Mike0476
Starter
Some interesting answers from former Kings owner Jim Thomas. It's from the Los Angeles Business Journal and dated Nov. 5, 2007.
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-171538044.html
Q: As the former owner of the Sacramento Kings, are you still a Kings fan?
A: I think I'd be surprised if I cease to be a Kings fan. My wife is a great fan. She watches three or four games a night. When I come home the TV is on. One of the great things about being on the West Coast, the East Coast plays at 4 o'clock. By the time I've gotten home she's watched a couple games.
Q: Are there any parallels between owning a sports team and the real estate world?
A: It is a wholly different thing I think. In real estate I am used to negotiating deals. When I bought the team and had my first big contract negotiation I called up the agent and the way you do it is you get all the stats. So if it's a small forward you get the stats for all the small forwards. So I say, "OK this is what your player is making and this where your player falls. So if you are the No. 4 small forward (statistically) you should be paid between No. 3 and No. 5." The answer was, "Well, we are going to perform at the No. 2 level." I say, "But you haven't ever performed at the No. 2 level." So I bring a solution from the business world: "We will pay you at the No. 4 level and if you perform at the No. 2 level we will give you incentive compensation."
Q: How did that go over?
A: This negotiation was on the phone and there was dead silence and finally the agent says, "I have never been so embarrassed in my life that you would propose such a ridiculous idea." The thrust of the negotiation was: the player won't be happy if you pay him at the No. 4 slot. He's got to be paid to be happy. He doesn't want to have to perform to get it. The test is, are you happy. That is pretty hard to deal with.
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-171538044.html
Q: As the former owner of the Sacramento Kings, are you still a Kings fan?
A: I think I'd be surprised if I cease to be a Kings fan. My wife is a great fan. She watches three or four games a night. When I come home the TV is on. One of the great things about being on the West Coast, the East Coast plays at 4 o'clock. By the time I've gotten home she's watched a couple games.
Q: Are there any parallels between owning a sports team and the real estate world?
A: It is a wholly different thing I think. In real estate I am used to negotiating deals. When I bought the team and had my first big contract negotiation I called up the agent and the way you do it is you get all the stats. So if it's a small forward you get the stats for all the small forwards. So I say, "OK this is what your player is making and this where your player falls. So if you are the No. 4 small forward (statistically) you should be paid between No. 3 and No. 5." The answer was, "Well, we are going to perform at the No. 2 level." I say, "But you haven't ever performed at the No. 2 level." So I bring a solution from the business world: "We will pay you at the No. 4 level and if you perform at the No. 2 level we will give you incentive compensation."
Q: How did that go over?
A: This negotiation was on the phone and there was dead silence and finally the agent says, "I have never been so embarrassed in my life that you would propose such a ridiculous idea." The thrust of the negotiation was: the player won't be happy if you pay him at the No. 4 slot. He's got to be paid to be happy. He doesn't want to have to perform to get it. The test is, are you happy. That is pretty hard to deal with.
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