Michael Malone (allegedly) opposed extensions for DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay

[Chubbs]

Not a bit. The Maloofs came in and spent well over a decade sabotaging every attempt to build a new arena for the team, all the while intending to move the Kings to their preferred location, be it Las Vegas or Anaheim or Mexico City, and when all else failed desperately tried to sell the team to ownership in Seattle rather than to a group that would keep it in Sacramento.

The Ranadivé group came in and immediately signed on for a an arena deal with a 30-year residence clause. Already the demolition required to build the arena is in full swing. Fifteen years and the Maloofs wouldn't get it done. A few months and the Ranadivé group did.



And the Maloofs came in and immediately hired a Hall of Fame coach. That hasn't happened here. Time will tell if Malone turns into a very good coach or not but people are acting like we fired a Hall of Fame coach, forgetting that just days before his firing there were a litany of complaints. We've moaned about his rotations since day one. Continuing to play Sessions all season despite terrible results. The inability of the team to solve its turnover woes. His insistence on giving the ball to Reggie in the high post over and over.

Malone seems like a cool guy, he does. And Cousins likes him. And he talks the talk. But it was all grumble-grumble-grumble until he was fired and then suddenly he's the next Red Auerbach?



The timeline is to have a team that will be competitive in the playoffs by the time the new arena opens. That's two years maximum with no minimum. Ranadivé is nothing if not impatient. The last thing he's going to do is tank a season just because he doesn't want to be good yet.



You're telling me that we're not at pitchfork time yet?!? That there is another level of collective indignance above the one we're at right now? Because I might have to take a long vacation from here if that happens. I'm fed up with the relentless negativity as it is.

If your best remaining argument is "Well, they're not the maloofs" then things are pretty bad, wouldn't you say?

Look, on the court, the Maloofs knew enough to build a winner and how to do it. When they had money. Off the court, you're right, Ranadive was smart enough to just step in and sign once KJ and others did all the groundwork. Good for him. He was just the ****ing checkbook and the guy to come out and hear the cheers. Nothing more. Could have been him, could have been Burkle, could have been a whole bunch of other people. It was a sweetheart deal and he took advantage of it, and now it's play time for him and his goons. Good for him for "saving the team," as he reminds us every chance he gets. Personally, I don't bow down to these guys cause they have money. I give credit to KJ though. He did most of the work. Hell, ranadive showed up at the 11th hour on his white horse, and that's fantastic. I'm glad he did. He doesn't get a pass for life because of that fact.

I don't even care that Malone was fired. Again, its how and when. Just when things were moving forward, the plug was pulled. I thought half of what Malone did was moronic (frankly I'm a little tired of the Red ****ing Auerbach strawman btw). But what we are seeing now, is an absolute regression to the darkest days of this franchise. On the court.

Off the court things are still moving forward. The arena is being built. I've seen it. I believe. But man, the growing pains in learning how to be an owner are just awful. And Vivek is responsible for PDA. And for listening to him.

Time for another white knight. Where are you George Karl?

 

[iowamcnabb]

I'm fed up with the relentless negativity as it is.

life on a message board... I love coming on here interacting with other fans but like all other forums I'm on the negativity eventually grinds on you. It's like listening to a political talk show host go on and on about how he has all his shift figured out and everyone else is brainless.

 

[Chubbs]

The team should just move to Seattle. It'll be less of a problem for Kings fans right???
They clearly don't give a damn about fans at all. Nope, they're trying to put out a terrible product out there so it'll attract more fans!!! They have no plan, they just ask bums off the street about what they should do.

Vivek WAS THE ONLY PERSON WHO WAS WILLING TO SAVE THE KINGS. Why the **** would he become our owner and savior(for the team) if he didn't do it for Sacramento???? He could've just stayed at GS and maintain his high up position on a winning and much more marketable team, but he decided to help save the Kings for Sacramento and its fans. The NBA would not sell to Ron Burkle. They would not and it's the reason why he dropped out of the race. Vivek was the only guy willing to keep the Kings in Sacramento. You think he did it for the money??? He stepped down from Tibco!!!! He stepped down from the Warriors!!!

Let's just move the Kings to Seattle. Problem solved. We will never have to see Vivek and Pete again.

That's absolute crap and you know it.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

And this would completely invalidate his argument, if the Maloofs had only owned the team for a decade. But they didn't. Remember those first few years after Joe and Gavin took over, and how magical that was? How'd that turn out?

It turned out badly. But it was a fun ride for a while until 1) we tanked and 2) we figured out what was going on.

An interesting thing that we realized when we were doing all of our arena research is that the Maloofs came in to Sacramento with the quiet intent of moving the team. They had absolutely no designs of keeping the team in Sacramento whatsoever. But there was a clause in some of the ARCO arena loan agreements that didn't allow the team to be moved (not even for a financial penalty) for several years. Once the team was free of that encumbrance, they had built it into a championship contender and they knew that moving the team would be a complete PR disaster that would make the firing of Malone look like a birthday party. So they tore it down, and they made it look like they were trying oh-so-hard to get an arena built yet mysteriously managed to sabotage every attempt. They get no credit in my eyes for hiding their sliminess for several years just because they didn't have the legal ability to do what they really wanted and they had some patience.

If the worst we get out of Ranadivé is an impatient owner with a quick hook who schmoozes to the camera while sticking his nose too far in the basketball business then we have moved up in the world. I don't feel anything near the need to worship the ground he walks on - in fact he creeps me out a bit. But the Maloofs said they'd build an arena and they never meant to. The Maloofs said they'd keep the Kings in Sacramento and they never meant to. Ranadivé said he would build an arena and keep the Kings in Sacramento, and he has already signed the 30-year residence term and he's already building the arena, and he has already committed a larger portion of the cost of building the arena than the Maloofs ever even offered to.

I understand that "what have you done for me lately" is easy enough to ask, but Ranadivé has done enough for me to give him the latitude to fire a coach I kinda liked and kinda wondered about with some supremely bad timing without me needing to hyperanalyze every one of his moves or statements as if he's an idiot or a saboteur. I mean, he and his group spent over $500M buying the team and have committed another $200M+ on building the arena and for that money, people really believe that he'd prefer to see fast-paced basketball and doesn't give a crap about winning?

 

[Capt. Factorial]

If your best remaining argument is "Well, they're not the maloofs" then things are pretty bad, wouldn't you say?

You were the one who said it was completely appropriate to compare the current ownership to the Maloofs. I argued against that.

Hell, ranadive showed up at the 11th hour on his white horse, and that's fantastic. I'm glad he did. He doesn't get a pass for life because of that fact.

Nope, but from me he gets a bit more than a year before I'm willing to entertain accusations that he doesn't care about winning and would prefer to watch fast-paced basketball while losing.

I thought half of what Malone did was moronic (frankly I'm a little tired of the Red ****ing Auerbach strawman btw).

I assume you're right about Red Auerbach being a strawman in that probably nobody literally compared Malone to him. But at the same time, if you thought half of what Malone did was moronic (and I'd agree with you there), I don't understand how you can be so loudly and passionately against his firing just based on "timing". Are the entire front office idiots, or did they see the same half-moronic that you saw and move to fix it?

Time for another white knight. Where are you George Karl?

Amen to that.

 

[Chubbs]

It turned out badly. But it was a fun ride for a while until 1) we tanked and 2) we figured out what was going on.


If the worst we get out of Ranadivé is an impatient owner with a quick hook who schmoozes to the camera while sticking his nose too far in the basketball business then we have moved up in the world. I don't feel anything near the need to worship the ground he walks on - in fact he creeps me out a bit. But the Maloofs said they'd build an arena and they never meant to. The Maloofs said they'd keep the Kings in Sacramento and they never meant to. Ranadivé said he would build an arena and keep the Kings in Sacramento, and he has already signed the 30-year residence term and he's already building the arena, and he has already committed a larger portion of the cost of building the arena than the Maloofs ever even offered to.

I understand that "what have you done for me lately" is easy enough to ask, but Ranadivé has done enough for me to give him the latitude to fire a coach I kinda liked and kinda wondered about with some supremely bad timing without me needing to hyperanalyze every one of his moves or statements as if he's an idiot or a saboteur. I mean, he and his group spent over $500M buying the team and have committed another $200M+ on building the arena and for that money, people really believe that he'd prefer to see fast-paced basketball and doesn't give a poopoo about winning?

You are, of course, right in a lot of ways.

The Maloofs lied about some very big things, more than Vivek claiming to not even know who Royce White is.

Thanks for providing a counter balance to the relentless negativity, which I certainly fall prey to. I'm just really scared they are going to stick with Corbin and lose this season, and the players, and then suddenly we are back to trying to build a new culture starting NEXT season. Again.

 

[Chubbs]

You were the one who said it was completely appropriate to compare the current ownership to the Maloofs. I argued against that.

Nope, but from me he gets a bit more than a year before I'm willing to entertain accusations that he doesn't care about winning and would prefer to watch fast-paced basketball while losing.

I assume you're right about Red Auerbach being a strawman in that probably nobody literally compared Malone to him. But at the same time, if you thought half of what Malone did was moronic (and I'd agree with you there), I don't understand how you can be so loudly and passionately against his firing just based on "timing". Are the entire front office idiots, or did they see the same half-moronic that you saw and move to fix it?



Amen to that.

And that's the rub. Are they going to fix it? And when is that going to be happening? That really is the billion dollar question. They saw Malone's problems, but the fixing part remains to be seen. Going to an up tempo team run by Ty Corbin just seems destined to epic failure.

Deep down, I do know Vivek cares about winning. I'm just not certain he is getting good advice from his front office about the best way to go about it. I think Malone was on the right track, and they could have started to throw in new wrinkles to the offense as time went on. But I could be wrong, and Malone truly wasn't the guy for the job. I just wish they'd done this in the offseason and had Karl in from day 1 this season.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

What other millionaire/billionaire was willing to buy the Kings and keep them here?

Look, you can claim that the NBA "would not sell" to Burkle, but that claim is either misinformed, or just straight up lying. The NBA would have sold to Burkle; they would have sold to Mastrov. They probably would have sold to MVP; the Maloofs wouldn't sell, but that's not the same thing. And, even if it was, it's completely separate from your claim that nobody was willing to keep the Kings in Sacramento, which is just plain wrong.

 

[206Fan]

That's absolute crap and you know it.

What other millionaire/billionaire was willing to keep the Kings in Sacramento???? The NBA would not sell to Ron Burkle!

 

[whozit]

It turned out badly. But it was a fun ride for a while until 1) we tanked and 2) we figured out what was going on.

An interesting thing that we realized when we were doing all of our arena research is that the Maloofs came in to Sacramento with the quiet intent of moving the team. They had absolutely no designs of keeping the team in Sacramento whatsoever. But there was a clause in some of the ARCO arena loan agreements that didn't allow the team to be moved (not even for a financial penalty) for several years. Once the team was free of that encumbrance, they had built it into a championship contender and they knew that moving the team would be a complete PR disaster that would make the firing of Malone look like a birthday party. So they tore it down, and they made it look like they were trying oh-so-hard to get an arena built yet mysteriously managed to sabotage every attempt. They get no credit in my eyes for hiding their sliminess for several years just because they didn't have the legal ability to do what they really wanted and they had some patience.

If the worst we get out of Ranadivé is an impatient owner with a quick hook who schmoozes to the camera while sticking his nose too far in the basketball business then we have moved up in the world. I don't feel anything near the need to worship the ground he walks on - in fact he creeps me out a bit. But the Maloofs said they'd build an arena and they never meant to. The Maloofs said they'd keep the Kings in Sacramento and they never meant to. Ranadivé said he would build an arena and keep the Kings in Sacramento, and he has already signed the 30-year residence term and he's already building the arena, and he has already committed a larger portion of the cost of building the arena than the Maloofs ever even offered to.

I understand that "what have you done for me lately" is easy enough to ask, but Ranadivé has done enough for me to give him the latitude to fire a coach I kinda liked and kinda wondered about with some supremely bad timing without me needing to hyperanalyze every one of his moves or statements as if he's an idiot or a saboteur. I mean, he and his group spent over $500M buying the team and have committed another $200M+ on building the arena and for that money, people really believe that he'd prefer to see fast-paced basketball and doesn't give a poopoo about winning?

I really like this post. To a degree.

The history lesson is great but in terms of "on court" idiocy, that is a different story. What is the old adage? The road to hell is paved with good intentions. I don't think for a minute he likes losing and suspect he dislikes the scrutiny he's getting even more. I don't question his intentions nearly as much as I do his advisers. I would strongly suspect he's getting bad advice from individuals with their own agendas.

 

[John Galt]

It turned out badly. But it was a fun ride for a while until 1) we tanked and 2) we figured out what was going on.

An interesting thing that we realized when we were doing all of our arena research is that the Maloofs came in to Sacramento with the quiet intent of moving the team. They had absolutely no designs of keeping the team in Sacramento whatsoever. But there was a clause in some of the ARCO arena loan agreements that didn't allow the team to be moved (not even for a financial penalty) for several years. Once the team was free of that encumbrance, they had built it into a championship contender and they knew that moving the team would be a complete PR disaster that would make the firing of Malone look like a birthday party. So they tore it down, and they made it look like they were trying oh-so-hard to get an arena built yet mysteriously managed to sabotage every attempt. They get no credit in my eyes for hiding their sliminess for several years just because they didn't have the legal ability to do what they really wanted and they had some patience.

If the worst we get out of Ranadivé is an impatient owner with a quick hook who schmoozes to the camera while sticking his nose too far in the basketball business then we have moved up in the world. I don't feel anything near the need to worship the ground he walks on - in fact he creeps me out a bit. But the Maloofs said they'd build an arena and they never meant to. The Maloofs said they'd keep the Kings in Sacramento and they never meant to. Ranadivé said he would build an arena and keep the Kings in Sacramento, and he has already signed the 30-year residence term and he's already building the arena, and he has already committed a larger portion of the cost of building the arena than the Maloofs ever even offered to.

I understand that "what have you done for me lately" is easy enough to ask, but Ranadivé has done enough for me to give him the latitude to fire a coach I kinda liked and kinda wondered about with some supremely bad timing without me needing to hyperanalyze every one of his moves or statements as if he's an idiot or a saboteur. I mean, he and his group spent over $500M buying the team and have committed another $200M+ on building the arena and for that money, people really believe that he'd prefer to see fast-paced basketball and doesn't give a poopoo about winning?

Good post. A like from me. If they would hire an upgrade coach I would be ok. Anybody you can reasonably argue is an upgrade, I'll go along with. Even Mark Jackson. Hell my wife thought the firing was ok - "holding the guy accountable for the boring offense". And I don't viciously blast HER on the internet 5-6 times a day.

But they went from one of the hot young up and comer coaches (and I think he is an excellent coach not a "half stupid" one - guess I stand with Popovic on that)... they went from that - which seemed a commitment to "building something" .... and instead we have Ty Corbin. Ty is a nice guy, I do not want to blast him - but he is not a cornerstone of "building something special" the way Malone was.

Hire George Karl and let the healing begin. Or hide under a rock and let Ty Corbin be a lame duck coach all winter and out come the pitchforks (ok I admit mine is already out and sharp, but I want to be over it).

 

[206Fan]

Look, you can claim that the NBA "would not sell" to Burkle, but that claim is either misinformed, or just straight up lying. The NBA would have sold to Burkle; they would have sold to Mastrov. They probably would have sold to MVP; the Maloofs wouldn't sell, but that's not the same thing. And, even if it was, it's completely separate from your claim that nobody was willing to keep the Kings in Sacramento, which is just plain wrong.

There were reports at the time of the Seattle saga that the NBA made it known they would not sell to Burkle. That was the main reason why he dropped out of the race for the Kings. I may have worded it poorly, but we both know what I meant.

Mastrov is part of Vivek's group.

 

[whozit]

What other millionaire/billionaire was willing to keep the Kings in Sacramento???? The NBA would not sell to Ron Burkle!

The NBA or the Maloofs? There had been bad blood (don't remember the details) between the Maloofs and Burkle. Might had something to do with the Casino. You may be right about the NBA, why do you think they wouldn't allow the Maloofs to sell to Burkle?

 

[Chubbs]

What other millionaire/billionaire was willing to keep the Kings in Sacramento???? The NBA would not sell to Ron Burkle!

Well, Mastrov, Burkle (as far as I know STILL involved with development outside the arena). That's I guess one more guy. \

I feel like Mastrov was on board prior to Vivek. But I could be wrong. It's not worth arguing over.

But really, Vivek didn't do this on his own and he still isn't.

 

[John Galt]

I heard KJ say that Vivek was a secret weapon all along - or maybe it was Mastrov who said it. But it is possible that NBA 3.0 and India and all that helped sway the BOG our way. Maybe if it was just Mastrov vs Hansen we'd have lost the team. Remember Mastrov tried to buy the team with a home-town discount for like $420M.

I had a chance to talk to Mastrov once and I asked him what David Stern said to him at the Warriors arena (remember that photo). Mark told he "he said, 'match the bid'. Maybe he couldn't... and remember how in the end - after the BOG vote - Vivek had to come up with another $10-15M or so to close the thing??... maybe Mastrov didn't have that extra $15M in his cookie jar.

I wish Mastrov had bought the team as primary owner but he just might not have quite had the scratch or the gravitas to pull it off. And Burkle had that conflict of interest thing with the sports agency.

So if I pause and inhale, there is no percentage in hating Vivek. I just hope this is all very unpleasant for him and he decides next time to NOT listen to Pete, and instead listens to George.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

There were reports at the time of the Seattle saga that the NBA made it known they would not sell to Burkle. That was the main reason why he dropped out of the race for the Kings. I may have worded it poorly, but we both know what I meant.

Mastrov is part of Vivek's group.

The reports were that it was the Maloofs who wouldn't sell, not the NBA.

And you have your chronology wrong: Ranadive joined up with Mastrov, not the other way around. Mastrov came first; he was already trying to buy the team before Ranadive showed up. Ranadive took the lead only after Burkle stepped down.

 

[LPKingsFan]

The NBA wouldn't sell to Burkle because of the conflict with his business that represents players, from what I recall. It was not purely a Maloof grudge.

From all indications (both public and what I've heard in private), Mastrov did not have enough to land the Kings on his own.

 

[hrdboild]

My unhappiness with PDA, Mullin, and Vivek comes purely from a desire to see the Kings win basketball games. And I would agree that all three of them share this goal, whatever other interests they may or may not have on the side. Wanting to win and knowing how to accomplish that are obviously two very different things. Is there a way to build a winning team with an up-tempo running offense? Of course there is. But it's a long way away from where we are now. Not to mention, the whole thing has a very "been there, done that" feel about it. It's hard to picture an even better offensive system than the one we employed under Coach Adelman and that team will go down in history as "not talented enough to win a title".

But the big point is this -- ultimately I think firing Malone, dragging their feet on finding a permanent coaching replacement, and attempting to impose an up-tempo offense on our players whether they like it or not could likely cost us DeMarcus Cousins. That's what I'm upset about. Cousins, besides being a uniquely talented basketball player, is a fun personality to root for. If Cousins leaves they'll eventually find a new franchise player and eventually that group of players will grow into a contender. Such is the life cycle of sports. But it's hard to watch a freight train headed straight for the edge of a cliff and not feel compelled to scream at the driver to stop the damn thing and turn it around. I don't enjoy being negative for the sake of being negative, believe it or not. I strongly believed Hawes and Jimmer were not answers for us and they weren't. I strongly believed Westphal was a problem and he was. Sometimes being honest does entail a great deal of negativity.

So about that cliff... if their plan is to spend the next 5 years building a bridge over it, I suppose I'll have to admit I'm wrong when we get to the promised land. But right now, all I see is a dead end, a cliff and PDA and Mullin happily driving the train straight at it. I'd like to believe they know something I don't, that doesn't mean I'm not going to shout "stop!" if I think there's a disaster coming, y'know?

 

[King Baller]

It's been almost a week now and it seems like some fans still find it hard to move on since the firing of Malone. Most of these fans continue to speculate and spell doom for the Kings and aim their fumes at PDA and Vivek.

Since, most of these fans continue to feed from speculative journalism to continuously burn PDA and Vivek, how about taking another perspective. I know this is old speculative news and has been subtly discussed elsewhere, but still may be good enough to serve as psycho-therapy for those who still hate Vivek and PDA to the point of seeing them as the "enemies" or "outsiders" in Sacramento.

For those in-love with Cousins and Gay, if this article is true (which more likely is), you guys probably have to re-evaluate your perspective about who really cares more about your favorite players and team.

Michael Malone opposed extensions for DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay
http://www.sactownroyalty.com/2014/...osed-extensions-for-demarcus-cousins-rudy-gay

Sam Amick is delivering the other side of the story, emphasis mine.

From Malone's reluctance to endorse the offering of contract extensions for DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay to his preference that departed point guard Isaiah Thomas was re-signed in free agency to the pursuit of a new lead assistant coach during the summer, there were disagreements about personnel and style of play at every turn that brought them all to this tipping point.

(Tip of the cap to Aaron Bruski, who brought this to my attention)

Now, correlate the above with Vivek's statements below, then I would say the article above might be true.

Vivek Ranadivé speaks out on Malone firing
http://www.sactownroyalty.com/2014/12/17/7409997/vivek-ranadive-michael-malone-firing

"I've been beaten before," he said. "They said that Seattle had won, and we would never be able to keep this team. People said that Cousins was toxic, and he was a cancer and we should get rid of him. They said that Rudy [Gay] was terrible, and even if he came, he would never stay. They said if Isaiah [Thomas] left, the team would fall apart. So look, I'm surrounded by really smart people, and they give me great advice. They call the shots, and I support them."

This all just sounds like something cooked up by the Marketing/Public Relations Department.

 

[MizzouKing]

THIS. Malone had faults, made mistakes, but he would grow over time just as our young core of players would. A solid foundation of trust and promise was being laid, and we bought in just as the players did. I suspect they feel just as betrayed.

The FO continues to have my support...but they've lost my trust, and much of my respect at this point.

MK

... they went from that - which seemed a commitment to "building something" .... and instead we have Ty Corbin. Ty is a nice guy, I do not want to blast him - but he is not a cornerstone of "building something special" the way Malone was.

 

[GQ_Gabriel]

That's absolute crap and you know it.

Don't forget that Vivek was a crucial part of keeping the Kings in Sacramento.

 

[swisshh]

I never commented on this here because I felt I didn't need to, but it's best to say it now than before it's done again.

The statement/claim that I heard made was that Malone refused to/never gave an endorsement on the extensions of Gay and Cousins contract.

That can be entirely true and yet entirely meaningless at the same time.

The reason being that contracts are not really the coaches job. Coaches jump up to management or do both precisely so they can control that part of the NBA. Malone was just the coach, so contracts were not a part of his job. Cousins extension was before he had any time with the team or Cousins, or at least enough time with them to make that choice. It could also simply be that Malone didn't feel it was his place to do so.

As coach, you look at how Malone handled those players in regards to what it was his job to do so as coach. You look at playing time and how they were used on court. You look at how they got along. All of those coaching elements were positive. So all relevant matters were positive.

That's why when you hear of irrelevant news in regards to the players and Malone, a red flag is raised among fans. Not a red flag about Malone, but about that information coming out when it did.

 

[PHXSUNSFAN]

I can't believe people buy these BS rumors that teams put out to purposely make the fan base love a move they just made.

Come on guys, don't be so gullible.

 

[randymoss1881]

I can't believe people buy these BS rumors that teams put out to purposely make the fan base love a move they just made.

Come on guys, don't be so gullible.

Heat should have said they wernt gonna sign lebron anyway.

 

[PHXSUNSFAN]

Heat should have said they wernt gonna sign lebron anyway.

Wade made up for it by saying that he never tried to convince LeBron to come back.

 

[Spike]

Don't forget that Vivek was a crucial part of keeping the Kings in Sacramento.

You keep saying this, and I keep telling you that these are independent events, and should be treated as such.
If you're great at your job, but a crapty husband, you'll likely end up divorced.

 

[MizzouKing]

Don't forget that Vivek was a crucial part of keeping the Kings in Sacramento.

So true, and perhaps we should best honor this by applying Vivek's own logic: Just as Malone had served his purpose (bringing defense to the Kings), so too has Vivek served his (keeping them in SacTown). You can go now, Vivek. Thanks buddy! (Don't worry, we'll be very positive about you at the press conference.)