Scott Perry delivered a signature line that should serve him well as he charts a course for a Sacramento Kings organization that has been defined by dysfunction over most of the past 20 years.

“I don’t run from problems,” Perry said. “I run to them. I think that’s a necessary quality you have to have when you come to a situation like this.”

Perry hit all the right notes while embracing the challenge ahead when he was introduced as the team’s new general manager Wednesday at Golden 1 Center.

“I love taking on challenges,” Perry said. “If you’ve followed my career, a lot of the organizations I’ve worked with, when I first came in, they were struggling or non-playoff teams, whatever you want to call it. But by the time I left, the organizations were better.”

Perry was hired to replace former general manager Monte McNair, who agreed to part ways with the organization after the Kings suffered a season-ending loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the NBA play-in tournament. McNair succeeded in leading the Kings to the playoffs as the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference in 2023 — ending the longest playoff drought in NBA history after 16 consecutive losing seasons in Sacramento — but he failed to build on that success.

Perry inherits a team that must find a sensible and sustainable way forward following a tumultuous season that resulted in major upheaval following a rare period of stability. The Kings fired coach Mike Brown and traded star point guard De’Aaron Fox while going 40-42 to finish ninth in the West.

“To be successful, you have to have consistency and stability,” Perry said. “People who know me and know my experience know I’m all about stability.”

Perry fielded questions for 30 minutes Wednesday. He said he was happy to be back in Sacramento after briefly serving the organization in 2017. He noted that the Kings need a point guard. He also acknowledged that the team lacks the requisite length and athleticism needed to win in the modern NBA.

Some members of McNair’s staff, including Alvin Gentry, Paul Johnson and Phil Jabour, were seated in the front row along with Perry’s wife, Kim. Kings owner Vivek Ranadive and interim coach Doug Christie were not present.

Perry was asked multiple times if Ranadive has given him autonomy to make basketball decisions.

“Vivek owns the team,” Perry said. “I’ve worked with Vivek before and I enjoy a very healthy and positive relationship with him, but make no mistake, he has empowered me to lead this team and make decisions.”

The first decision Perry will make is choosing a head coach. Christie wants the job after leading the Kings to a 27-24 record over the last 51 games of the regular season. Perry spoke highly of Christie and said they’ve had multiple discussions, but he hasn’t decided if Christie will be back next season.

“My phone has incessantly rang for interest in this job, so I’m going to have a few more conversations about this job and hopefully I can come to some sort of resolution within the next week or so,” Perry said.

Perry has 25 years of experience as an NBA executive with the Detroit Pistons, Seattle SuperSonics, Orlando Magic, Kings and New York Knicks. He established relationships with Ranadive and former general manager Vlade Divac during a brief stint as vice president of basketball operations in 2017, but he left after three months to become general manager of the Knicks.