It’s official. The Kings will remain on their throne in Sacramento, metaphorically speaking of course; as the Kings have not actually played basketball worth their royal title in several years. The sale of the Kings has been unanimously approved by the NBA to a locally based investment group headed by Vivek Ranadive for a reported $347 million. A competing bids came from Seattle but NBA owners voted to keep the team in its Sacramento home.
Former NBA player and Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson, has worked tirelessly to keep the team in the city and can now be applauded for his successful efforts. The Maloof family, now previous owners of the Kings, have been trying to sell the organization to Seattle for months however have had each deal vetoed by the NBA in efforts to keep the team in Northern California.
So what does this mean for the Sacramento team, organization, fans and city? Personally, I believe we are about to witness a complete transformation of the organization. Ranadive has lot of work ahead of him, no doubt. First things first, a new stadium deal needs to be signed. The Kings may be staying at home, but right now, they are living in the equivalent of their parent’s basement. It’s time to move out and onto much bigger and better things, and so a new arena complex is planned in Sacramento.
Sponsorship and support from the cities major corporations and other organizations is vital to the Kings survival. Remember, the Kings are the fourth Californian NBA team and are the worst of the four in terms of basketball quality right now. Sacramento public officials are openly supportive of their team, so support and sponsorship from them is somewhat guaranteed. Then there are the fans…
Firstly, congratulations Kings fans. You fought a long, hard battle to keep your team at home and you won. Well done. Secondly, the Kings have managed to remain with one of the most loyal and supportive fan bases in the league. But how supportive can a fan-base remain when quality and competitive basketball lacks?
The Kings (28-54) finished thirteenth in the Western Conference this season. The roster hardly screams talent. But with two big names in DeMarcus Cousins and Tyreke Evans, there is potential. The Kings have one ‘first round’ pick in this year’s draft, coming in at number seven, which gives them the potential to add some real talent to the roster.
Aside from the the draft, the first priority for the Kings should be to re-sign Evans to a long term deal. Evans is a restricted free agent and they cannot afford to lose him, as he is a piece they should be building around. Next, they need to sort out what to do with Isaiah Thomas. Will he be starting or coming off the bench? Let the guy know, so he can base his offseason training focusing on the areas he most needs to improve. And finally, the Kings should do everything in their power to add some real star talent this off-season. The free agent class is relatively deep and highly talented this year and the Kings cannot afford to wait for the 2014 class.
All in all, I’m a happy man. I congratulate Sacramento on keeping their team and I am very happy for their fan base. It is never pleasing to see a city’s team taken from then, as Seattle knows. But being bitter and jealous isn’t going to bring the Supersonics back. Get over it. Goodluck to Ranadive and Sacramento.
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Photo Credit: streetballblog.com,
