Sorry, but you're just not correct.
You have yet to explain the fact that a number of former NBA players have homes here. You're sounding like the people of STOP - anything outside the city limits doesn't count? That's just silly. Sacramento is centrally located and within easy driving distance of a number of attractions - you may not want to acknowledge them but that doesn't mean they aren't part of what keeps people coming to Sacramento.
i kinda have to agree with fanop on this one. i'm a big fan of sacramento's bike trails, and i love the trees, and there are a few killer restaurants and pubs around town that i'll miss whenever my wife and i move on from sac, but i'd be hard-pressed to craft a truly winning argument in favor of sacramento as a destination
for nba players without feeling like i was being intellectually dishonest...
sacramento is a government town in the country's most populous state. a large percentage of CA state employees working within the sacramento city limits are commuters who leave at the end of the work day, take their money home with them to elk grove or roseville or lincoln or wherever, and rarely return on weekends to bring their money back into the downtown area, which has been a dilapidated mess for decades. there are endless budget crises that stall progress. its freeway systems are poorly designed. its roads are poorly maintained. its public transportation system is a bad joke. its school systems are impoverished. its not a welcoming home to the arts. and its citizens are largely resistant to most of the initiatives that might affect change in these deficient areas...
a city like portland is certainly not without its own share of problems, but i consider it to be a very comparable "small market" river city with an nba fanbase that's as invested in its team as kings fans are. as a city, portland has a very distinct personality, a greater cultural emphasis of the arts, a more vibrant music scene, a cleaner and livelier downtown, a more bike-friendly culture with cleaner, more practical, and more user-friendly public transportation. sacramento has a hard time standing up as a "modern" city in comparison. now, i don't mean to beat up on sacramento. i was born and raised in this area. for me, it's as flawed as city's come, but it's "home." hopefully a modern ESC will function as projected and help to resuscitate the downtown area. hopefully it will be a catalyst for catapulting sacramento into the 21st century, because, let's face it, this city has lagged behind most others when it comes to providing the kind of environment and amenities that a contemporary individual looks to for pride in their city. i mean, when sacramento's strongest quality is that it's "centrally located," the city center itself is clearly wanting...
that said, i can understand why
former nba players keep homes here. it
is a nice place to live if you like being in CA, but don't want to be surrounded by the constant bottleneck of LA or SF. the weather's great, and "centrally located" is certainly a useful notion for families who want to experience the region at large. but i have to imagine that it's hardly as useful to nba players, who practice in their home city, play in their home city, and travel to other nba cities without much down time in between the day-to-day grind.
current nba players seem to value big city amenities that are easily accessible in those rare moments of down time during the season when they're not practicing, not playing a game, not traveling, and not serving in the community. sacramento doesn't provide a lot of options. there is almost no "night life" to speak of...
that's not to say that no nba player would ever want to play in sacramento. that's ridiculous. vlade divac loved it here. chris webber grew to love it, as well. but much of that love was for the rabid fanbase, and for the winning culture. sacramento was a fun place to play. it was "the greatest show on court." had webber played for the broke, cynical, spiteful version of the maloofs, and under the tutelage of, say, keith smart, i have to imagine the storyline changes a bit. still, tyreke evans loved it here. and demarcus cousins loves it here. these are the rare low-key homebodies among the nba's new young talent, players who'd rather stay out of the spotlight, away from the constant flash of the camera and the glamour of big endorsement deals. good for them. it's refreshing, from this fan's perspective. the kings may have also struck gold with rudy gay, who appears to be of a similar down-tuned personality...
however, i'm much more inclined to believe that the likes of evans, cousins, and gay are the exception rather than the rule. most free agents of note will be courted by franchises in cities with more to offer than sacramento. sac has a leg up on a frozen locale like minnesota, but that's not exactly a ringing endorsement. a winning culture--more than anything sacramento has to offer as a city--will attract free agents to help fill in gaps across the roster. until the winning comes, until some measure of playoff success in a shiny new arena is a reality, it is simply a hard sell for free agents who only visit the sacramento city limits either once or twice a year to play against the kings...
