ESPN Franchise Rankings: We Are.... (merged)

[rainmaker]

No. 121 out of 122, total.

Last year's rank: 119
Title track: 120
Ownership: 122
Coaching: 104
Players: 111 (tie)
Fan relations: 120
Affordability: 104
Stadium experience: 121
Bang for the buck: 99

How does a franchise come to feature the worst-ranked ownership in the Big Four? By following the Maloof family blueprint. In a nutshell, it all revolves around a lack of commitment. Financially, the Maloofs have ponied up one of the NBA's lowest payrolls for three consecutive seasons, which has resulted in few solid complementary players for the franchise's young faces, who have been disappointing themselves. We're looking at you Tyreke Evans, DeMarcus Cousins and Jimmer Fredette. The Maloofs have also devoted little money to the upkeep of Power Balance Pavilion, a structure best put out to pasture. "It's fallen into a good bit of disrepair and has almost no modern amenities outside of plumbing and electricity," says Tom Ziller of sactownroyalty.com. Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and the league worked overtime to arrive at a solution for a new building that will keep the franchise in the state capital, but once again there was a snag, with the Maloofs front and center. Safe to say, the Kings faithful has lost patience. "In short, the fans are extraordinarily sick of the Maloofs," says Ziller. "They have tried to leave Sacramento, killed an arena plan that the NBA supported and that Sacramento got approved by the politicians, and they have not spent to maintain their arena or build a competitive team. If the Maloofs sold tomorrow, I think fan sentiment would spike immediately."

Maloofs are ranked as the worst owners across the four big leagues. Amazing how they've tarnished this franchise.

 

[kingjatt]

ESPN the mag ranks Kings ownership 2nd to last in all of pro sports

Nothing new here, Just surprised that theirs actually a team that ranks lower


http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/teamrankings

 

[///Mink]

Nothing new here, Just surprised that theirs actually a team that ranks lower


http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/teamrankings

The franchise itself is second to last. The ownership IS dead last, as they should be.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

Maloofs are ranked as the worst owners across the four big leagues. Amazing how they've tarnished this franchise.

They've tarnished themselves, not the franchise. If they sell, the outlook for the franchise skyrockets immediately.

 

[bajaden]

121st out of 122 huh? Wow, thats very special. They must have stayed up late at night working hard to acheive that lofty position. But hey, at least there's one ray of sunshine. Were not 122nd! One of the problems in being at the top, is that the fall is longer, and harder. They've gone from being one of the big spenders, to the food line. Very sad indeed. Nothing new though, just another barometer by which to measure the current demise of the franchise.

Obviously a heart transplant is required, and that of course is a new owner. Otherwise this patient is going to slowly die. My advice to the Maloofs is to take what you can get now. Save what you can. Hell, work out in the deal where you get to keep your front row seats and a small percentage of the Kings. Maybe even first rights to buy them back in the event a rich uncle dies and leaves you a few bucks. Hey, here's another idea. Go hat in hand and appear on the Shark Tank and see if Mark Cuban will front you some money for a percentage of the team. Be careful though. Unlike yourselves, Cuban is a shrewd businessman. He'll end up with the team, your house, and probably your first born.

The truth is, the Maloofs don't have the resources to run this team efficently here, or anywhere else. They will sell! Its just a matter of where and when. I know they hate to give up their toy. But there's fantasy and there's reality. Its time for them to start dealing with reality, and in an honest manner. Its time for the family to sit down and make some hard decisions. Thats assuming of course that they can find George, whose roaming around somewhere inside the Palms.

 

[kupman]

Seems about right.

It is also amazing to think where the franchise would have ranked 10 years ago. Me thinks pretty darn high. It has been a tremendous fall and we may not have seen the bottom yet.

 

[kingjatt]

Seems about right.

It is also amazing to think where the franchise would have ranked 10 years ago. Me thinks pretty darn high. It has been a tremendous fall and we may not have seen the bottom yet.

If the smallest market in the NBA like OKC can rank number 1 I believe we could have as well back then. You almost have to try to fail to go from near the top to the bottom as quickly as the Kings did.

 

[///Mink]

If the smallest market in the NBA like OKC can rank number 1 I believe we could have as well back then. You almost have to try to fail to go from near the top to the bottom as quickly as the Kings did.

At the top of the table in that article you can choose the year all the way back to 2003. The Kings were #4 back then. It's been a spectacular fall. From 2006 to 2007 they fell from 40 all the way to 110.

 

[VF21]

..sigh...

I wish they had a category for fan loyalty. It'd be nice to see at least one number in double instead of triple digits.

Ironic that this comes out the same day, isn't it?

 

[kennadog]

My fear is that George Maloof hates Sacramento so much, that he'd actually accept a lower offer from someone who promised to move the team out of Sacramento. I really wouldn't put it past him, at all.

The only reason the Kings don't have a secure future in Sacramento is because of the Maloofs. They are clearly the problem for us and don't give a $@*! about Sacramento fans.

All we can do is put as much pressure on the league (other owners) as possible and hope they will only approve a buyer that won't move the team and will work with the city.

 

[rhythmless]

..sigh...

I wish they had a category for fan loyalty. It'd be nice to see at least one number in double instead of triple digits.

Ironic that this comes out the same day, isn't it?

Ah, but how would they quantify loyalty? In terms of tenure on season tickets? Sellouts? Attendance? Amount of merchandise sold within the city? Viewership? We can surmise that all of these numbers have dropped drastically as well.

No doubt, we have a contingent that continue to stand by the Kings side, but in terms of comparable figures to other teams, I'm not sure it saves us from the bottom of these standings.