The Kings’ future in Sacramento is uncertain again

Out of respect to Kings fans and the regional business community, we have decided to remain in Sacramento for the 2011-12 season. The fans’ spirit and energy, specifically our season ticket holders, has been remarkable and we are truly thankful for their loyalty. We also are greatly appreciative of the support from our corporate sponsors as well as other local businesses that have come forward in recent weeks.

Additionally, we would like to take this opportunity to send a heartfelt thank you to the loyal and hardworking team members within our organization. From the game night staff to the front office, coaches, and players, we are grateful for their professionalism and devotion. “During this process, Mayor Johnson has strongly indicated to both the community and the NBA that he is capable of getting the support to build a state-of-the-art entertainment and sports facility that the Sacramento Region and the tremendous Kings fans so rightly deserve. We look forward to seeing Mayor Johnson bring his vision to reality. However, if an arena plan cannot be finalized in a timely fashion, the NBA’s relocation committee has assured Maloof Sports and Entertainment that it will support an application to move the franchise to another market starting in 2012-13.

In making our decision to remain in Sacramento for the 2011-12 season, we cannot do so without thanking the City of Anaheim for its foresight and support in diligently working toward bringing NBA basketball to Orange County. Mayor Tom Tait, City Manager Tom Wood, and the members of the Anaheim City Council are ambitious, hardworking leaders and have done everything possible to attract the greatest entertainment options in the World to their community.

Of course, we are indebted to the tireless efforts of Henry and Susan Samueli, whose professionalism and desire during this process were second to none. The Samueli’s are a true visionary family dedicated to bettering the Orange County community in which they live and work. We also would like to thank Michael Schulman, who spent the past several months working with the Anaheim Arena Management staff to spearhead efforts to make the Honda Center home to a professional basketball franchise.

In the past week, relocation committee chairman, Clay Bennett and other league representatives visited Sacramento to verify Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson’s claims of more than $9 million in commitments made to the team, as well as plans for a new downtown arena.

NBA staff members are expected to be in Sacramento today to conduct more research on the corporate commitment. There is no word if the NBA still plans to visit Anaheim, as David Stern stated would occur after the Board of Governor meetings.

The arena is and always has been the main sticking point in negotiations. Even if the franchise doesn’t move this year, there is still a chance that we could see the Anaheim Royals the following year. According to a source close to the situation, if the franchise were to remain in Sacramento in the long-term, plans for a new arena would need to be finalized before March 2012 in order for Kings to remain in Sacramento.

If the Maloofs do decide to file for relocation, the board of governors would have a vote within 120 days on the relocation request with a decision decided by a majority vote of the 30 NBA teams.

There are certain players in NBA history that define an era and leave an indelible mark in every fan’s mind. With the retirement of Michael Jordan in 1999 and the NBA lockout in full swing, it suddenly felt like the changing of the guard. As the established veterans aged another year, an influx of new talent began to invade the NBA and take center stage.

The torchbearer for this new era went by the name of Allen Iverson. With his cornrows, tattoos, and flashy crossover, Iverson captured the viewing public with his streetball style of play and ability to seamlessly infuse hip-hop culture with basketball. As the A.I. phenomenon swept the East Cost and eventually the entire nation, a challenger to his highlight reel emerged in Sacramento.

Almost overnight, there appeared to be a white clone of Iverson on SportsCenter every night. With yo-yo like handles, matching tattoos, and moppy hair, Jason Williams started his own West Coast streetball revival.

He froze Gary Payton in his tracks:

He turned Corliss Williamson into a highlight reel:

He revived Chris Webber’s career:

In his 4 year stint with the Kings, Williams produced enough highlight material to fill YouTube for days. We’ve all seen the elbow pass, the sick fake-behind-the-back nonsense, and some of you probably saw him throw the ball off of Vlade’s forehead. His moves and plays inspired a new generation of point guards and showed them that it wasn’t just slam dunks that could amaze the crowd.

But pulling off these trick moves in the regular season is one thing. And come playoff time, Williams’ antics and quick 3pt trigger eventually hindered the team’s progress towards a title. It wasn’t long before he wore out his welcome, and in 2001 he was traded for Mike Bibby.

Nonetheless, Williams went on to mature as a player in Memphis under the tutelage of Hubie Brown, and took his talents to South Beach in 2005, eventually winning a championship a year later. As his career winded down, White Chocolate hung around with the Orlando Magic for 1.5 years, and then signed with the Grizzlies once again for a short stint before retiring earlier this week.

Through all the ups and downs, how will we remember Jason Williams? What is the indelible mark that he leaves behind?

The answer is in an image, forever frozen in time:

Some very talented designers (utp1985, looserover) have taken it one step further by creating different variations of home and away jerseys and the Honda Center home court for the video game, NBA 2k11. If you have the game, you can download and install their creations and play as the Anaheim Royals.

When NBA Commissioner David Stern announced that the Maloofs’ deadline to file an application to relocate to Anaheim has been extended, for a second time, until May 2, it gave Sacramento Kings’ fans a glimmer of hope that the a move to Orange County may not happen. As OC Register columnist Randy Youngman points out, it is very unlikely that the extension is a setback. Let’s look at some reasons why the extension is good and bad news for the future of the Anaheim Royals

The Good

Clay Bennett & the Relocation Committee
The man, the myth, the legend. Clay-mania is running wild. Okay, maybe not. But the new NBA relocation committee chairman is all too familiar with moving teams as he was the most recent to do it with the Seattle Supersonics to his hometown of Oklahoma City three years ago. More importantly, Bennett replaces Jerry Buss on the committee, who has been the most vocal owner against the relocation that would result in a third team in the Southern California market.

Besides Oklahoma City Thunder’s Clay Bennett , the rest of the committee comprises of Minnesota Timberwolves’ Glen Taylor, Indiana Pacers’ Herb Simon, Miami Heat’s Mickey Arison, San Antonio Spurs’ Peter Holt, Utah Jazz’s Greg Miller, and Philadelphia 76ers’ Ed Snider. Aside from the owners of the Heat and 76ers, the other five owners represent small-market teams. Both the Indiana Pacers and Minnesota Timberwolves have long been rumored in the past about teams that could possibly relocate. As small market owners, setting a precedent that makes it difficult to move if their teams are losing money wouldn’t be in their best interest for their future and the NBAs.

Clearing Up the Unclear
One reason given for the 2-week extension was that the details of the Anaheim deal was incomplete and they needed more information about the complex deal. While it isn’t clear what exactly is unclear about the deal, it’s possible that the NBA wants to know about television deals, the planned arena improvements, or how they will handle different situations – such as relocation costs. The extra two weeks gives the Maloofs’ more time to negotiate a TV deal with Fox Sports West, gives the City of Anaheim ample time to provide specifics of how they are going to spend the $25 million in improvements, and for Henry Samueli to negotiate different loan agreements with the Maloofs dependent on a variety of situations. All three cases seem more likely than a new arena deal in Sacramento.

Faster Approval Process
The typical process after an application for relocation is filed is that the relocation committee would study the application and provide a recommendation to the NBA Board Governors within 4 months before a vote. With the relocation committee getting a head start, it is safe to assume that if they ultimately recommend the move to Anaheim, the vote will happen sooner than later.

The Bad

Hope
Before the NBA Board of Governors meetings, it was reported in all the news outlets and media that the move was likely to happen and while it is still highly probable, the fact that the Maloofs didn’t file gives Kings’ fans renewed hope that they can change the minds of the relocation committe in the next two weeks. Sacramento’s repeated failed attempts to finance a new arena is the main problem but Johnson presented a proposal for a new arena so the extra time gives Sacramento a chance to get a new arena deal done and prove KJ’s claims of committed sponsorships and season ticket sales.

Come again? I’m sorry, what was that?

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that’s right. Clay Bennett, the current owner of the up-and-coming Oklahoma City Thunder, the man known infamously for robbing Seattle of their SuperSonics, the man who schemed and lied his way to NBA success, now has a huge say in the very existence of the Kings franchise as we know it.

What does this all mean? What do we know about this man?

We know that Clay took advantage of the New Orleans Hornets’ vulnerability caused by Hurricane Katrina by teaming up with a group of investors to ensure a revenue stream for the team while it had no arena. By doing so, he was instrumental in relocating the franchise to Oklahoma City for two seasons (2005-2007).

After getting a taste of what having the NBA in his backyard was like, Clay and his group the Professional Basketball Club LLC purchased the Seattle Supersonics from Howard Schultz for $350 million in 2006.

And here’s where things get dicey. Publicly assuring the SuperSonics fanbase that his intentions were to keep the team in Seattle while seeking funding to build a new arena, Clay was actually secretly sticking to his original plan of moving the franchise to his hometown of OKC. Public records requests eventually uncovered email trails from Bennett and his associates that revealed their true intentions all along throughout the process.

But it was too little, too late. In November 2007, Bennett notified the NBA of his group’s intent to relocate the SuperSonics franchise to OKC. Five months later, he revealed that the franchise would be relocating without retaining the original team name, logo, colors, etc. Ultimately, when the 2008-2009 season tipped off, the Seattle SuperSonics were no more. It was a dawn of new era. The era of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

What else can be said of Clay? Well, he’s married to Louise Gaylord, daughter of media mogul Edward Gaylord. And he pleaded guilty to a DUI charge in 2000. Nice.

So, with all that being said, what do you think? Are you a Clay-mate?

NBA Commissioner David Stern has given Kings’ ownership, the Maloofs, an extended deadline of May 2nd to file an application for relocation to Anaheim.

The deadline was extended to give the relocation committee, lead by Oklahoma City owner Clay Bennett, time to understand various details in Anaheim’s package and Sacramento’s claim that they have millions of dollars in community support.

Before the meetings, Kings’ ownership, co-owner George Maloof stated that they will file an application for relocation to Anaheim if all goes well in the Board of Governors meeting. After making their presentation to the Board on Thursday, the Maloofs said nothing was for sure yet until it is voted on and that they would talk to NBA owners again on Friday to get a better idea if NBA owners will support the move in time for next season.

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson made one final plea to owners to keep the team in Sacramento with an announcement that Pittsburgh Penguins billionaire co-owner Ron Burkle and others have emerged as willing buyers of the Kings or a new franchise in the future to keep basketball in Sacramento. The only problem? Kings’ co-owner Gavin Maloof stated the team was not for sale. The meetings are closed to the public and media.