Round and Round We Go

Well, by the end of today I was hoping to have better news than what I do. However, I don't have bad news, it just isn't what I would consider good news, so let's split it and say it's okay news.

Today should have been the end of it. The Board of Governors should have either voted for or against the move. That isn't exactly what happened though. With Commissioner Stern saying that both Anaheim and Sacramento presentations were compelling, the BOG is not receiving complete enough information. Stern called the Anaheim presentation "incomplete". In what could be seen as glass half full, or glass half empty, Stern announced that the NBA would grant a second extension on the relocation deadline for the Maloofs. The new deadline is now May 2, 2011.

In another twist of this ongoing saga, Mayor Kevin Johnson, as he put it "suited up for the Sacramento Kings" for the first time in his life. The last anyone knew when Johnson flew to New York, after making a brief showing at the Kings season finale loss to the Lakers on Wednesday, was the proposal that was made semi-public by Chris Webber on TNT. No one saw what he presented coming. Johnson, along with Sacramento lobbyist Darius Anderson, presented a proposal that now has billionaire Ronald Burkle in talks to buy the Kings, or at least working to keep them in town. There are three scenarios that Johnson is hoping for.

1. Best Case: Kings and Maloofs remain in Sacramento. With support from Burkle, something could possible work out and come together to get things done in Sacramento. Also, it appears as if Johnson and Anderson are saying the corporate support, once thought to be non-existent, is in place for $8 million annually should the Kings stay and that has the NBA interested. Especially with an expected announcement that changes profit sharing for small market teams in the NBA.
   
2. Less Likely Case: If, and that's a huge if people, the Maloofs decide to sell the franchise (keep in mind they have said over and over that the team is not for sale) there is an ownership group, Burkle and associates, lined up and ready to buy the Kings and keep them in Sacramento.
3. Fan Disapproved Case: That if the worst does happen and the Maloofs relocate the Kings to Anaheim, that with Burkle and the ownership group in place, the NBA would consider moving another team to Sacramento. Burkle is worth an estimated $3.2 billion and money talks.
   

I say that scenario three is the "fan disapproved case" because I do not feel that Sacramento is fighting for just any NBA team. This town loves the Kings. This town wants the players they have watched here, they don't want new players and a new team. In time, would we all grow to love whatever team should take the place of the Kings? I am sure we all would, but for now, it's the one thing we do not want to see happen.

I have said it, people I know have said it, and those in sports news have said it, the NBA owns the Hornets. If the Maloofs are so dead set on owning an NBA franchise, many are calling for a franchise swap. The Hornets are in the playoffs this season and have top point guard Chris Paul. There is no doubt that owning the Hornets should make anyone happy. I say do something with that. Sacramento wants our team and our players, the Maloofs seem to want an NBA team, is it the Kings? Possibly because of the family history and their father's legacy is wrapped with the Kings.

To make things even more confusing. Since issuing the extension to further figure out the plans of both Anaheim and Sacramento, the head of the relocation committee in charge of the new fact-finding mission is none other than Seattle's own Clay Bennett. This has everyone going, "Huh?" I have seen many references to his appointment from a wolf in the hen house, to Kobe is in charge of the newly formed diversity committee for the NBA. Basically what it boils down to is who is Bennett fighting for? Kings fans and Sacramento or the Maloofs and Anaheim? He is the former owner of the Seattle SuperSonics who shipped them off to Oklahoma City in 2008. It's raising eyebrows all over. Is he trying to correct his mistake by some how trying to make a mends by helping Sacramento keep its sole professional sports team? Or is he pro-relocation, and does he understand what moving means to the Maloofs? He's in charge of figuring out if the facts presented by Mayor Johnson are indeed facts. This seems as if he is more enemy than not, but no one really knows. It is well documented that Bennett and Los Angeles Lakers owner, Dr. Jerry Buss, are pretty close friends. Why does this matter? Well, Buss is quite possibly the loudest adversary to the relocation efforts.

All I can say is stay tuned Kings fans, the fight is not yet over. Here We Stay, Here We Build, Here We Belong!

Fans Turn to Social Media to Connect

Years ago the best interaction you could have with fellow fans was to either have them in your home or attend a game. Now, with the evolution of social media fans can interact in a number of ways.

The ability to connect with fans started with Facebook. You can join the fan page of your favorite team and interact with fans from all over the world. Twitter is now the best way, in my opinion, to interact with fellow fans, employees, and players of your favorite teams. With these two social media giants comes great inside information on deals and events surrounding your team. With the advances in social media, comes a new opportunity for Kings fans, and other sports fans as well, live blogs.

As powered by Cover-It-Live, the Kings run an live blog during games. This is the best way for fans to connect with each other. In the Kings blog (or chat as it is commonly referred to as) there is a bond among the fans. It doesn't matter where you are from, who your favorite player is, what your favorite moment has been, or if you are frustrated with the lack of wins in a particular season. Game after game, Kings fans log onto Kings.com to join their "Chat Family" to discuss the current game and events of the team. All fans are welcome! Fans are respectful of opposing teams fans who often come in to chat with Kings fans during the games, everyone is welcome! While last season this chat saw low attendees, this season has been drastically different. With nearly 50 fans checking in for the Boston game and many others checking in consistently throughout the season, it is no wonder many are calling it the best chat in the league. It is in my opinion that every team should offer this type of interaction for their fans!

It is amazing how many fans the Kings have. It is not just local fans either. There are a lot of locals as well as chatters from throughout California, but it extends far beyond the boarders of California. There are chatters from Florida, Oregon, Arizona, Washington, Pennsylvania, New York, Colorado, and Kentucky- that should be no surprise with the addition of former Wild Cat DeMarcus Cousins. The Kings also have international fans. Israel should not surprise anyone, just as Cousins has pulled all of Big Blue Nation's attention to Sacramento, Omri Casspi has done the same with those in Israel. We also boast fans from the Philippines, Ireland, Chile, Argentina, and Germany.

In honor of the international fans I leave you with this:

Mabuhay Kings!
Vamos Kings!
Ir Reis!
gehen Köngie!
לך המלכים
GO KINGS!

Kings Topple Champs

Going into tonight's game at Staples Center the records stood as Kings (10-33) Lakers (33-13), nearly mirror images of each other. To make matters worse, the Kings had lost their last eight meetings with the Lakers. Things did not look positive, but as any true Kings fan will tell you, "We still believe!"

After a 21-point first quarter show from Kobe Bryant, it had many Kings fans wondering if they were about to see another record breaking night from Bryant, who is on a journey up the NBA's All Time Scorers ladder. Despite the strong start for Bryant, he slowed down, but still finished with 38 points to lead all scorers. But the real story here is the play of the Kings and their young rookie.

DeMarcus Cousins took control early. Less than two minutes into the game Cousins picked up his first foul. This was a bad sign to fans as Cousins has tacked on five and six fouls in the last two games for the Kings. A bad omen this was not. Cousins made shot after shot, play after play. He finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocked shots, all while with only 1 foul for the whole game. Cousins was helped out by his teammates tonight with Casspi finishing with 20, Dalembert 18, Evans 13, and Landry 12.

Tonight the Kings played a full 48 minutes of basketball. There were no late fourth quarter collapses, no implosions, no selfish play. The Kings were a unit tonight in a statement win over the defending champions. While the Kings only have 11 wins starting the second half of the season, Kings fans are still standing strong behind them. As the story title for Sports Center read, "Lakers Crowned", and they weren't talking about their championship win either!

Final score- Kings 100 Lakers 95. Biggest win of the season! Go Kings!

Does It Get Any Better?

Last year I could pick my top Tyreke Evans plays for my own personal favorite highlight reel. They included the second best comeback in NBA history with the 35-point come from behind win in Chicago, the first game against Brandon Jennings and practical buzzer beater win, the buzzer beater against the Nuggets, and the steal on Gilbert Arenas only to get fouled and ice the two free throws to win the game, and the infamous free throw that sealed his place in history with 20-5-5 and eventual NBA Rookie of the Year honors.

Tyreke by all accounts is a quiet, reserved young man. He rarely shows emotion on the court good or bad. Sure he explodes to the rim and there is energy, but there were not many occasions where you could read what the then 20-year old was thinking last season. There were bursts of emotions after a few of the games mentioned above, but nothing like we saw from the now 21-year old last night.

Tyreke said many times last year his top moment on the court was the first official buzzer beater against the Nuggets to win the game. He said he always wanted to hit the game winning shot with a buzzer beater. As great as that first one was, one would have to think that after last night's miracle shot that that shot catapulted to the top of the list. I cannot tell you how far he made the shot from. No one else seems to really know either, as I have heard 45, 50, 55, and 60 feet claims. All I know for sure is that it was well beyond the traditional half court shot...and it was nothing but the bottom of the net! After such an amazing shot Tyreke exhibited energy that encompassed what all Kings fans felt at that moment. With teammate Donte Greene already on the court before the ball was even close to the net ready to celebrate as if he knew it was in, Tyreke dodged what would have been a pile at the free throw line and in a running leap, jumped onto the scorers table and took what looked like a bow. In reality the bow was his momentum carrying him forward and that of Greene joining him along with Jeter atop the table, but a bow would have been well deserved. At this moment I cannot think of a better way to have ended the 2010 portion of the season. Here's hoping that that shot gives Tyreke and the rest of the Kings players the confidence that seems to have been lacking lately and sends the team on a winning streak that allows them to climb out of the NBA basement!

My One and Done of "The Incident"

Okay Kings fans, we all know that over 2 months ago Kings guard Tyreke Evans made a horrible decision. He was drive on California State Highway 80 going at speeds reported as high as 130 mph. I will be the first of Evans' fans to say, "What the $%*! were you [Tyreke] thinking?" Anyone who lives in the Sacramento area and drives on I-80 knows how dangerous it is at the posted 65 mph speed limit, and going as fast as he was in any circumstance was not smart. Those speeds are reserved for NASCAR races, and Tyreke is no NASCAR driver. Thankfully, not he or anyone else was hurt or killed in the incident. This is the only time I plan to fully offer my opinion for all to read about because the story needs to die.

Last night I was Tweeting with Doc Evans, Tyreke's older brother and legal guardian, this conversation on Twitter sparked numerous others that I began having last night. The majority of this story has been brought back up because Evans' NASCAR audition reel was released by the California Highway Patrol (bad move by the way). To add more fuel to the fire, Sacramento Bee "writer" Alien Voisin has written and article I refuse to support by linking you to. Check out anything she's written in the Sac Bee and you will see why. Voisin appears to have something against 20-year old Evans. She put him on blast in her recent article. What I don't understand, and there's a lot in this case, is this: 1: How can the Bee allow her to publish the articles she is posting that are clearly clouded by her personal dislike of Evans? 2: What is her problem with him? 3: How does his speeding incident affect his ability to lead, even play the game? I have a speculation on 2 of these questions. It is no surprise that in the 2009-2010 NBA Draft that Kings fans and area sports writers, including Voisin, wanted to draft Rubio. Well, I for one was not one of these people, but upon disregarding fans and reporters wants alike, the Kings took the best player in the draft, evident by his Rookie of the Year honors. It has been speculated that Voisin is taking her anger for snubbing Rubio out on Evans, and for what? I can honestly not see Rubio in a Kings uniform even if we had taken him. A better team drafted him, did he really want to play for the worst team in the league? He won't come in from overseas and has yet to play an NBA game. This season looks to be no different. So what, if the Kings had stuck with Voisin's choice and the fan favorite, we'd be lacking a guard for 2 seasons...and still sitting in dead last. As I told Doc Evans and other friends last night, "Tyreke revived Kings Fans, he saved this team and I will gladly take +8 in the win column and Rookie of the Year over a player who has yet to prove himself on any NBA team." So my advice to Voisin, who has to be the only one in Sacramento still upset about the pick of Evans, "GET OVER IT! WE STRUCK GOLD!" Now, her opinion that his lack of maturity in this incident somehow means he is no longer the 20-5-5 player he was just 4 months ago, cannot lead the team, and should be suspended. Well, I assure you that his incident has nothing to do with his basketball talent. Tyreke has demonstrated his will to improve his game, making the questions about his lack of a work ethic absurd. I know he made a mistake, he knows he made a mistake, everyone knows he made a mistake. He has apologized for his lack of judgement and as far as I know Kings fans have forgiven him. He has received his punishment legally and personally. But it's time to move on.

And that is my one and done on this incident. LET IT DIE!!!!!!

First look

With a rather torrent media frenzy in the past week over where King James was going to land, I am happy to announce that the circus is finally over! Now we can all get back to what is really important--the actual game of basketball!

Tomorrow marks the first opportunity for Kings fans to witness the newest and possible future members of the Kings. Already signed to a 1-year league minimum deal is former Texas A&M guard, Donald Sloan. Apparently, the Kings coaching staff was impressed with what they saw during the mini-camp practices held before Vegas Summer League officially kicked off for Sacramento.

It is clear that excitement is building in Sacramento over the bright future ahead of our young squad. Last night, hundreds of eager Kings fans gathered at the new Kings on L location to meet newest Kings DeMarcus Cousins and Hassan Whiteside along with last year's rookie Omri Casspi, an instant star in the Sacramento community, and fan favorite Donte Greene. Fans were also given the opportunity to purchase the newly launched "Kings Quarter Season Pass" which offers an 11 game package, including the first home game, and a series of packs that either showcase Lebron and the Heat, two showcase Kobe and the Lakers, or one offer for all weekend games. The package offers the busy Kings fan an opportunity to feel like a real part of the season ticket holder family without the big financial hit! To get your tickets now go to Kings.com

Kings fans on Twitter, Facebook, or connected to the Sacramento Bee or its reporters have heard the more than positive reports from the Kings summer league practices. In my opinion, the news coming in about Cousins will leave 3 teams kicking themselves for not taking the risk on his reported immature attitude! I still stand by my first opinion on DMC...he's 19! We were all a little authority challenged, wild, and just wanted to have fun. But DMC haters, please keep in mind that this kid lacks any involvement in serious offseason or off court problems.

The future is looking bright in Sacramento, not just on talent, but on long term life of the Kings in Sacramento. All reports are that the plans for a new arena are coming along and that plans for the land-swap agreement are moving forward with great progress. There is still no official go ahead on the new Arena, but it's certainly a more positive view than it was this time last year!

Good luck to all 13 players (yes the original roster is 3 men short) tomorrow and throughout the Vegas Summer League. I am one Kings fan parking myself in front a of TV tomorrow to get my first glimpse at what could be one of the most amazing seasons of basketball we've seen in awhile!

Summer League Schedule

In case you wanted to know here is the 2010 Kings Vegas Summer League schedule.

Monday July 12

3:00 pm vs Detroit

Tuesday July 13

5:30 pm vs Lakers

Wednesday July 14

7:00 pm vs Minnesota

Friday July 16

3:00 pm vs Toronto

Saturday July 17

5:30 pm vs Chicago

Sunday July 18

5:00 vs Dallas

NBA TV is scheduled to air 4 Kings summer league games Detroit, Minnesota, Toronto, and Dallas games. I'd personally prefer to see the Laker game over Minnesota. Tune in and see how the potential new Kings do!

Summer League

2010 Las Vegas Kings Summer League team roster has been finalized.

1. Omri Casspi SF 6'9 225 lbs. Israel
2. Donte Greene SF 6'11 226 lbs. Syracuse
3. DeMarcus Cousins C 6'11 270 lbs. Kentucky
4. Hassan Whiteside C 7'0 235 lbs. Marshall
5. Connor Archley F-C 6'10 225 lbs. Texas
6. Dionte Christmas G 6'5 205 lbs. Temple
7. Wayne Chism F 6'9 246 lbs. Tennessee
8. Devan Downey G-F 5'9 170 lbs. South Carolina
9. Lee Cummard G-F 6'7 190 lbs. BYU
10. Jason Ellis F 6'7 200 lbs. Boise State
11. Steven Hill C 7'0 245 lbs. Arkansas
12. Tyren Johnson F 6'8 204 lbs. Louisiana-Lafayette
13. Sylven Landesberg G 6'6 207 lbs. Virginia
14. Tyrese Rice G 6'1 190 lbs. Boston College
15. Donald Sloan G 6'3 205 lbs. Texas A&M
16. Ryan Thompson G 6'6 220 lbs. Rider

Before the actual analysis begins...am I the only one who thinks names will become an issue during practice and games? A Dionte and a Donte? A Tyrese and Tyren not to mention coaches in the habit of calling out to Tyreke? I'm confused just writing this! Thank goodness I'm not coaching!

I'm not going to sell you on current Kings players. If you haven't heard of the two returning players or read my opinions on the two newest members of the Kings...well read my previous posts and get with it! Kidding, but read up on who they are and what they bring to the team on mine and other sites!

Thompson:

A sentimental favorite of mine would be Ryan Thompson. I was hoping he'd get drafted on draft day, but it wasn't in the cards. I thought he would go to San Antonio personally, but I am happy he's playing on our summer league team. I figure we have brothers running things off the court why not have brothers on the court right? We did it once, well sort of, with Mike Bibby and Eddie House (yes they are brother-in-laws). Ryan has a good game, but it's not what I would consider well rounded. He has a good outside shot. Reviewing his sophomore and junior seasons he shot over 42% in both. He didn't have his best shooting year during his senior season. He has an established jumper and can take the ball inside and attack the basket. His biggest improvement needs to come in his defensive game. He has a realistic chance to make the Kings training camp roster, or any teams roster as he is confirmed for Boston's summer league team as well, by proving he can be that long range 3-point shooter in an NBA environment.

Landesberg:

When watching highlight videos, one could only notice the similarities between he and Tyreke. Not saying he's as good as Tyreke is, but he drives to the basket and scores a lot in the paint. He's a good rebounder and FT shooter. He lacks an outside shot shooting 38% 3 pt in his sophomore season.

Christmas:

High scoring ability. Like Kevin Martin, his shot is a little unorthodox, but he finds the bottom of the net more often than not so who cares what it looks like right? He's a good defender, but he lacks athleticism for a guard.

Chism:

He's QUICK!!! He lacks an outside shot with a 32% 3 pt in college and lacks the height and athleticism. The Kings have a pretty stacked front court already and he doesn't add enough to be a likely candidate for a Kings jersey.

Atchley:

Former D-League player for Iowa and Dakota teams. Decent numbers 16.1 ppg 9.5 boards, nearly a double-double. He lacks strength though.

Cummard:

Great shooter! While at BYU never shot under 51.7%, 85+% FT 2 of 3 years, 40+% 3-point shot. However, he's a spot-up shooter and it is unknown if he will be able to create his own shots in the NBA.

Downey:

Decent scorer, perhaps best known for his game against Kentucky in the SEC game. He's more of a SG than a PG and he's lacking size at 5'9"! Come on I'm that tall and I shouldn't be as tall as NBA players if you ask me! Unless your name is Nate Robinson or Muggsy Bogues!

Rice:

Moves well and is a good scorer. Again, he's not that athletic of a PF

Hill:

A former D-League player, did a short stint with Oklahoma City Thunder in 2009. He's a solid defender, but again, Kings are loaded in the front court.

Ellis:

He rebounds well. Aside from that, there's virtually nothing out there on this guy.

Sloan:

Athletic enough, lacks defensive skill set and outside shooting ability.

Johnson:

Sort of athletic, decent off the boards for his senior season, but he has a problem with TURN OVERS! We need to value the ball more as we had an issue with that last season, we don't need another butterfingers on the court!

Some have asked me the following questions, where is Brockman, JT, and Reke? Well, I have the answer to some of those.

I am not sure why Brockman is not listed on the roster as most anticipated he would be. Maybe the Kings feel he doesn't need to prove himself for his spot since they locked him up at least as a restricted free agent going into this all important Summer of Lebron (AKA 2010 Free Agency). JT isn't joining his little brother on the courts in Vegas because he's considered a proven player. This isn't to say that his buddy Donte Greene isn't, but JT isn't leaving Sac in the foreseeable future, so he doesn't have to head to Vegas, but I'm sure he will be there to cheer little bro Ryan on. Tyreke....really? Do you have to ask? One, he's ROY is there any doubt of his skills? Two, he's working out with Team USA and the Kings decided not to take the risk of injuring their star player (see Clippers and Blake Griffin). Tyreke expressed interest in playing for the Summer League team, but the organization decided to protect their assets!

Suspension for Criticism-Fair or Not? You Decide

In the last week, before a game 3 ball was jumped for, the NBA made a quick $105,000.00 off three NBA members( 2 coaches, 1 player) for comments about the officiating. David Stern is none to happy about the continued criticism being made of his referees, especially by coaches, namely Phil Jackson. Jackson seems to be fined more than anyone else in sports and it never seems to get any better. At some point one would think that the fines, for someone who is as rich as Jackson probably is, is like asking Donald Trump to pay a $1000.00 fine, it's chump change! Should suspensions be handed out to coaches who are critical of playoff calls? I for one don't know. It is clear that just a big fine isn't preventing the criticism from coming, but suspending coaches, especially during the playoffs, is more of a punishment to the team than the coach. For that reason alone, I'm inclined to lean to the no suspension side of this argument. A coach should know better! They are adults and they are supposed to be professionals and just take it like a man. As Kings fan, we all know all too well the heart ache that comes with bad calls, not just during the regular season. Dare to revisit that horrible set of games against the Lakers Conference Finals? I for one don't want to revisit it! Sterns argument is that if enough coaches start criticizing the officiating then fans will start to see a conspiracy afloat. Need we have another Tim Donaghy, the ref who was exposed for betting scandal, and who officiated those crucial Kings/Lakers playoff games. No Laker fan at the time would admit to there being any obvious blown calls...the first time it was mentioned to me was over 6 years later when the scandal broke. Laker fans got a dose of what that felt like in the 2007-2008 against the Boston Celtics when they cried foul [pun intended] about the officiating...or lack there of. Calls are bound to be missed in the live action that is sports! Some are blatantly and painfully obvious others are judgement calls. But there is nothing you can do to change it! It is what it is...sure it sucks, but as professional players and coaches you just have to take it. Sometimes there is a call that can decide a game, but more often than not, a game isn't decided by a few bad calls.

So back to Phil and his group of guys...Phil complains and whines about Kevin Durant getting "star treatment" all year long. Well, if you ask me, he's got one of those super star treated players on his team, you know Kobe Bryant right? Bryant complains about more shots and missed calls or calls than any other player I know! If Kobe misses a shot, he throws a fit because he MUST have been fouled because super stars don't miss right?! Superstars probably get more calls than the average guy, but that's not just because they are superstars. A superstar player has to take it to the rim, be aggressive, and create contact, it's why they are superstars. But what they do get is the ability to bicker a little more without getting the technical thrown at them. Although, the refs seem to be getting tired of their whiney attitudes as Superstars Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard have 13 and 16 technicals respectively as of 4/6/10. These numbers put them in the top 4 most t-ed up players in the league. I am happy to report that no Kings player appeared on the list of 24 for most t-ed up players with the 24 spot being tied with 7 players receiving 6.

Basically my point is shut up and play basketball. Sometimes there is cause for the complaint...see Stephen Jackson of the Bobcats already in the playoffs...Captain Jack was turned into a pirate with his head band being knocked down around his eyes when he took it to the rim and no call was made. He had a point when he was expressing his feelings of the no call to the refs being seen saying "How did this happen?!" empathically! He had a point, but at the same time, they aren't going to call a foul that late after it happens. There is no going back to the review booth to see none calls you can just move on and play through it. Use it as motivation if you must, get mad and take it to the rim and get the call!