also supports the management of player community appearances.
Lemons has served for five seasons with the Kings, starting his career as Scouting Coordinator and Basketball Operations Coordinator. In a hybrid role, Lemons has provided support to several branches of basketball operations, including the analytics, scouting and strategy departments. Before joining the Kings, Lemons graduated with honors from Stanford University in 2015 with a BA in Economics and a MA in Public Policy. He played on Stanford’s basketball team (2010-14) and was awarded First Team Pac-12 All Academic Selection and the Pac-12 Leadership Award.
Okugo previously served for four seasons in player development with Sacramento and Stockton. Prior to that, he served for two seasons as an assistant player development coach. A graduate of California State University, San Marcos, Okugo was a member of the men’s basketball team and ranks second in school history for three-point field goals made. Okugo also played at Grand Canyon University, and earned First Team All-State of California honors at Yuba City Community College. He received Most Valuable Player honors in the Bay Valley Conference.