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Kings expected to hire Nancy Lieberman as assistant coach

Chris Covatta / National Basketball Association / Getty

The Sacramento Kings have taken their share of flak in recent months for their cavalcade of head-scratching front-office and roster moves, but it's hard to argue with this one.

The Kings are expected to hire trailblazing women's basketball figure Nancy Lieberman as an assistant coach, which would make her just the second-ever woman on an NBA bench, following San Antonio Spurs assistant Becky Hammon.

"Definitely I'm going to offer her a job," Kings vice president Vlade Divac said Thursday, according to Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee. "(Head coach) George (Karl) and I talked about bringing her back after she helped us at Summer League (in Las Vegas). She was terrific. She brings a different dimension. I think (it) is a nice opportunity for her."

Lieberman reportedly said that she would accept the offer, and Divac added that he expects to make an official announcement next week.

Lieberman, who had a legendary playing career - which included college years at Old Dominion, exploits in international competition with Team USA, a stint with the Washington Generals, participating in the WNBA's inaugural season, and a one-game return to the league as a 50-year-old - was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996.

Now 57, she has spent time as general manager and head coach of the WNBA's Detroit Shock, and, most recently, as coach and assistant general manager for the Texas Legends, the Dallas Mavericks' D-League affiliate.

When she was hired as GM for the Legends in 2009, she became the first woman to coach a men's professional basketball team.

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