You have to feel bad for Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson. When it looked like the Kings were on the verge of bolting out of the city last year, Mayor Johnson threw everything he had into convincing the Maloof brothers, who own the franchise, to remain in Sacramento while the two sides worked on a plan for a new arena. The Maloofs, facing significant public pressure, succombed when it seemed a certainty they would head south to Anaheim.
Where does that leave us today? In about the same place, except with such clownish behavior from the Maloofs -- George in particular -- that reports from a press conference today sounded more like a dispatch from a Peter Sellers movie than real life. The Maloofs called a press conference in New York (NEW YORK!) to discuss their opposition to Sacramento's proposal for a new arena, which the city said it would provide within a year of their verbal agreement with the Maloofs last February.
With the city having done its part, the Maloofs had to come up with some bullsh*t as to why they needed to leave small-market Sacramento for a Los Angeles area that already has two NBA teams. So the Maloofs let this guy stand up to talk about their issues with the city's proposal:
Curly, you're up! What do you have to say? (Quotes from Zack Harper via Twitter, and it's really, really difficult to decide which ones are real and which are jokes.)
"I don't understand your question and I don't agree with your question."
"I'm defending myself because the mayor called me a liar. What did he call me? I didn't read it."
Joe and Gavin Maloof are the principle brothers behind the Sacramento Kings, but clearly they're all clowns. The worst part is that they seem to assume that no one remembers their agreements from last year, or other disastrous business deals that may be affecting this current battle. What you think that when you claim arena renovations are an option, everyone will conveniently forget that you had previously said EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE?
Wait, no. The worst part is that none of this matters. The press can complain all it wants, but the bottom line is that if the Maloofs want to move the franchise, they can and they will. Their only significant opposition would be the NBA's Board of Governors (which meets later this week), but EVERY NBA owner has a vested interest in allowing the Maloofs to do whatever they want. Each owner must privately think, "That could one day be me." To top it off the head of the NBA's Relocation Committee is Oklahoma City Thunder owner Clay Bennett, who pulled the exact same stunt in Seattle. Bennett initially claimed he wanted to keep the team in the Northwest, but eventually a lack of a suitable new arena deal "forced" him to move the team to his home state.
Sound familiar? The Maloofs may be idiots, but they're rich, deeply entrenched idiots. I would be shocked if the NBA stands up to them, almost as shocked as if they agree to a long-term deal that would keep the franchise in Sacramento. Sorry, Kings fans. You had a good run.
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