Carmichael Dave shows support

[Amaranth]

I saw these on his Twitter:

Can't understand what KJ was thinking. Sounds like ego. I'm hearing the Maloofs are beyond unhappy, and were really stoked about the fans

Cont: Maloofs have been really pleased with fan involvement. Hearing they were planning on going to monday's game, now not so much

My thought: fans need to let the Maloofs know that THEY, not the politicians, speak for the city. So much goodwill built, keep it going

I'll have a piece out tomorrow detailing more of what I'm hearing, in the meantime: the blogs, signs, and pleas are NOT going unnoticed

I know as a fan it seems like maybe the fan voice doesnt matter. All things pointing to it DOES matter. This isn't over by a long shot

And he also wrote an article:

Really. REALLY?

Kevin Johnson, Sacramento's mayor, held a press conference Thursday evening responding to the announcement that the Maloof family had asked the NBA for an extension of the March 1st relocation deadline. Most expected the visit with the media to be a formality, and a reassurance of the optimism and strong communication held between the city and the team. What followed was anything but.

"You can't mince words," Johnson said. "It means one thing. They are looking for a deal to be elsewhere." He also added that he was "very disappointed" in not hearing the news directly from team officials.

Gosh Mr. Mayor, whatever gave you the idea that they were looking elsewhere? Could it be the 300,000 times that some variation of Joe Maloof's "We're listening, we're keeping our options open" quote has appeared in various media publications?

"I would have preferred a phone call in advance," Johnson went on to say. "Sacramento deserves better than this."

Deserves better than what? NOT hearing that the team was definitely moving? Dude, they filed an extension. Meaning, they haven't made up their minds. Meaning, things are still up in the air. For Kings fans, today should've been a good day. Sure, not the end all be all news that the team is staying, but much better than the alternative. In one fell swoop, the man most responsible for speaking the city's wishes squashed any momentum that may have been built.

The question I ask myself is, why? What possible good would this bring? Its understandable the mayor is worried about the lack of expediency from the team when it comes to a relay of arena search-based paperwork, but why not use back channels? For the love of pete, the city has taken 500 years to move on this arena deal, including endless reels of red tape and bureaucracy. One would think Mr. Mayor would cut them some slack.

Nope. He decided to go public and go negative. No upside. Perhaps he was reading the papers, like Thursday's editorial in The Sacramento Bee. In it, Dan Morain (resisting the 5th grade urge to make fun of the last name) tells his readers that the city needs to "throw elbows" in order to get the team to stay. This logic is akin to saying you should slap your wife (or husband) to prevent them from cheating on you. Stupid. And offensive.

He goes on to say that the mayor should get tough with the team's owners. He suggests the city puts together an ownership group to buyout the Maloofs. He cites the loan the city made to the team as leverage to keep them there.

Don't let logic get in the way, Dan.

Go ahead, pee them off. Guess what? They won't sell, and if they did, they'll go ahead and pick who they transfer the team to. The loan? Sure, except the Anaheim deal reportedly comes with the option of a loan to cover both the city bill and relocation fees.

Throughout the years, The Bee has enjoyed a monopoly in regards to the city's newspaper audience, ever since The Sacramento Union went away. The Bee has never given the Maloofs a fair shake, from their ill-informed editorials, to their political cartoons, to their agenda-filled reporting. There are fantastically talented reporters at that paper, make no mistake. But any pro-Kings Sacramentan would be quick to point out an obvious anti-ownership bias when it comes right down to it. Apparently, the thought is that it sells papers. Judging by their circulation numbers, it certainly does not.

Here's the thing that seemingly gets repeatedly missed: the Maloofs can move the team. They could've moved it years ago. I don't want this to be pushed aside, so please forgive my lack of professionalism by using CAPS LOCK:

THE MALOOFS CAN MOVE THE TEAM.

THE MALOOFS COULD HAVE MOVED YEARS AGO.

THE NBA WOULD APPROVE THE MOVE.

IF THEY WANTED TO MOVE, THEY WOULD'VE MOVED.

For some reason, many don't get that. They just can't grasp it, as if the only reason the city still has a team is because they're trapped.

There are quite a few reasons to move to Anaheim. One can make quite a convincing case why they actually should uproot.

For starters, think about it this way. Assuming you live in the Greater Sacramento area, if you picked up your house and dropped it in the middle of Orange County, it would increase the value quite a bit. Think similar for an NBA team. A move there would increase the net worth of the Kings immediately.

People wonder if the team could profit in a market holding two NBA teams, the Lakers and Clippers. One need only to look at the Clippers themselves, especially the ownership. Donald Sterling is known as perhaps the most penny-pinching, non-fan friendly owner in sports. Despite having perhaps the most exciting young player in the league in Blake Griffin, they perenially suck. They do next to nothing for their committed followers. Yet, they remain consistently profitable. That's L.A.

Here's one more. KCAL-TV, along with Fox Sports West, lost the rights to the Lakers last week. Time Warner cable scooped them up with a 20 year deal, with some reports pegging the windfall at 3 billion for the purple and gold. With Time-Warner's coup, KCAL and Fox are sent scrambling for programming involving a round ball. Of course the Lakers are a much, much more attractive piece to TV companies, but one has to think that the Kings could bring in more cash with an L.A. market deal than with a Sacramento deal.

The payroll overhead for the team as of now has never been lower.

Tough as it is for me to say as a native Sacramentan, the Land of Disney might just be an easier target for free agent signings. With the Bostons, New Yorks, and Miamis of the world showing their abilities to consolidate talent into superteams, its easy to make the leap that the Maloofs might have a more even playing field in the second largest market in the US. Just a guess, I could be wrong.

The Honda Center was built in 1993. Not young, but certainly not an aging building. Over 80 luxury boxes, over 1700 club seats. 18 thousand plus seats in total. By the way, its ALREADY THERE. Now. Ready to go. Held an NBA team for 5 years (the Clippers).

Bottom line, there is definitely an argument to go south, from a business AND an on-court standpoint. Its important for people up north to take a firm grasp of this. However, there is one major flaw in the ointment for the Anaheim crowd.

The Maloofs want to stay.

How quickly people forget that they were willing to sign a multi-DECADE lease at a new arena, keeping the team here for the long haul. They've been asking for new digs for long enough now that if they truly wanted to take off, they would have. So many people are all of a sudden questioning the owners' commitment to staying put, they fail to see the history of these guys.

Yes, the Carl's Jr. ad was a faux pas, showing off the family wealth six weeks before a ballot measure asking the city to fund much of a new arena went to a vote. I'm pretty sure you would be hard pressed to find anyone in the Maloof camp that would disagree.

Mistakes have been made on both sides. Yet its possible that the city's own mayor may have made a fatal one, when it comes to keeping the team.

When I dug into ARCO land in search of reaction, surprise and shock seemed most appropriate. It seems the consensus was that team officials thought filing for an extension was a good thing for the city. The Maloofs being put back to Public Enemy #1 was not expected. The planned demonstrations this coming Monday culminating with the sold-out Clippers game were being noticed, believe it or not. Emotions are running high, all the way to the top, and no decisions have been made.

It seems that the Maloofs were so excited about the fans' outpouring of support, they were set to be in attendance Monday night to soak it all in for themselves. In one fell swoop, the mayor may have shooed them off. While they have never shied away from catcalls in visiting arenas, hearing it at home is a little too much to take. "Grandstanding" was the term thrown around most when I spoke to people down there, in regards to the mayor's comments.

Even though their silence is at times deafening, you have to respect the fact that they have not played this out through the media as of late. Many in the organization would love to see the family go on the offensive against comments such as the mayor's, but they have remained steadfast that they will not play the media game. The stakes are too high at this point. The conspiracy theory response would be "that's because they've already decided to leave", but again- they could have already left.

Isn't it possible they WANT to stay? Isn't is possible that David Taylor and the ICON group charged with bridging the gap between dream and reality in building the arena might just be the most important piece of the puzzle?

This isn't a Hollywood movie, but it isn't out of the realm of possibility that the decision makers for the Kings are wringing their hands as much as Kings fans are, torn between two cities. They know about the rallies planned. They've seen the billboards. They're in Sacramento, watching TV news and listening to talk radio. They hear the fans. While Joe and Jill Kings fan may not ultimately hold all the chips in this game, they most certainly have a seat at the poker table.

The fans need to realize that they can and are making a difference, and in this scenario, every bit helps. The mayor performed a disservice to small but growing group finally grasping that the hour is late, but all is not lost. That move would be an expected one from the local paper. Not from the man known for being perhaps the biggest instrument for the pro-arena, pro-Kings crowd.

Technical foul, Mr. Mayor.

 

[whozit]

Dave drew the wrong conclusion from the facts he had to analyze. The Maloofs are trying to move. It's not like they want to stay anymore. I mean, they like Sacramento as a market and all, but they're past that. They're not in Anaheim talking about Disneyland. They're not halfway out the door trying to decide which direction to go. They are halfway out the door on the way out with no intention of coming back. They're negotiating every day until the end of the season to try to establish TV rights, viewership, and costs of moving the team.

And KJ, who's acted in good faith with the Maloofs this whole time shouldn't have gotten upset? He should have stayed quiet and let things play out? If he stays quiet, things stay at the status quo. And currently, because the status quo is Maloofs walking away without KJ at the bargaining table, that's a bad thing.

And your conclusions are fact? Their minds may be made up and then again they may not be, the local efforts are a last ditch effort to sway them back and the mayor's actions did nothing to help. That's a bad thing.

 

[Glenn]

Dave drew the wrong conclusion from the facts he had to analyze. The Maloofs are trying to move. It's not like they want to stay anymore. I mean, they like Sacramento as a market and all, but they're past that. They're not in Anaheim talking about Disneyland. They're not halfway out the door trying to decide which direction to go. They are halfway out the door on the way out with no intention of coming back. They're negotiating every day until the end of the season to try to establish TV rights, viewership, and costs of moving the team.

And KJ, who's acted in good faith with the Maloofs this whole time shouldn't have gotten upset? He should have stayed quiet and let things play out? If he stays quiet, things stay at the status quo. And currently, because the status quo is Maloofs walking away without KJ at the bargaining table, that's a bad thing.

You don't know what the Maloofs are going to do. I think KJ saw an opportunity to get his face in front of the camera and acted like a politician.

 

[cstorm]

My impression was that the Mayor was feeling that the Kings were going and he is shifting in to hardball mode to try to force the Kings to stay. That is the only explanation I could come up with for why he spoke as he did. The extension should have appeared like a good thing, unless he thought it to be a trick to save season ticket refund demands and nothing more.

 

[bajaden]

Dave drew the wrong conclusion from the facts he had to analyze. The Maloofs are trying to move. It's not like they want to stay anymore. I mean, they like Sacramento as a market and all, but they're past that. They're not in Anaheim talking about Disneyland. They're not halfway out the door trying to decide which direction to go. They are halfway out the door on the way out with no intention of coming back. They're negotiating every day until the end of the season to try to establish TV rights, viewership, and costs of moving the team.

And KJ, who's acted in good faith with the Maloofs this whole time shouldn't have gotten upset? He should have stayed quiet and let things play out? If he stays quiet, things stay at the status quo. And currently, because the status quo is Maloofs walking away without KJ at the bargaining table, that's a bad thing.

Here's the question my narrow minded friend. Do you want the Kings to stay or leave? Its that simple. If you want them to stay, then you keep your personal feelings to yourself and out of the news. What Dave said was correct. If you have a problem, you resolve it out of the airways. If your the mayor and your truely working your butt off to keep the team, then you don't go and throw mudd at the very people your trying to convince to stay. There is no way Johnson was shocked by the fact that the Maloofs were talking to SoCal. That was common knowledge. And I agree with Dave that the Maloofs asking for an extension should have been a positive, not a negative. Would he have been happier if they had just gone along and signed the letter of intent to move.

Dave said he spoke with people inside the Maloof orginization, and thats what he drew his conclusions from. Try reading the article again, and this time with an open mind. Regardless of what Johnson may have thought, this was not the time to say something to pee off the Maloofs, who by the way, aren't throwing rocks at anyone. Carmichael Dave was dead on...

 

[Larry David]

If you have a problem, you resolve it out of the airways.

If you have an urgent need for documents to speed up the study needed to keep the Kings here, and the Maloofs aren't returning your call, you can and should use the media to get what you need.

If they aren't taking calls ... you can't go back channel. On Monday, KJ said he handn't talked to the Kings in weeks on the Rise Guys, and he's not getting calls on the deadline ... which the city needs to get ahead of, and other than getting a meeting date, he doesn't appear to be getting any calls from the Maloofs. He doesn't know what the Maloofs intend to do. Pretty hard to work back channel.

KJ ... who is a big Kings, Maloof, arena supporter ... is all but saying this is all a dog and pony show to grab a few more dollars by a team already headed out of town.

 

[bajaden]

Why do my run-ins with you always turn to insults, baja? I am not narrow minded. I saw the extension as a possible positive initially, but then realized the dates of the extension were only to allow negotiation with Anaheim and not Sacramento. They could not possibly have filed for relocation on March 1 because they don't have a deal yet with Anaheim. The best scenario would have been for March 1 to pass without any extension being requested or approved. By getting the extension, the Maloofs are only going to be able to gather information that will allow them to file.

If you want to think of being narrow minded as an insult I guess your can. To me its a way of describing someone thats not seeing all the info. Everything that Dave said made perfect sense, and he also stated he had imput from the Kings orginization as a basis for his conclusions. But none of that seemed to matter to you and you drew your own conclusions. Now your telling me that your orginally thought that asking for an extension was a positive, but at the same time your telling me that you think Johnson percieving it as a negative is understandable, and therefore opening his mouth in a negative way, while everyone else is trying to convince the Maloofs we want them and the Kings to stay.

I don't understand the logic in that. Sorry! I don't understand what the hell Johnson was thinking when he said what he said. On the other matter of insults. I didn't call you stupid, or ignorant, or silly, or ugly. I said you were being narrow minded. I get called narrow minded by my wife all the time, and she's usually right. So if you took offense, I'm sorry. I did call you my friend. And just so you know, I have called quite a few of my personal friend narrow minded. How about if I say your just not seeing the whole picture.

 

[hrdboild]

Mayor Johnson has been very friendly to the Maloofs since he got the job. He's been their most vocal supporter and he's been focusing on the arena issue for some time now. That the Maloofs have not been in contact with him at all regarding either the new arena plan or the possible relocation does not sound like a good development for the city of Sacramento. Maybe he jumped to conclusions, but it's the same conclusion I would jump to. If you completely ignore the guy who's publicly leading the "keep the Kings in Sacramento" campaign, what does that say about your intentions? It seems that the Maloofs are not in a hurry to speed along the new arena financing plan for whatever reason.

 

[Larry David]

KHTK seems to have gone off point here.


For years they have been selling, if the Kings don’t get an arena the team is moving. (This remains true.)


Beyond the serious funding issues, many local politicians haven’t taken up the issue because it’s politically unpopular. Basically a third rail since 2006.


KJ has been a consistent and reliable supporter of the arena drive and the Maloofs.


But KJ has just one vote, and before the last two weeks, there probably weren’t 5 votes to spend over 100 million on a new arena (9-0 vote for a free study, not close to 150-200 million to do it.)


Sac Deflated and many fans here were smart – the pressure needs to be applied to the Sacramento City Counsel in order to get them to fund Taylor’s plan … thereby keeping the Kings here.


That should be the logical goal of selling out the billboards, selling out games, and the press … motivate the city leaders to take up and fund a political third rail in this city.


Now that KJ called out the Maloofs, saying their conduct reeks of either stalling to make a deal with Anaheim or delaying the news to sell tickets here, KHTK has turned its guns on the local politicians and loyal Kings fans follow.


Ummm … remember these are the only people that can keep the Kings here beyond March 2012? The Kings don’t say without an arena. You can’t fund it without the city counsel. And a majority of the counsel isn’t itching to risk their careers on spending that much money and risking the city’s budget completely collapses 3-5 years later.


Dave appears to think that Monday’s game is designed for the fans to beg the Maloofs to stay one more year. Fine, I guess. To me, it was always about making this front burner so the problem gets fixed by the counsel. If the local media and fans (at this point, a fired up minority of the citizens), turn off swing votes … let alone people like KJ, you only: (1) push the problem back another year; (2) while making sure you don’t have the votes to fix the problem.


Since most fans here and at KHTK were sure that KJ will do everything he can to get us an arena for many years… might want to consider his statements that the Maloofs aren’t engaging in good faith or interested in staying are valid. Or you can try to turn his yes vote to a no. Either way, it probably ends up the same.

What's KJ's bias or reason to mislead anyone?
I know the Maloofs might have one, to make money here before they take an Anahiem deal they've already made.

 

[Larry David]

To put it another way,

two weeks ago, you probably didn't have the votes to pass Taylor's plan.

on monday, I thought there was a chance they could be forced to vote for it in May

based upon how the Maloofs have acted so far and the date they chose for the extension, you're losing KJ and giving the no voters (and there were already no votes) a lot of confidence and things to throw out in debate.

and KHTK, chooses to attack the leader of the yes votes

good luck with that.

 

[Bricklayer]

What's KJ's bias or reason to mislead anyone?
I know the Maloofs might have one, to make money here before they take an Anahiem deal they've already made.

KJs motivation could clearly be a classic political one in this situation -- you position yourself as the aggrieved victim of the Maloofs so that if the team leaves you can deflect the blame. Been done 1000x before in other settings.

 

[JB_kings]

Here is what I think. These people are not perfect humans. They get emotional highs and lows like we all do. The Maloof themselves are notorius for reacting off emotion. If we are all to forgive them for that, then we all can forgive the Mayor for feeling it too.

The parties need to get passed the emotions and egos and talk. This is supposed to happen early next week. I've heard the proponents state the evil plan is to suck out the last dime of the Kings fans on their way out of town. If true, under this microscope it won't be hidden for very long. The Maloofs will be transparent soon enough on this. If there is a still a chance to work out a plan for the new arena, then it should be given every chance. I see no point in being first to say "ha, I was right they are leaving!". It's a dead end victory. The focus should remain on getting the new facility from idea to approval to planning and building. Results are what matter and everything else is fodder for unproductive idle speculation.

 

[Larry David]

And if you think it’s more important to sway the Maloofs than 5 yes votes on the counsel. You might want to remember that:

Sonics fans were WAY more organized and pushed much longer and harder than Kings fans

They had a strong legal argument to keep the team for TWO more years, and were hours away from probably keeping the team for two more seasons and possibly longer (Kings fans have none of that)

But – they didn’t have the support of local politicians, who knew that a majority of the citizens would either support them or, at least, not vote them out of office when the team left.

And therefore, organized Sonics fans with a better case and better leverage could not get extra time – let along fix the problem. You need votes. You can't run them off

 

[Bricklayer]

To put it another way,

two weeks ago, you probably didn't have the votes to pass Taylor's plan.

on monday, I thought there was a chance they could be forced to vote for it in May

based upon how the Maloofs have acted so far and the date they chose for the extension, you're losing KJ and giving the no voters (and there were already no votes) a lot of confidence and things to throw out in debate.

and KHTK, chooses to attack the leader of the yes votes

good luck with that.

I should note that even those who lean no are going to be TREMENDOUSLY reluctant to actually cast a final vote that obviously chases the Kings from town. Its one thing to vote no here or vote no to that plan or this in the long years when you coulod always claim other options. Quite another to do it in when the game is on the line so to speak, and the entire city, league,m adn sports nation is watching. The zealots will make that stand. Your average poltician is going to be reluctant to finally be the one who closed the deal.

 

[Superman]

KJs motivation could clearly be a classic political one in this situation -- you position yourself as the aggrieved victim of the Maloofs so that if the team leaves you can deflect the blame. Been done 1000x before in other settings.

Seems unnecessary. This thing has been going on for a lot longer than the two years KJ has been mayor. And I don't see how anyone would blame him for the Maloofs leaving. This is the time he should be having a billboard put up outside Arco, offering to mow their loan if they stay. Seems more like he's either giving up, or worse, trying to push them out the door. I think he played this one wrong.

 

[Bricklayer]

Seems unnecessary. This thing has been going on for a lot longer than the two years KJ has been mayor. And I don't see how anyone would blame him for the Maloofs leaving. This is the time he should be having a billboard put up outside Arco, offering to mow their loan if they stay. Seems more like he's either giving up, or worse, trying to push them out the door. I think he played this one wrong.

Nobody remembers those things. All they remember is who was in office when it happened. And even moreso, that this was one fo the major things he was promising when he came in as I understand it. a major reason to sipport him.

 

[est.1999]

Kevin Johnson is an idiot.

 

[Larry David]

I should note that even those who lean no are going to be TREMENDOUSLY reluctant to actually cast a final vote that obviously chases the Kings from town. Its one thing to vote no here or vote no to that plan or this in the long years when you coulod always claim other options. Quite another to do it in when the game is on the line so to speak, and the entire city, league,m adn sports nation is watching. The zealots will make that stand. Your average poltician is going to be reluctant to finally be the one who closed the deal.

You don’t live here, but:

In terms of people who would spend 200 million to keep the Kings here vs. people that would let them go at that price – no is the majority vote.

Between “yes” and “no” votes – People who say “build at all cost” don’t get out to vote as much as the people that support the “no.” Even more cover.

And lest we forget, it’s micro politics for each board member.

Can you win some areas – sure? Most of the people posting here don’t even live in Sac. Many board members represent a majority of citizens that are anti-Maloofs and anti-publicly funded. Like the reps in Seattle, they will be fine. Much more risk to vote yes and then have to risk cutting services later.

You just have to spin your vote. “I want the Kings to say, but I won’t be bullied by spoiled billionaires.” And then say some nonsense about doing this later and getting another team.

Spend-at-all-costs-Kings fans are, at best, going to be the loud minority vote. Don’t kid yourself Brick, right now no passes by a mile. It’s politics and micro politics.

And KHTK is giving the no votes confidence and swing votes cover by attacking KJ. Some progress was made to start the week, now it's going the other way.

 

[Glenn]

KJs motivation could clearly be a classic political one in this situation -- you position yourself as the aggrieved victim of the Maloofs so that if the team leaves you can deflect the blame. Been done 1000x before in other settings.

It's a politician finding an oppportunity to benefit himself. Classical. I also think he hurt things. I don't understand the finger pointing of everyone because attributing fault will not get us what we want.

 

[Superman]

Nobody remembers those things. All they remember is who was in office when it happened. And even moreso, that this was one fo the major things he was promising when he came in as I understand it. a major reason to sipport him.

Should the Kings leave, his posturing won't matter one bit. It's a lose/lose for him, no matter how he tries to spin it right now. If they leave, he loses points. And isn't he up for reelection in 2012, which is the year the Kings would theoretically be leaving? His effort, energy and attention -- right now, at this moment -- need to be directed at trying to get them to stay. His public comments should be nothing short of "I have, am and will do everything in my power to make sure that the Maloofs keep the Kings where they belong, in the great city of Sacramento, and I know that we can make this city even better if we get a new arena built for them to play in."

Now, should they leave, then it's time to go into salvage mode. But that hasn't happened. He's acting like it has.

 

[JJ22L]

Should the Kings leave, his posturing won't matter one bit. It's a lose/lose for him, no matter how he tries to spin it right now. If they leave, he loses points. And isn't he up for reelection in 2012, which is the year the Kings would theoretically be leaving? His effort, energy and attention -- right now, at this moment -- need to be directed at trying to get them to stay. His public comments should be nothing short of "I have, am and will do everything in my power to make sure that the Maloofs keep the Kings where they belong, in the great city of Sacramento, and I know that we can make this city even better if we get a new arena built for them to play in."

Now, should they leave, then it's time to go into salvage mode. But that hasn't happened. He's acting like it has.

This is exactly the part that worries me. I understand his...dismay (maybe the wrong word)...with the filing and do agree that the Maloofs should have informed him first, but he has been at the forefront of this issue and should know better than to react the way he did. His inability to mask his emotion led me to believe that he knows something else or has reason to believe that all hope is already lost (knock on wood).

 

[Glenn]

Should the Kings leave, his posturing won't matter one bit. It's a lose/lose for him, no matter how he tries to spin it right now. If they leave, he loses points. And isn't he up for reelection in 2012, which is the year the Kings would theoretically be leaving? His effort, energy and attention -- right now, at this moment -- need to be directed at trying to get them to stay. His public comments should be nothing short of "I have, am and will do everything in my power to make sure that the Maloofs keep the Kings where they belong, in the great city of Sacramento, and I know that we can make this city even better if we get a new arena built for them to play in."

Now, should they leave, then it's time to go into salvage mode. But that hasn't happened. He's acting like it has.

Well put.

 

[Larry David]

Kevin Johnson is an idiot.

Yup. This is what happens when you've got a lot of fire but nobody to direct it.

The Maloofs aren't pushing an arena plan here.

KJ is. He's the only hope kings fans have to keep the team.

Dave and Mark Kreilder are: (1) trying to get the Maloofs to change thier minds; and (2) most likely, save their jobs in the prprocess.

So they turn their anger to KJ's reaction, which tears down any real hopes/progress we hope to gain on Monday.

 

[carmichaeldave]

My conclusion that the Maloofs are trying to leave town is fact. Yes. Here's part of how I know.

That KJ has acted in good faith is a fact. The Maloofs have ignored his requests for information--including today--when they refused to give documents to ICON. Those are facts.

Hmmmm. The mayor sets a deadline, and the Maloofs haven't met it, allegedly.

Do you know why? Do you have THOSE facts? I don't. I know they have a meeting set up for Tuesday, maybe we see if those docs have been transferred by then.

The Maloofs know there is a good market here. We have the 6th man retired for goodness sake. No further proof is needed. Additional evidence is only redundant.

Yet from a business standpoint, Anaheim could very well be a better market. Newer arena, easier to attract FA's, and oh by the way the radio/tv deal in Sac is up at the end of the season. The Lakers just signed a 20 year deal worth billions (supposedly). I don't think I'm going out on a limb in saying the Maloofs could get more TV/radio money in Anaheim. That type of revenue is the lifeblood of today's NBA.

But I forgot, there's a piece of cloth with "6th man" in the rafters.

A sellout is great, but it's not like they were going to see a sold out arena and be amazed to the point that they'd say "nevermind Anaheim." They already know what we offer. I mean, even today, the Maloofs have been "feeling the love" from Sacramento fans and their sold out arena. But they still did not produce the ICON documents today.

Perhaps if they were charged with handing the documents to you or me, yeah. But they just got publicly spanked by the very person asking for those papers. Maybe they wait a day or two. Assuming there isn't another reason for not producing them anyway.

And this is the worst of it: The new deadline for the end of the season rather than until June allows for negotiation with Anaheim and not Sacramento. It is clear that they are not listening to us or the mayor anymore. The Kings are trying to leave, and the only thing that can stop it is if the Anaheim deal falls through. Sacramento has no control over it right now. Hopefully that changes next week when they finally meet with KJ

.

The Anaheim deal is on the table. The monies they would recoup from the TV deal alone would more than pay for the move. Not to mention the value of the franchise in Orange County would increase exponentially, giving them quite a bit of equity to borrow from.

And what is this "negotiate with Anaheim but not Sacramento" business? They ABSOLUTELY can negotiate with Sacramento, and this allows ICON and the council to figure their lives out and get a working proposal on the table. Conveniently left out of your argument is the fact that the Maloofs didn't wake up last week and say "we need a new arena". They have been asking for years, and the city has fiddle farted around to the point where its crunch time. Maybe the Kings deserve just a little leeway here....

The writing is on the wall in terms of the Maloof's intentions. KJ knows it. The intentions are even clearer today and if Carmeichal Dave thought KJ was wrong this morning, he should re-evaluate his thoughts this afternoon because KJ has been vindicated with the news that the Maloofs still aren't cooperating with us. KJ represents Sacramento and he has to look out for the city's best interests which means getting an arena built--Kings or no Kings. That's why he said what he said and I think his statements helped in terms of building city pride. I mean, be honest with it. We elected KJ. He's representing us to keep the Kings here and yet we're being ignored. We do deserve better.

If KJ really wants to look out for the city's best interests, he'd shut his mouth and work behind the scenes, like the Maloofs are. There will be plenty of time to play the CYA blame game if the team leaves. In the meantime, maybe he should revisit the fact that the Maloofs have been working in good faith for years now, and there is no arena built. The constant ostrich mentality of this city is amazing. There are other cities lining up for an NBA team, and apparently the council believed that if they just plugged their ears and played the "LALALALALALA" defense, this would all go away. They need to roll up their sleeves and figure this out, or start sending out resumes.

I'm not saying that the Maloofs have done everything perfect, far from it. But the time has gone for posturing or conjecture. I'm a Kings fan, and people that aren't on board with shutting the F up and making things happen make me want to punch them in the earhole.

Hopefully, the fans in this city are about to show what type they are, when the chips are down, and things are scary, they mobilize. Without the one major league franchise they have, we're basically Modesto north. With more bureaucracy.

 

[carmichaeldave]

PS:

Unless I'm reading wrong, I'm being referred to as "KHTK". Wrong. I'm me. I speak for me. I am part of a radio show that talks very little sports, and I write for Comcast. If you actually have read anything I've written this week, I'm pretty clear that I'm not playing objective journalist, I'm a Kings fan with column space. Those who've known me for a while know how I got the name "Carmichael Dave".

My job is just fine with or without the team, but my life is not. That doesn't mean I let the facts get in the way of my arguments. I'm just tired of a lot of things not being said. There are a lot of journalists covering this that are fantastically good at what they do, like Sam Amick. He is a journalist, I am not.

Am I too close? Am I too emotionally invested? Yep.

So what. I DO NOT CARE about who or what pays for the stupid arena. So much of my taxes go to things I will never see, feel, or have any sort of emotional response to. I am glad to pay my share to keep the team here. The last thing I want is to live in a stupid, boring, podunk city, and think to myself "At least some road in East Sac is being paved" or "Some homeless guy ate today." Don't care. Sorry.

Build the damn thing. Then I'll shut up and go back to MMA.

 

[carmichaeldave]

PPS: Hi everyone. Brick, VF, Jeremy, etc.

Long time.

See you Monday.

 

[JJ22L]

PS:

Unless I'm reading wrong, I'm being referred to as "KHTK". Wrong. I'm me. I speak for me. I am part of a radio show that talks very little sports, and I write for Comcast. If you actually have read anything I've written this week, I'm pretty clear that I'm not playing objective journalist, I'm a Kings fan with column space. Those who've known me for a while know how I got the name "Carmichael Dave".

My job is just fine with or without the team, but my life is not. That doesn't mean I let the facts get in the way of my arguments. I'm just tired of a lot of things not being said. There are a lot of journalists covering this that are fantastically good at what they do, like Sam Amick. He is a journalist, I am not.

Am I too close? Am I too emotionally invested? Yep.

So what. I DO NOT CARE about who or what pays for the stupid arena. So much of my taxes go to things I will never see, feel, or have any sort of emotional response to. I am glad to pay my share to keep the team here. The last thing I want is to live in a stupid, boring, podunk city, and think to myself "At least some road in East Sac is being paved" or "Some homeless guy ate today." Don't care. Sorry.

Build the damn thing. Then I'll shut up and go back to MMA.

A-fu**ing-men.

 

[Larry David]

"If KJ really wants to look out for the city's best interests, he'd shut his mouth and work behind the scenes, like the Maloofs are."

Work on the numbers, without the numbers. Work behind the scenes with owners that aren't taking his calls and aren't helping him meet the (current / only relevant, now) deadlines.

That makes sense. And how exactly to your sources say the Maloofs are working behind the scenes with ICONN/Taylor - since they've both cut their window down and not provided them with the info they need.

 

[JJ22L]

"If KJ really wants to look out for the city's best interests, he'd shut his mouth and work behind the scenes, like the Maloofs are."

Work on the numbers, without the numbers. Work behind the scenes with owners that aren't taking his calls and aren't helping him meet the (current / only relevant, now) deadlines.

That makes sense. And how exactly to your sources say the Maloofs are working behind the scenes with ICONN/Taylor - since they've both cut their window down and not provided them with the info they need.

So you are saying that KJ taking his emotions public like he did will make the Maloofs want to talk to him more? Ya, "that makes sense." Are you actually defending KJ's action?

Considering all of the pedantic BS Sacramento and its thumb-twirling government has given the Maloofs over the past decade, I think KJ could have held out another month or so to try to keep them on our side, dontcha think? Seeing as how the fate of the franchise kinda hinges on the people that he just got pissy with and all.

Now. KJ. Keep your damn mouth shut. I agree, the Maloofs should have played nice and told you. I am on your side. However, the face of our "resistance" spouting a bit of a tantrum on a public stage will make matters worse, not better.

 

[carmichaeldave]

In your article you say the Maloofs were upset with what KJ said in his press conference. The very same conference that he also asked for the documents to be delivered by Friday. The documents were not delivered according to Jim Crandell. Jim Crandell later reported that the Maloofs didn't deliver the documents because they simply "Never heard of the Friday deadline." That's where they get caught in a lie. They either heard KJ's conference to get upset about it and as a result also heard KJ's request, OR they never heard of his request because they missed the conference entirely. If the latter is the case, they have no reason to be as upset as you have heard because they never listened to the conference. They're lying to us Dave.

Hmm. Press conference Thursday. Deadline Friday? I'm assuming (I could be wrong) that these are pretty intricate documents. Maybe that was too soon.

Maybe they just wanted to do it face to face in the meeting.

Maybe they don't want to be pushed into the mayor's agenda, based on yesterday's comments.

Lots of maybes. But I guess its easy to say GOTCHA! and call them liars. They certainly haven't operated in good faith with a hole of an arena for years. LIARS I SAY!

I think that's the part being researched by the Maloofs and Fox. There probably aren't any sure numbers on it and they're figuring out the details of valuing rights for a 3rd team. Nevertheless, under the assumption that they will make more money there, you wrote an article claiming they want to stay in Sacramento? It wasn't until just recently that Fox-LA lost their deal, right? That's probably the thing making it more profitable than Sac, right? And that deal wasn't available to the Kings the last 10 years but is now, right? And you claim in your article that the last 10 years show they want to stay in Sacramento? No further questions.

Nice job counselor. Really nailed it there.

Oh wait, Anaheim has been talked about for years. Kansas City, Vegas, Seattle, Louisville, there have been quite a few options.

TV rights in Anaheim >>>>> TV rights in Sacramento. You're also assuming that TV/Radio negotiations are going fantastically here. You're assuming that due to on court performance, the TV and/or radio group isnt asking to keep the same or lower fees paid. I wasn't aware you were in the negotiations, and have hard facts. I apologize.

Newer arena. More luxury boxes. More club seats. Bigger population base to sell tickets. Easier to build a product on the floor i.e. players prefer LA to Sacramento. Pick your house up out of Sacramento and place it in Orange County. Value increases just a tad, no? Franchise value increases, which equals more equity to borrow from, and better cash flow. Just a little more than the TV deal.

They knew we could sell out an arena last week. And again, the point will be proven next week. But we'll have fun Monday anyway.

Ok. Not sure what that means.


.

See above. I'm not as convinced as you are that owners of multi-million dollar businesses that negotiate multi-million dollar deals in presumably sometimes hostile environments are as fragile as they claim to be. I bet they've calloused a bit over time. Again, they're lying to us and they got caught in the lie (See above). Furthermore, his statements never really crossed a huge line in my opinion.

I'm not Dr. Melfi, I can only go so deep into guessing the Maloof mindset. But I'm guessing they're people too, and can be hurt/swayed by public opinion. Should they have thicker skins? Perhaps. But I don't think dollars + exposure automatically equals leather skins. But stick with the LIARS! theory.

I don't doubt that the offer for them to move is on the table in a general sense, but the exact value of it I suspect is still being negotiated between the Maloofs and the relevant parties. The NBA apparently wasn't sold on Anaheim yet. I suspect they will bring the hard numbers to the meeting with the other owners to convince them it's the right move.

Same page.

Sacramento has finally gotten an all-star team to come up with a plan for an arena. I have all my hopes in ICON. It's debatable whether we deserve another shot after 10 years, but if we are fortunate enough to get another year I think it will work. However, as reported by Sam Amick, 90 days was the absolute minimum time ICON needed to get its study done and they could afford no delays. Yet the Maloofs requested their deadline to be before that 90 days were over. It's impossible for the study to be finished by the end of the season according to the words of a journalist who by your own admission is fantastically good at what he does. And that says nothing of the delays in turning over the documents to ICON either.

Again, your grasp of NBA bylaws was underestimated by me. I guess there's no chance that provided the Maloofs see progress, that they could ask for another extension on the 14th. I guess there's no way ICON turns in their findings ahead of the 90 days. You say its debatable as to whether or not Sac deserves another shot after 10 years, yet it appears the LYING MALOOFS are doing just that.

I want a ferrari. Really badly. I know a guy who works on designing and manufacturing them. I could invite him to dinner tomorrow, and have him draw up the plans for my dream car. Unfortunately, without my wife letting me spend the money (because she owns my ***), no car for me. The plans and all are great. But nothing happens without the money. That's the city council's job. KJ's job. ICON doesn't have 100% control.

The Maloofs are not allowing any Sacramento representatives to work with them in front of or behind the scenes--as evidenced by KJ's frustration. He needed to stand up for Sacramento somehow and he let us know of the situation in an honest way. He is dealing with owners who have changed tactics on him and refuse to deal with him honestly. They said they'd give the documents to ICON and they still, after all this time, haven't. And they got caught in a lie about why they haven't. And yet he has been getting crushed today as though he's just a typical politician. He's the only one on our side right now, and we've got people blaming him. How about we don't blame anyone but our own self(s). We need to accept responsibility for whether Sacramento becomes (or remains. whichever you prefer.) a world class city individually rather than blaming city officials or team ownership all the time. It's on you and me now. We need an arena here more than anything.

The old Maloof tactics didn't really work that well. Nothing happens in this stupid *** backwards town without a gun in the mouth. They've been waiting to pull this bullet out for years, and even now- they haven't come out and said "Build it now or we're gone now". Really. Find me a Maloof quote that says anything other than "We're listening to all options".

I believe in my heart KJ is on our side. But as he showed yesterday, he's also on his side. Maybe its the ballplayer/competitor in him that wants to show muscle, but if the team leaves, no one will care that he "threw an elbow". He'll always be the guy that lost the team on his watch. Not fair to him at all, I agree. But he should be mowing lawns and washing cars on the Maloofs' behalf if that's what it takes. Not getting in a pissing match. My point all along is even if he's right in what he's saying, there's nothing to be gained. He MUST stay on good terms with the Maloofs to get this thing done. Play the blame game if they leave.

Are you threatening me Dave? Because I'm honestly not sure if you are. And if you are, I think you misunderstand my intentions as a fan of Sacramento and the Sacramento Kings, but I don't really care if I convince you of that or not.

Yes. Total threat. Although I think there's a difference between saying "Makes me want to punch someone" and saying "I'm going to punch someone". But the Maloofs are liars, and I'm making threats. Totally logical.