Stern suggests "Cooling off period" between Maloofs and City re: arena
- Thread starter BMiller52
- Start date
This gives me hope. And it reinforces my belief that David Stern does, in fact, have the best interests of Sacramento and Kings fans at heart.
Read more here: http://blogs.sacbee.com/city-beat/2...in-sacramento-arena-effort.html#storylink=cpy
Read more here: http://blogs.sacbee.com/city-beat/2...in-sacramento-arena-effort.html#storylink=cpy
Glenn
Hall of Famer
I don't have so much hope. The city was given a year to figure out a financial deal that would fund an arena. If they didn't find it, the Kings would be able to relocate. Simple.
Well, the city, its fans, and the NBA negotiating for the Maloofs (bizarre) did exactly what was asked and now the only people being punished are the city and its fans. And now we need to "cool off?" This proves that the power of the NBA is limited. They cannot control their teams when push comes to shove because of anti-trust reasons. Let all cities beware!
Well, the city, its fans, and the NBA negotiating for the Maloofs (bizarre) did exactly what was asked and now the only people being punished are the city and its fans. And now we need to "cool off?" This proves that the power of the NBA is limited. They cannot control their teams when push comes to shove because of anti-trust reasons. Let all cities beware!
Except the City DID. The NBA can't stop the Maloofs from moving their team but they can certainly stop them from moving to Anaheim either by voting it down directly or with a (justifiably) enormous relocation fee.
If the Maloofs have a burning desire to head to Kansas City then that changes things significantly. But if their intentions are Anaheim or bust (and they certainly appear to be) then I don't see them getting their way on this one.
It would be a huge black mark for the NBA to allow it to happen.
Glenn
Hall of Famer
I don't understand what you mean when you say the city DID. What did they do that I didn't mention?
I think Stern is just being diplomatic. He can't say that he wants the Maloofs to sell the team because that plays into their anti-trust hand (which is the only hand they've got left at this point, even if it's bound to lose). But the subtext of his comment is that he still thinks a new arena can get built in Sacramento. The Maloofs are either going to crawl back to the negotiating table with even less leverage than they had before or they're going to continue shooting themselves in the foot, but either way it's on them. The NBA won't get involved one way or another until they have to.
I was actually reaffirming your point. The city did everything asked. Pretty hard to allow Sacramento to lose the Kings
Glenn
Hall of Famer
AHA! Sorry. This is all nerve wracking.
Glenn
Hall of Famer
Am I the only person wondering why the Maloof family chose George to be their spokesperson? A chat between KJ and Gavin and Joe could be interesting unless George has a gag order placed on his brothers. At the least I hope KJ finds out if the whole family is on board with what is going on. There is a foolish part of me that believes that at the least Gavin is not onboard with the attitude being represented by George. It may be that the family is backed into a financial corner and don't have enough money to run an NBA team but do they really want to be represented by the classless George?
Edit: Steinberg nailed it with his comments.
Another edit: I think the family chose George because if everything works out fine and the team stays, they don't want Gavin or Joe to look like iceholes as they will be the public face of the Maloof family representing the Kings.
Edit: Steinberg nailed it with his comments.
Another edit: I think the family chose George because if everything works out fine and the team stays, they don't want Gavin or Joe to look like iceholes as they will be the public face of the Maloof family representing the Kings.
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You're not alone in that regard.
Dreamtiger
G-League
Any discussion about the Kings future in Sacramento that doesn't involve George is pointless. It's weird to me why it seems that George is calling the shots-- it's like the older bros are scared puppies in his presence. Aren't Joe & Gavin still President & Vice President of their company? And George the casino/hotel guy? Or did something change in the family hierarchy when they had to give up most of the Palms? Either George has got his brothers by the stones for some reason or they're all in on it together but playing the good cop/bad cop routine like others have mentioned. Either way, KJ isn't going to get anything accomplished by talking to Joe & Gavin, unless he can give them a wedgie and make them spill the beans about the family's true goals.
And George's quote from the News 10 story is a joke-- suggesting that the Maloof's financial contribution wasn't enough for the city, when it certainly was-- it was all of the absurd peripheral issues that brought the deal down. The guy's a snake and a con artist.
And George's quote from the News 10 story is a joke-- suggesting that the Maloof's financial contribution wasn't enough for the city, when it certainly was-- it was all of the absurd peripheral issues that brought the deal down. The guy's a snake and a con artist.
I can see a little wiggle room where the city might be able to work on a few issues. But there are just some things in there that will NEVER fly no matter how long they talk or hold their breath. The city will never refinance the '97 loan without security. Either the Maloofs or the NBA will have to come up with something. The city will not put it's assets on the line. The other non-negotiable item is the condition about the sale of the team not being binding to terms for new owners. George must have been popping oxys and drinking on that one. The early lease termination is very problematic too in case there are bonds used to fund part of the construction. Bond ratings would suffer dramatically if there wasn't some stiff lease agreement.
Livinthedream
All-Star
Divide and conquer. Empower the other brothers.
kennadog
Dog On It!
I second this! I hate George. Somebody needs to tell George his hair looks like a leftover from the Disco era. Yes, I'm being petty and mean. I'm still not over last week.
The Hammer
All-Star
I don't think so. His hair is horrible. The fact that that message hasn't gotten through is symbol of the man's gargantuan ego.
Even in the 70s, you only did that hair cause you had to, but you would've at least put some product in it.
He truly has the worst hair I've seen on a public person in a long time. Oh but it's his "trademark". Ok.
The Hammer
All-Star
If it was a ticket surcharge technically the fans are paying.
The 67 mil was put on the table for them, but sure we'll give them that.
And the amount they "put up" WAS good enough for the city, given their status as tenants, and if they would have paid normal taxes and operating expenses and put up the normal collateral and... and... now it's starting to become a merry go round.
I'm sure that they figure a ticket price is a ticket price, and if they can sell a ticket at $50 face with $3.50 in surcharges, then without the surcharges they could sell it at $53.50 face.
But they never seem to factor the 8 kajillion dollars in fees that Ticketmaster tacks on (I mean, you MUST be able to contract with a distributor who takes a more reasonable cut) as "money they're paying" so I'm not sure it holds water.
The 67 million amounts to paying their lease. The NBA fronts the money so they can start construction and the Kings make loan payments back to the NBA. It's actually more of an operating expense than a debt. But not too bad when you consider that it means they are only making a yearly "lease" payment a little over 2 million and locked in for 30 years. By NBA standards, it's a sweet deal. Where it looks ugly is they also have to repay the '97 city loan. Complete with balloon payments hitting in a few years.
