Closed - New thread started

[dub 253]

Seattle.

 

[Deleted member 38182]

Seattle.

Respect.

What do you feel vindicated about?

 

[dub 253]

Someone wasting my time yesterday trying to tell me the purchase price couldn't be raised.

 

[Deleted member 38182]

Someone wasting my time yesterday trying to tell me the purchase price couldn't be raised.

Ohhh I remember this now. My bad dude, didn't mean to tick you off so badly yesterday 

 

[Deleted member 38182]

Kings vs Rockets tonight... Lets pick up a W and end this season right!

Also after Faber submitted Jorgenson by way of rear baked choke, he is joining Carmichael Dave on the RV for
the final leg of his trip to LA and then to Sac on Wednesday

It was dope to hear him get in "Save the Kings" after the fight

 

[lightweight champion]

Lets close the season with 2 wins

 

[Deleted member 38182]

Nice perspective piece from our point of view. 
[h1] [/h1]

[h1]Sunday Musings: Is Sacramento vs. Seattle really a tough decision for the NBA?[/h1]
James Ham

If the week that was can teach us anything about the week to come, it is that nothing is for sure.  Not in Seattle.  Not in Sacramento.  There is no safe bet in this incredible fight over the Sacramento Kings.

Here we sit on the precipice of the most unprecedented of weeks, perhaps in sports history.  Has there ever been so much on the line for two cities?  Has there ever been a story that changes directions so quickly?

The answer is no.  This is groundbreaking in so many ways and clearly, this is a situation that no professional sports league ever wants to find itself in again.

Was all of this avoidable?

Probably not.  The relationship between the Maloof family and the city of Sacramento grew untenable a long time ago.  While Mayor Kevin Johnson  may have hugged it out with George Maloof in New York, they are anything but okay.  What is happening right now is spiteful, ugly and completely personal.

The same goes for the relationship between the Maloofs and the NBA.  The league is done being dragged through the mud by these folks.  They are done with the attempts to move to Anaheim, Virginia Beach and Las Vegas.  They are done with the arena waffling, overextended lines of credit and league minimum salaries.

A divorce is in order.  A check will be written and the Maloofs will no longer be part of one of the most exclusive clubs known to man.

The only question is how much damage to the league and Sacramento will they inflict before exiting stage left?

There are no coincidences in this fight.  It could not have been an accident that the Maloofs set a deadline for a legally-binding deal from Sacramento, only to see Chris Hansen raise his bid for the Kings.

This was intentional.  It was worked out in advance with Hansen and his group of investors.  The same way Hansen’s presentation to the relocation and finance committee made its way into the hands of a particular media outlet Friday evening.

That’s right.  To use the words of Gavin Maloof, Chris Hansen, Steve Ballmer and the Nordstrom family have decided to be “stewards” of the family’s franchise.  And before they have even come into the league, they are acting like their soon to be predecessors.

Does that seem harsh?  I hope so, but that doesn’t mean it is untrue.

In trying to return basketball back to Seattle, a city the league left behind a few years back, Hansen and his group are playing by their own set of rules.  And in doing so, they are giving the league a window into what they will be like as owners.

They have no regard for the rules, be it the league’s or the city they hope to move Sacramento’s team to.  They have forced the hand in every situation, regardless of the potential fall out.  They throw money at everything just to overcompensate for some cosmic shortcoming.

And again, this is all before the pearly gates of the NBA have even opened their doors to the group.

The Kings minority owners have already been told about their fate if the team moves north.  They will be cash called at every step, diluted at every opportunity.  This is the end of the road for them.

In the same way that the Maloofs’ name has been painted over at the Palms, Hansen and his group intend to wipe away the Kings from the record books.  They will take down the banners of Chris Webber, Vlade Divacand Mitch Richmond  and put them in a box somewhere.  They will gut Sleep Train Arena and leave a blight of a shell at 1 Sports Parkway.

And don’t forget that the Maloofs will get their revenge, too.  They will get their revenge on the league for blocking their move to Anaheim.  They will get the last laugh on the mayor, Ron Burkle, thousands of fans and the 800-plus employees who have served them loyally for the last 14 years.

There is a right and a wrong answer here.

Seattle had a team and they lost it.  Fair or unfair, it is the reality of the situation.  The owners of the league, including the Maloof family, voted and allowed the SuperSonics to move to Oklahoma City and become the Thunder.  It is unfortunate, but it happened.

There is no way to “bring back the Sonics”, the same way there will never be a way to bring back the Kings if they are taken away from Sacramento.

There is no way to turn back the clock and rewrite history – revisionist or otherwise.  You don’t right a wrong by creating an even bigger one.

A large market did not play the game and they lost their team.  A small market has done everything asked of them and more.  That is the long and the short of it.

The question has now become – who are you with?  Are you with the city of Sacramento, which has put it all on the line?  Which has fought tooth and nail the last two years to keep the Kings from leaving and met every demand from the NBA?  A city that has sold out completely in 19 of 28 seasons through mostly horrific basketball?

Or do you side with the Maloofs and their friends from Seattle?  Do you side with the worst owners your league has to offer, a city that told you to get lost five years ago and a group that continues to strong arm you every step of the way in the current process?

The answer seems pretty simple.

 

[Deleted member 38182]

also Violet Palmer can go **** herself. How in the world is that a T on DMC 

 

[mister916]

Outlaw is out of control

 

[lightweight champion]

Three key points in future of Kings saga
It's finally D-Week: Decision Time for Sacramento and Seattle.
After all the jostling and lobbying, all the presentations and Tweeting, all the accusations from fans in each city that the fix is in for the other, the decision on where the Kings will play next season will come. The league's Relocation and Finance Committees will meet Wednesday in New York, followed by the regular two-day Board of Governors meeting, at which point the league's owners will make the call, once and for all: approve or reject the binding deal between the Maloof Family and hedge fund manager Chris Hansen's group for 65 percent of the team -- a franchise valuation that is now $550 million, after Hansen voluntarily upped the price he'd pay on Friday night. (The actual price for that 65 percent is now approximately $357.5 million.)
After the Relocation and Finance Committees make their recommendations to the full body -- neither Seattle nor Sacramento will have representatives from their cities at the meetings, though the Maloofs will be there in their capacity as the Kings' owners -- the league's 30 owners, including the Maloofs, will vote.
Seattle needs the votes of 23 owners for the sale of the team to the Hansen group to be approved. Sacramento needs eight no votes out of 30 for the deal to be rejected.
If the deal is approved, a second vote will then be taken to decide whether to allow the Kings to move to Seattle. A simple majority -- 16 votes -- will determine that.
If the deal with Seattle is rejected, Sacramento stands ready with a counteroffer to the Maloofs that may -- may -- match the parameters of the Seattle offer. Some sources involved in the discussions say it does; other sources say it doesn't.
At any rate, the Sacramento group, led by computer software developer Vivek Ranadive and 24-Hour Fitness founder Mark Mastrov, along with new investors publicly announced last week, stands ready. Late last week, a source indicated the Maloofs would be willing to sign a backup offer with the Ranadive group if the Hansen deal was rejected by the league.
We have discussed in great detail how Seattle took what looked like an insurmountable lead with the disclosure that Hansen had a binding deal with the Maloofs.
How Sacramento, with Mayor Kevin Johnson running point, came storming back, putting together a coalition of local and regional funding and getting the necessary political support lined up.

Vivek Ranadive (left) and mayor Kevin Johnson are two of many key players in Sacramento's bid.
How the league will center its decision on Article VII of the NBA constitution.
How factors like television market size can be interpreted one way or the other, depending on whose side you're on, and how the two sides went at it in New York earlier this month, when they made their respective pitches. Each of those factors will be important.
But three factors seem to be most important:
• The Arena Deals: This is the key issue: which city can get its arena build first, and closest to the amount it currently claims the new building will cost.
• The $30 million non-refundable deposit that Hansen made as part of the deal with the Maloofs in January: The Maloofs, according to sources, are insistent that any match of the Hansen deal by Sacramento also include another $30 million in unrefundable deposits. Will Ranadive's group take the plunge? As of Sunday night it was still uncertain.
• Makers versus Takers: If the Kings stay in Sacramento, league sources believe the team will remain a recipient of the enhanced revenue sharing program instituted last year. If the Kings move to Seattle, those sources believe the team will become a revenue payer, which benefits both fellow paying teams and those remaining receiving teams.
Seattle and the Hansen group have agreed to build a $491 million arena in the city's South of Downtown (SoDo) area, near where Major League Baseball's Mariners play. The city has pledged up to $200 million in public financing through bonds for the building, which would be back with arena revenues. (The city would commit only $125 million unless and until Hansen also acquires an NHL team to move to Seattle, at which point the city will commit the additional $75 million.)
If those revenues do not materialize as promised, Hansen -- who would provide the remaining $291 million for construction of the new building -- has also pledged to backfill the city's coffers. His group has already spent $50 million acquiring the land on which he wants to build the arena, as well as $7 million.
Sacramento and the Ranadive group have made a non-binding agreement to construct a $448 million arena and sports complex on the city's Downtown Plaza mall site. The city would commit to more than $250 million in public funding for the building -- unheard of in the state of California in the past couple of decades -- with the Ranadive group contributing $189 million.
The bulk of the city's contribution would come from bonds that would be repaid from future parking revenues collected by a city-formed corporation, as well as sales of existing city-owned properties. If the revenues did not materialize as expected, the city would tap into its hotel tax revenues to backfill the losses. The city is also giving the Ranadive group $37 million in city-owned land, including land near the Kings' current home, Sleep Train Arena.

(No matter which side wins, the Maloofs want their money "right after the vote," according to a source.)
Each city has potential hurdles to getting its arena built in the proposed time frame.
Hansen's initial plan was for the Kings to play two seasons in a renovated Key Arena, the former home of the Sonics (his group pledged $15 million last week to renovate the building to make it playable by today's NBA standards), and move into their new home for the 2015-16 season.
But King County Executive Dow Constantine said after he and members of the Seattle contingent met with the league's Relocation and Finance committees April 3 that he could not set a specific date for the arena's completion until after the city's final Environmental Impact Study on the building is completed in November. Constantine told reporters he expected the arena to be up and running by 2017. Mayor Mike McGinn said his understanding was that there was "a two or three-year time frame" for the building to go up.
A judge who dismissed a lawsuit against Hansen's group which claimed construction of the building would violate an initiative that requires the city to make a profit on major construction projects also said she couldn't make a final determination on the lawsuit's merits until after the EIS is completed in November.
But Sacramento also will be hard-pressed to have a building up and running in two years.
It will take a year for Sacramento to complete its own EIS, which is required by state law. That process just began on Friday, when the city announced it was beginning the EIS. After the EIS is finished, objections can be raised against it for up to 175 days. There is also potential litigation being contemplated against Ranadive's group by local attorneys who say the building violates the state's environmental and constitutional laws.
In addition, at least part of the law that created the 175-day limit was declared unconstitutional by a California judge late last month.
Ranadive's group has yet to purchase buildings and lands at the Downtown Plaza site that will be needed to build the new arena. A study commissioned by the architecture and construction company, AECOM, which helped build the Barclays Center in Brooklyn for the Nets, estimated it would take $26 million to purchase the necessary buildings and land not already owned by JMA Ventures. That is the company that wants to develop the Downtown Plaza site.
In addition, as SI.com's Ian Thomsen reported over the weekend, a 2005 study commissioned by the city of Sacramento -- a study cited by the Hansen group as part of its proposal to the NBA's committees on April 3 -- projected the cost of a new arena at 7th and K Streets in Sacramento -- almost precisely where Downtown Plaza lies -- at more than $586 million.
The Downtown Plaza site was one of six potential sites looked at by 360 Architecture, a Kansas City-based company that designs and plans stadium construction. The company has designed buildings such as the new Meadowlands stadium in New Jersey that is used by the NFL's New York Giants and Jets, and Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, which houses the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Downtown Plaza site was the most expensive of the six sites looked at by 360 Architecture, and wasn't the preferred site of the company; that site, on the edge of Sacramento's downtown, could house a new arena for $411 million, according to 360.
Sacramento's supporters will no doubt point out that the 2005 study was conducted before JMA, whose CEO, Todd Chapman, has been a champion of the new arena deal, took over Downtown Plaza. And the city has pledged it will be able to handle any cost overruns if the building does come in over budget.
Then there's the $30 million.
One owner late last week indicated a willingness to support the Sacramento bid if the Ranadive group actually and officially puts down the same $30 million non-refundable deposit for the team that the Hansen group made in January.
"I think if they came up with the certainty of a deposit, for me, as an owner, that would be a compelling bid," said the owner, who obviously has to remain anonymous. "They're plenty capable. If they put a deposit, that makes it more compelling."
A second owner echoed that sentiment, saying that the two bids were essentially equal. He said this before the disclosure of the increased valuation of the Seattle offer was made public.
The first owner also expressed concerns about Seattle's ability to follow through on its agreement with Hansen's group to build an arena in Seattle's South of Downtown (Sodo) area, right next to where Major League Baseball's Mariners play at Safeco Field.
"This is a good group of owners," the owner said of the Hansen group. "They've stepped up. They'll build a building. But on the other hand, why didn't the city step up before?"
Another team's executive, however, favors the sale to Hansen and the move to Seattle, citing the binding deal the Maloofs made with the Hansen group.
"He has a deal that is not contingent on anything," the executive said. "But there's no basis to turn one down other than you want to move it to Seattle and we don't want you to."
The executive also said the economic and demographic dynamics are "more progressed" in Seattle.
"The work they've done already kind of speaks to the level of commitment of the group," the executive said. "If that group says they're going to do something, you can kind of rest assured that they will. If the question is what will be the best place to be for the next 25 years, it favors Seattle.
"They've got a site that's assembled and they're ready to go. They've been working on it for a year and a half. And now [in Sacramento] you've got an ownership group cobbled together, and they don't really know each other."
And all three team execs, including the Sacramento supporters, expressed concerns with keeping the Kings in Sacramento because of the revenue-sharing issue. Over the next two seasons, the amount of teams getting money is expected to nearly triple, up to $16 million annually by the time the new revenue sharing plan is fully implemented in 2014.
"The one thing that could factor in to owners in the big markets is that Sacramento is a revenue-sharing recipient," one of the owners said. "Seattle probably wouldn't be."
The executive who favors Seattle echoed that sentiment.
"The bigger markets will be moved by which city has the best likelihood of being successful, and a lower likelihood of having to be supported," the exec said.
There remains the question of the ultimate wild card: the Commish.
Stern has said over and over that he will let the owners decide what to do with the Kings. But USA Today reported last week that Stern was working behind the scenes to try and find additional investors who could bolster Sacramento's bid. The league has generally declined to comment publicly on what it calls "rumors" about the Kings' saga.
Stern is a master manipulator, but he doesn't always step in. He let the Sonics move to Oklahoma City in 2008 after it became evident that the team would not be able to work out public financing for a new arena with the state -- even after Ballmer's last-minute proposal for a $300 million renovation of Key Arena of which he would have paid half. Nor did he keep the Grizzlies from leaving Vancouver in favor of Memphis, or the Hornets/soon-to-be Pelicans from leaving Charlotte for New Orleans.
Yet Stern also wouldn't allow the Hornets to be sold to billionaire Larry Ellison in late 2010, whom most everyone believed wanted to move the team to San Jose. At Stern's behest, the NBA bought the Hornets from former owner George Shinn for around $300 million, and kept the team until it could find a local buyer in New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson, who bought the Hornets for $338 million last year.
The Maloofs, who have never changed their minds about preferring to complete their deal with Hansen, believe that Stern has indeed gone above and beyond in helping Sacramento's bid, according to a source directly involved in the talk. But they also believe he is acting in the way a commissioner is expected to -- to try and keep franchises where they are, while also making the most money he can for the other owners.
What will Stern do this week? And what did Stern do last week?
We'll probably know for sure next week. Which is when we'll also hopefully know where the Kings will call home for the next few decades.

 

[Deleted member 38182]

So this happened a year ago today.......................

"Hey Sacramento, why didn't you know the Kings were for sale?? Why are you scrambling?? Why didn't you guys try to buy the Kings when you had the chance?"

from this article

Ailene Voisin: A look behind the bust - a Q&A with Kings co-owner Joe Maloof 

How do you feel 24 hours after the fact? Any regrets?

We feel like criminals, and we didn’t do anything wrong. This was just the wrong time and this was the wrong deal. When the time is right, we’ll do a deal. We’ll look at another downtown deal or something at Natomas. Bring us a deal we can sign. Nobody wanted to get an arena done more than we did. We’ve been talking about it for 13 years. Everyone just needs to calm down. We all need to cool off.

So what’s different a year later? A lot of people still suspect your plan is to spend next season in Sacramento and then file for relocation in March.

That’s not true, that’s not true. I swear that is not going to happen. I don’t care what rumors are out there. It’s our team. We’re not selling, and we’re not leaving. Our identity is the Sacramento Kings. That’s how we’re known.

So what happens now?

We’ve had our ups and downs like every owner, but we’re profitable now, one of four or five teams making money. We have to make some moves this summer and get a high draft pick, and fix our team. We have to get our team better. But we are not going to fold. We are resilient. We’re coming to the games. We’ll be there (today). We’re not outsiders anymore. It’s our team, our city. Everything in life is timing."

 

[Deleted member 38182]

Two more investors revealed as part of Sac arena team: venture capitalist Naren Gupta and tech entrepreneur Andy Miller. Sac group finalized
— Tony Bizjak (@TonyBizjak) April 16, 2013

Sac biz comunity to air video in NY's Times Square for 3 days, starting tomorrow, saying Kings are our team.
— Tony Bizjak (@TonyBizjak) April 16, 2013

Hotel group, not #NBAKings bidders, are paying for the Times Sq video message
— Dale Kasler (@dakasler) April 16, 2013

 

[Deleted member 38182]

No 30 win season for us 

words cannot describe how excited I am for a world without Maloofs.

 

[mister916]

This is going to be a long week.

 

[crcballer55]

What happened to Joe & Gavin? When I left, they were still in charge of the team, no? How did George become the mouthpiece of the team? Did he just pull out their backbones and install himself instead?

 

[tyrekeevans]

yo whos going to the game on wednesday? im coming up from LA and calling out from work haha

 

[Deleted member 38182]

What happened to Joe & Gavin? When I left, they were still in charge of the team, no? How did George become the mouthpiece of the team? Did he just pull out their backbones and install himself instead?

I don't think anyone really knows... but thats what it seems like 

yo whos going to the game on wednesday? im coming up from LA and calling out from work haha

couldn't get tix for it 

had no idea you are living in LA

 

[lightweight champion]

I'm trying to get some tix for decent pricing. I gotta go, ya know, just in case

 

[tyrekeevans]

I don't think anyone really knows... but thats what it seems like 

couldn't get tix for it 

had no idea you are living in LA

yeah, stayed here after college

its so difficult being a kings fan anywhere but especially in LA haha

 

[tyrekeevans]

I'm trying to get some tix for decent pricing. I gotta go, ya know, just in case

try stubhub, they have some cheap prices but in the nosebleeds

and by the way the prices of those tix on kings.com is a joke

 

[Deleted member 38182]

I don't think anyone really knows... but thats what it seems like 

couldn't get tix for it 

had no idea you are living in LA

yeah, stayed here after college

its so difficult being a kings fan anywhere but especially in LA haha

I know that feeling. When I lived in Long Beach for 6 months it was rough having to watch every Kings game on the internet 

Hopefully I'll be back down thhere working, once I graduate this fall

 

[niketalker23]

I posted this in the NBA thread but this video will be playing every 5 minutes starting today for 72 hours at Times Square.

 

[niketalker23]

edit

 

[djkona]

yo whos going to the game on wednesday? im coming up from LA and calling out from work haha

I'll be there - Section 104. I can't believe this could possibly be the last Kings game EVER.

 

[crcballer55]

I posted this in the NBA thread but this video will be playing every 5 minutes starting today for 72 hours at Times Square.

Not too shabby

The nail in the coffin would have been that quote from Joe stating that the Kings WOULD NOT move. I don't think some of the smaller markets like San Antonio & Utah realize how privileged they are to have a great ownership group. I don't think it was long after the Maloofs took over ownership after Jim Thomas sold the team to them that we realized that they could be moving. Luckily, Vegas can never have a professional team.