Optimistic Outlook

[WALTtheWIZ]

I, like everyone else, have been repeatedly disappointed by ownership.

We know that the Maloofs have been on record as saying that revenue sharing helps keep small markets afloat, something David Stern took objection to. I think it is possible for the Maloofs to be banking on revenue sharing to build enough cash to put money into an arena agreement with the city. Why? We know they want a new arena, they say they dont want to sell, they say they dont want to just be a tenant, and they did just put some money into the a slight but long overdue modeling of the arena (however minimal that may be).

Maybe, they agreed to the principles of the deal, all the while thinking if they just had some more money to be an active partner, they would reap greater benefits. At that point, they tried the rope the city into giving them better benefits (which was unreasonable). That failed. Now a foreseeable next step may be to put some small upgrades into the arena, stick it out for a year or two and see how much revenue sharing they can achieve. At that point, they may be thinking they could come back to the table with moer to offer/ more to gain.

They did get a local company who was initially against sponsoring them due future uncertainties to buy the naming rights to the arena. I know there is this "opt-out" clause which ppl are pointing to as a Maloof loophole. But honestly, after what they went through with Power Balance, its not unreasonable for them to put in an opt out in case Sleep Train goes under or is publicly humiliated (like PB).

I do think the scenario is a likely possibility, though it is assuming the Maloofs to be well intentioned, which is a stretch, and they have yet to make any statement affirming their commitment.

Thoughts?

 

[Jose]

I think it is possible for the Maloofs to be banking on revenue sharing to build enough cash to put money into an arena agreement with the city. Why? We know they want a new arena, they say they dont want to sell, they say they dont want to just be a tenant, and they did just put some money into the a slight but long overdue modeling of the arena (however minimal that may be).

No, because the NBA offered to front the money and even contribute $7 million to cover up the gap that was stalling the effort.

They are banking on revenue sharing to make money. For themselves. Until they can unload the team for a huge profit, preferrably in a large market where they can maximize their profit.

 

[WALTtheWIZ]

Well you may be right but the money the NBA was willing to float the Maloofs still only made them tenants in the new arena. They want to be partners on a new arena but don't want to pay. I'm saying maybe with money from revenue sharing they would be able to pay and are buying time until then.

By all accounts, they are not looking to sell and maybe I'm drinking the kool aid but I don't think they are convinced on moving at this point (I know they were before)

 

[Warhawk]

Well you may be right but the money the NBA was willing to float the Maloofs still only made them tenants in the new arena. They want to be partners on a new arena but don't want to pay. I'm saying maybe with money from revenue sharing they would be able to pay and are buying time until then.

By all accounts, they are not looking to sell and maybe I'm drinking the kool aid but I don't think they are convinced on moving at this point (I know they were before)

Yes, you are.

The ONLY reason the team is here is because the league put their foot down and said "no way" to their request. They would be out of here in a heartbeat if they could.

 

[JB_kings]

Yeah the Maloofs went all in on their effort to move to Anaheim. They never thought in a million years that they would get stuffed on that. And then they burned the final bridge here in Sacramento with sandbagging the arena effort. They've poisoned their name in the league as well as Sacramento. The only thing they can do now is play this waiting game to see if something better lands in their lap. I truly think they don't have any sort of viable plan here other than that.

They probably have some sort of scheme to push this Anaheim thing one more time, but I can't see them willing to shell out big money to relocate to places like KC, Louisville, etc. They need a top 5 media market desperate for an NBA team with a lucrative TV contract to make them whole again. It's why I think they have to make another run at Anaheim and this time dig up a TV contract big enough to pay off big like the Lakers have. I think it's far fetched, but you can bet George hasn't given up.

 

[WALTtheWIZ]

Given their track record, it is reasonable to assume the worst with all their actions. Buttt, there is still a possibility that they have made these small moves (convincing sleep train after they balked originally, at least putting some money into redoing the concourse, selling to big name sponsors) with the intention of NOT moving.

It's hard to give them any benefit of doubt, I get that, but they are still our owners and will not sell. Every single thing they do may not be for our demise.

They were good as gone then reeled back in by the league. They nixed the arena deal because they didn't have money and wanted to be more than tenants (or so they say). Maybe they realize they can't move and are working towards somehow having the money to be more than tenants in a new arena (I.e. revenue sharing, team improvement, sponsorships). That doesn't seem THAT far fetched.

 

[Warhawk]

Given their track record, it is reasonable to assume the worst with all their actions. Buttt, there is still a possibility that they have made these small moves (convincing sleep train after they balked originally, at least putting some money into redoing the concourse, selling to big name sponsors) with the intention of NOT moving.

It's hard to give them any benefit of doubt, I get that, but they are still our owners and will not sell. Every single thing they do may not be for our demise.

They were good as gone then reeled back in by the league. They nixed the arena deal because they didn't have money and wanted to be more than tenants (or so they say). Maybe they realize they can't move and are working towards somehow having the money to be more than tenants in a new arena (I.e. revenue sharing, team improvement, sponsorships). That doesn't seem THAT far fetched.

Nope. They are NOT kicking in any money to anything. That was obvious from the lease agreement with Anaheim and also their insane demands to Sacramento this last go round. They have been the ones to scuttle just about any opportunity to get anything done. You can say that maybe they have changed, but their actions over the past year have shown they haven't.

They were banking on the City not being able to come through and the league granting them a request to move. The City came through (not just with an agreement, but also with over $10 million in revenue that embarassed the team because it proved they were not trying) and MSE subsequently soiled their shorts. MSE doesn't want to pay for anything but they suddenly had an agreement the NBA put together and a loan/gift to make sure it was no $$$ out of pocket that ruined their "bright lights big city" plans.

Then we got George Maloofed. Again.

Can you explain that in any way that makes it seem like MSE wants to stay? I can't.

 

[MassachusettsKingsFan]

Kevin Love is out. Dirk is out. Bogut hasn't played yet ... Those are three playoff / fringe 8th seed teams that could go either way. If we get off to a good start, we can at least be in the mix while those guys are out.

I'd be happy with a fun season. Make some progress, stay in the mix. If we make the playoffs, great, but at least make it interesting.

That has nothing to do with the Arena, or the Maloofs, which are in the back of my mind at this point. I just want to watch some basketball. That is why I am optimistic.

 

[Bricklayer]

Kevin Love is out. Dirk is out. Bogut hasn't played yet ... Those are three playoff / fringe 8th seed teams that could go either way. If we get off to a good start, we can at least be in the mix while those guys are out.

I'd be happy with a fun season. Make some progress, stay in the mix. If we make the playoffs, great, but at least make it interesting.

That has nothing to do with the Arena, or the Maloofs, which are in the back of my mind at this point. I just want to watch some basketball. That is why I am optimistic.

With our extremely home heavy early scehdule we really could get off to the good start if we are organized and have our heads on straight. Of course that also sets us up perfectly for a late fade as we start playing on the road, and our competitors get their mai stars back online, but there is room here for us to have a month or two in the sun. But coaches gotta get it right, and guys have to grow up.

 

[Padrino]

Kevin Love is out. Dirk is out. Bogut hasn't played yet ... Those are three playoff / fringe 8th seed teams that could go either way. If we get off to a good start, we can at least be in the mix while those guys are out.

I'd be happy with a fun season. Make some progress, stay in the mix. If we make the playoffs, great, but at least make it interesting.

That has nothing to do with the Arena, or the Maloofs, which are in the back of my mind at this point. I just want to watch some basketball. That is why I am optimistic.

With our extremely home heavy early scehdule we really could get off to the good start if we are organized and have our heads on straight. Of course that also sets us up perfectly for a late fade as we start playing on the road, and our competitors get their mai stars back online, but there is room here for us to have a month or two in the sun. But coaches gotta get it right, and guys have to grow up.

poor rick adelman. chris webber in sacramento. tracy mcgrady and yao ming in houston. ricky rubio and kevin love in minnesota. and countless role players in between. the guy just can't catch a break...



that said, its a strange time for the western conference. oklahoma city has begun to establish their dominance at the top of the conference. the lakers have reloaded in a big way, but the jury's still out on just how successful they'll be, or for how long. the clippers should be primed to move up the ladder a bit more, provided blake griffin and chris paul can stay healthy. there's certainly no reason to count san antonio out of the top five. but after that, who the hell knows? memphis should be in the mix. denver could be in the mix. as could utah. but a 6-8 week recovery for both dirk nowitzki and kevin love is definitely going to complicate matters early for dallas and minnesota, with the t-pups still waiting another month or so for the return of ricky rubio, as well. new orleans likely won't win a ton. i don't anticipate that portland or phoenix will, either. houston could make a little noise, i suppose. so where does that leave the pair of northern CA teams? i don't really trust mark jackson to carry the warriors very far (just as i don't trust keith smart to carry the kings very far), but golden state is definitely more balanced than they've been in the past. they could make a little noise, too...

i think brick's right: the kings absolutely have to take advantage of their home-heavy schedule early on. if they can win at a solid clip in the first couple months of the season, while a few injury-depleted western conference teams on the bubble are trying to play catch up, they might be able to build up enough confidence to make a push into the playoff race. personally, i am not optimistic. i see a team with talent enough to run a disciplined, high-post oriented pick and roll offense through their extremely gifted third year center, and i hear keith smart talking about a harlem globetrotters team from the early 40's, as if that's the way to help a young patchwork team reign themselves in. there are some positives. james johnson and thomas robinson will add some much-needed depth in the hustle-and-scrap game, but, if the kings remain an undisciplined team under keith smart, there will not be enough consistency on the defensive end to keep the kings in the hunt for a playoff spot. with our luck, sacramento will be the losingest team amongst those on the bubble out west. we'll likely get beat up on by every team we have to stay competitive against in order to become relevant again; teams with major injuries will look to the kings for opportunities to make up ground within the conference. it could get ugly. i sure do hope i'm wrong, though. it could get better. i just have a hard time seeing it happen under the direction of keith smart...

 

[bajaden]

With our extremely home heavy early scehdule we really could get off to the good start if we are organized and have our heads on straight. Of course that also sets us up perfectly for a late fade as we start playing on the road, and our competitors get their mai stars back online, but there is room here for us to have a month or two in the sun. But coaches gotta get it right, and guys have to grow up.

Having played my share of games, I can assure everyone that winning changes attitudes, and attitude can go a long way toward winning games. Teams that win all the time expect to win, and teams that lose all the time are always waiting for the other shoe to drop. My point being, if we can get off to a great start, we could start building a bit of a winning tradition, and attitude, that would certainly help when the schedule gets tougher.

 

[bajaden]

poor rick adelman. chris webber in sacramento. tracy mcgrady and yao ming in houston. ricky rubio and kevin love in minnesota. and countless role players in between. the guy just can't catch a break...



that said, its a strange time for the western conference. oklahoma city has begun to establish their dominance at the top of the conference. the lakers have reloaded in a big way, but the jury's still out on just how successful they'll be, or for how long. the clippers should be primed to move up the ladder a bit more, provided blake griffin and chris paul can stay healthy. there's certainly no reason to count san antonio out of the top five. but after that, who the hell knows? memphis should be in the mix. denver could be in the mix. as could utah. but a 6-8 week recovery for both dirk nowitzki and kevin love is definitely going to complicate matters early for dallas and minnesota, with the t-pups still waiting another month or so for the return of ricky rubio, as well. new orleans likely won't win a ton. i don't anticipate that portland or phoenix will, either. houston could make a little noise, i suppose. so where does that leave the pair of northern CA teams? i don't really trust mark jackson to carry the warriors very far (just as i don't trust keith smart to carry the kings very far), but golden state is definitely more balanced than they've been in the past. they could make a little noise, too...

i think brick's right: the kings absolutely have to take advantage of their home-heavy schedule early on. if they can win at a solid clip in the first couple months of the season, while a few injury-depleted western conference teams on the bubble are trying to play catch up, they might be able to build up enough confidence to make a push into the playoff race. personally, i am not optimistic. i see a team with talent enough to run a disciplined, high-post oriented pick and roll offense through their extremely gifted third year center, and i hear keith smart talking about a harlem globetrotters team from the early 40's, as if that's the way to help a young patchwork team reign themselves in. there are some positives. james johnson and thomas robinson will add some much-needed depth in the hustle-and-scrap game, but, if the kings remain an undisciplined team under keith smart, there will not be enough consistency on the defensive end to keep the kings in the hunt for a playoff spot. with our luck, sacramento will be the losingest team amongst those on the bubble out west. we'll likely get beat up on by every team we have to stay competitive against in order to become relevant again; teams with major injuries will look to the kings for opportunities to make up ground within the conference. it could get ugly. i sure do hope i'm wrong, though. it could get better. i just have a hard time seeing it happen under the direction of keith smart...

I think the looming question is, just what do you have against midget coaches?

 

[Padrino]

I think the looming question is, just what do you have against midget coaches?

haha, nothing against midget coaches. just opposed to midget lineups...

 

[Kingsfan23]

No, because the NBA offered to front the money and even contribute $7 million to cover up the gap that was stalling the effort.

They are banking on revenue sharing to make money. For themselves. Until they can unload the team for a huge profit, preferrably in a large market where they can maximize their profit.

In my opinion a major block that is stalling the effort is they might not have the collateral to put up on this new loan. It was a major point of contention for them both on the original deal, and the re-convening that took place in Sacramento, and one just has to analyze their financial portfolio (that is evident to the public) to see this might be the block.

If this is indeed the case, then we are I guess going to remain at this point. The Maloofs will never publically admit this sticking point, and it seems apparent the city cant work around it

 

[Jose]

In my opinion a major block that is stalling the effort is they might not have the collateral to put up on this new loan. It was a major point of contention for them both on the original deal, and the re-convening that took place in Sacramento, and one just has to analyze their financial portfolio (that is evident to the public) to see this might be the block.

If this is indeed the case, then we are I guess going to remain at this point. The Maloofs will never publically admit this sticking point, and it seems apparent the city cant work around it

I believe their issue with collateral was related to refinancing their existing loan, not with the money being offered by the NBA. They may have had issues with that too, since the league would have a stake on the team as their collateral, but I don't think they ever voiced an issue with taking the league's money. It was about the refinancing of their existing debt to the city.