http://www.sacbee.com/voisin/story/1708635.html
Voisin: Maloof turns to father's teachings
By Ailene Voisin
Published: Wednesday, Mar. 18, 2009 - 12:00 am | Page 1C
I don't want to say this is a new and improved Joe Maloof. True, he has two new knees. But when approached Friday during the Kings-Cavaliers game while he was half-leaning, half-sitting on a stool near the east baseline, the uptick in attitude was a stunner.
I asked myself, "Who is this guy? Where's he been? What hath he been sipping?"
Though not fully recovered from double knee replacement surgery, the Kings' co-owner was gesturing, pointing, laughing, frowning. He was engaged, funny, upbeat, an older version of the wealthy bachelor who charmed the community and presided over one of the league's most entertaining franchises.
I had more questions and wanted more answers, he wanted to watch the game, so we continued the conversation Tuesday. He was shockingly positive then, too. It was as if he finally – and honestly and truly – believes he can spin his image around by being attentive, being here, and dropping those ticket prices.
See. It's not so hard.
"We read the criticism," Maloof said. "It hurts. But they (fans) should criticize us, man. The team is terrible. I'd criticize us, too, if I was a fan. The thing is, we haven't given up. I learned from my father a long time ago that it's easy to stay down, to say, 'My knee hurts. My back hurts.'
"You have to fight that. There is so much negativity about us, about the team, about this … arena. You start to believe it. But as difficult as it is, you get back on your feet."
Some of the more relevant offerings from the hour-long discussion include these:
• Luring capacity crowds back to Arco Arena is the top priority, which means improving the product.
• The club is trying to avoid layoffs; increased attendance means jobs for ushers, security guards, concession area workers.
• The drop in season-ticket prices for 2009-10 is being well-received, with 16 front-row patrons renewing with Gavin Maloof on Monday.
• Both brothers plan to spend most of the summer at their homes here, particularly Joe now that his health has improved.
• The arena issue is out there – maybe way out there – but the family intends to persevere and would consider other local sites again if the Cal Expo proposal fails. And there are no plans to sell or move the Monarchs, either. (Colleen Maloof has a particular affinity for the 2005 WNBA champions.)
"This is where we belong," Joe Maloof said when pressed, "but I'd rather stay away from that because I don't consider that the No. 1 issue anymore. Right now we have to get fans back in Arco Arena. Bring back the anticipation. Then we gain momentum for everything else."
As he continued offering thoughts, often jumping between subjects, he sounded like someone who devours Cheerios for breakfast. No news is too grim to hear, no Kings loss too painful to bear.
"Nobody likes to be laid up," Maloof said, acknowledging his recent funk. "It does affect you. It was driving me crazy because I'm the type of guy who always has to be moving, always in the middle of things. Now I'm getting there … almost all the way back. I know what we have to do. We're going back to the basics, to the way our father taught us to run a business. You have to get the community thinking positive about the Kings again.
"But you can't demand that they feel that way. You have to earn it. We earned that in the past. We lost our way. … But we haven't given up. We've got some terrific young players in Spencer (Hawes), Jason (Thompson) and Kevin (Martin), two first-round draft picks, (Andres) Nocioni, and we're going to have the cap room soon to get a good free agent or two. It will happen."
Pausing, he added, almost as an afterthought, "We need some good news in Sacramento. We're all sick of the bad news. It hits us daily. Enough already."
Voisin: Maloof turns to father's teachings
By Ailene Voisin
Published: Wednesday, Mar. 18, 2009 - 12:00 am | Page 1C
I don't want to say this is a new and improved Joe Maloof. True, he has two new knees. But when approached Friday during the Kings-Cavaliers game while he was half-leaning, half-sitting on a stool near the east baseline, the uptick in attitude was a stunner.
I asked myself, "Who is this guy? Where's he been? What hath he been sipping?"
Though not fully recovered from double knee replacement surgery, the Kings' co-owner was gesturing, pointing, laughing, frowning. He was engaged, funny, upbeat, an older version of the wealthy bachelor who charmed the community and presided over one of the league's most entertaining franchises.
I had more questions and wanted more answers, he wanted to watch the game, so we continued the conversation Tuesday. He was shockingly positive then, too. It was as if he finally – and honestly and truly – believes he can spin his image around by being attentive, being here, and dropping those ticket prices.
See. It's not so hard.
"We read the criticism," Maloof said. "It hurts. But they (fans) should criticize us, man. The team is terrible. I'd criticize us, too, if I was a fan. The thing is, we haven't given up. I learned from my father a long time ago that it's easy to stay down, to say, 'My knee hurts. My back hurts.'
"You have to fight that. There is so much negativity about us, about the team, about this … arena. You start to believe it. But as difficult as it is, you get back on your feet."
Some of the more relevant offerings from the hour-long discussion include these:
• Luring capacity crowds back to Arco Arena is the top priority, which means improving the product.
• The club is trying to avoid layoffs; increased attendance means jobs for ushers, security guards, concession area workers.
• The drop in season-ticket prices for 2009-10 is being well-received, with 16 front-row patrons renewing with Gavin Maloof on Monday.
• Both brothers plan to spend most of the summer at their homes here, particularly Joe now that his health has improved.
• The arena issue is out there – maybe way out there – but the family intends to persevere and would consider other local sites again if the Cal Expo proposal fails. And there are no plans to sell or move the Monarchs, either. (Colleen Maloof has a particular affinity for the 2005 WNBA champions.)
"This is where we belong," Joe Maloof said when pressed, "but I'd rather stay away from that because I don't consider that the No. 1 issue anymore. Right now we have to get fans back in Arco Arena. Bring back the anticipation. Then we gain momentum for everything else."
As he continued offering thoughts, often jumping between subjects, he sounded like someone who devours Cheerios for breakfast. No news is too grim to hear, no Kings loss too painful to bear.
"Nobody likes to be laid up," Maloof said, acknowledging his recent funk. "It does affect you. It was driving me crazy because I'm the type of guy who always has to be moving, always in the middle of things. Now I'm getting there … almost all the way back. I know what we have to do. We're going back to the basics, to the way our father taught us to run a business. You have to get the community thinking positive about the Kings again.
"But you can't demand that they feel that way. You have to earn it. We earned that in the past. We lost our way. … But we haven't given up. We've got some terrific young players in Spencer (Hawes), Jason (Thompson) and Kevin (Martin), two first-round draft picks, (Andres) Nocioni, and we're going to have the cap room soon to get a good free agent or two. It will happen."
Pausing, he added, almost as an afterthought, "We need some good news in Sacramento. We're all sick of the bad news. It hits us daily. Enough already."
