Basketball's Vagabonds

The Sacramento Kings have been one of the most traveled franchises in the NBA. They began their existence in Rochester, New York, as the Rochester Royals in 1945. The Royals joined the NBA in 1948, as part of a merger between the BAA and NBL. During their time in Rochester, the Royals would win the only two championships in the team's history, the first in 1946 with Otto Graham of football fame, and the second in 1951. In 1957, they moved from Rochester to Cincinnati, where they kept the Royals name. From there, they moved to Kansas City in 1972, becoming the Kings, as the baseball Royals had already been established. Then, in 1985, the franchise finished it's migration west, moving to Sacramento.

Enter the Maloof's. They bought into the Kings franchise in 1998 as a minority partner, before purchasing a majority stake in 1999. Prior to this, their father owed the Houston Rockets, which they inherited upon his sudden death in 1980. They sold the Rockets in 1982, at a time when the NBA was struggling financially, and there were questions regarding the solvency of the league. This was a move they had regretted since.

Now, the elder Maloof had money, which was passed down to his children. In addition to the Kings, the Maloofs also built a billion dollar hotel/casino at the Palms in Las Vegas. Shortly after this occurred, the economy crashed and the real estate bubble burst. As such, they have serious cash flow problems presently. The Maloofs folded their WNBA team (a wise move, since that league is nothing more than a financial sinkhole) and sold their family's liquor distributor. They also have a seriously large amount of debt with their casino, which is being purchased by Harrah's for a possible takeover.

This puts them in a bad spot, where they have to either sell the Kings or sell the casino/hotel. In typical spoiled rich kid fashion, they refuse to do either. Instead, they are threatening to move the Kings yet again, this time to Anaheim. What is lost in all of this is that Sacramento loaned the Kings $77 million, which they have yet to pay back, and that the Maloofs are trying to get Anaheim to pay for the franchise relocation fee.

The reason why they claim that they need to move is because they feel that the Kings cannot be profitable in Sacramento. They want to move to a bigger market with a new arena. However, there are two teams presently in the playoffs that play in a small market with an average arena - Portland and Oklahoma City. While the Thunder did move from Seattle, Oklahoma City is not a bigger market. Both teams drafted well, made smart trades, and built around a talented core of youngsters. The Kings gave Chris Webber, and his tenuous health, a large contract, and have been mediocre at best since. There is a blueprint for winning in small markets, as long as the front office and ownership are savvy enough to follow it.

Enter the potential hero. Kevin Johnson, the former NBA shooting guard, happens to be the mayor of Sacramento. Johnson realizes how much the Kings mean to the city, the fans, and other businesses. In order to try to prevent their move, he has lined up sponsors that have pledged over $10 million for next season. He has promised to do everything he can to get the Kings a new arena. And he has located investors to purchase the Kings and keep them in Sacramento. Meanwhile, the NBA has pretty much yawned at this effort.

Now, enter David Stern. Speculation is that Stern, in his mafia boss like way, is looking to take over the Kings, much as the NBA has with the Hornets. This is not being done for any love of the fans in Sacramento, but rather as an extra bargaining chip for the inevitable lockout. The prevailing thought is that he will threaten to contract both the Kings and Hornets to force the player's association into agreeing to his terms. If they refuse, good bye teams. David Stern doesn't care about the fans or the players, David Stern cares about David Stern getting his own way.

To further the NBA monkey wrench, teams that want to move have their possible relocation looked at by a committee, which must then approve the move. The head of the relocation committee? None other than Clay Bennett, who stole the SuperSonics from Seattle. As if he'll stop anyone from moving their team.

In short, fans of the Kings in Sacramento are screwed. The best case scenario is that Kevin Johnson comes in on his white horse and saves the day. It's too bad that the odds are stacked against him.