Kings’ Thomas Is Top Candidate

John Thomas, president of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, has emerged among the leading candidates for the Dodger presidency, baseball sources said Thursday.

Thomas is one of six candidates who Rick Welts, Fox Sports Enterprises president, is actively pursuing.

Welts fired Bob Graziano on Wednesday, less than two years after Graziano took the position.

Calls to Thomas’ Arco Arena office in Sacramento were not returned Thursday. Welts has declined to discuss specifics of the search, but two sources confirmed that Thomas has been contacted and is interested.

“All I will say is that I have a great deal of respect for John,” said Welts, who has known Thomas for several years.

Thomas nearly accepted a position with the Dodgers in February. He was offered a still-vacant executive vice presidency, which would have given him control over the organization’s business operations.

Thomas, who would have been the business-side counterpart to General Manager Kevin Malone, rejected the Dodgers’ offer because the Kings offered the presidency of the franchise and arena. Thomas has an extensive background in sports marketing.

He has held executive positions in baseball, basketball and football. Welts’ background is in NBA marketing.

Before joining the Kings, Thomas served as vice president of business operations for the Houston Rockets.

Thomas and Welts crossed paths often while helping implement many of the NBA’s successful marketing strategies in recent seasons, including the development of the WNBA.

Although a move is not imminent, Welts said he hopes to have the job filled within a month.