The Kings fell to 2-6 on the season with Wednesday's 124-120 loss to the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena, continuing Sacramento's slow start under first-year coach Luke Walton.
But Walton's boss still believes in him, The Athletic's David Aldridge revealed in a Wednesday column.
“Very happy with him,” Kings general manager Divac texted Aldridge on Sunday. “His approach, communication and relationship with the players needs more time and he needs to learn about personalities but I really like what I see. It’s a process; can’t do stuff over night.”
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Wednesday's loss snapped the Kings' two-game winning streak, and Sacramento trailed by as many as 14 points in the third quarter. The Kings clawed back in the fourth quarter, but never got closer than three points behind the defending NBA champions.
Still, Walton was happy with Sacramento's effort Wednesday night and viewed the foiled comeback as a sign of progress following an 0-5 start to his first season in California's capital.
"We showed growth again," Walton told reporters in Toronto. "I'm happy for the direction we're moving [in]. It's a tough place to play, [they're] the NBA champs and they were making a lot of shots tonight. Our guys hung in there, stayed close. A week ago, this was a game that was turning into a 25-point game. To give ourselves a chance at the end is all you can ask for, and at the end, they made shots. We missed them."
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The Kings can still end their three-game road trip with a winning record if they beat the Atlanta Hawks on Friday before returning to Golden 1 Center for three of their next four games.
Whether Sacramento can climb out of its early-season hole and earn a playoff berth for the first time since 2006 remains to be seen, but Walton can afford to be patient with his new team as long as Divac is patient with him.