Poor decision-making late cost the Sacramento Kings two winnable contests in their six-game road trip. With a stop in Miami tomorrow, their cross country travels don’t get any easier. We check in with Kings beat writer Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee with an update from the road.
Highlights
How has the team taken, especially Tyreke Evans, to Isaiah Thomas’ promotion to starting point guard? “I can’t really tell how Tyreke is taking it just yet. I just know that you can kind of tell it’s not exactly what he’s used to. But I think offensively, they look a lot better. There’s a lot more flow, the tempo was better, they run more. Isaiah does a great job of getting the ball into the post…The move is looking good so far, I just kind of wonder just how is Tyreke going to be able function without having the ball in his hands as much. Because somebody who knows him has told me, he’s had the ball in his hands his entire life. Moving him off the ball is not going to be easy.”
Why does this team have such a difficult time grasping the concept of feeding the post? “I think part of it, I call it hero syndrome. They all want to be the hero instead of just making what’s simple. And it’s almost as if there’s a mindset of ‘Wow, DeMarcus has 12 points in the first quarter already. Okay, it’s my turn to get my 12 points and and then we’ll get DeMarcus going again’ instead of just riding that out.”
More Jones on the Kings’ grasp of basic basketball principles: “A lot of it goes back to the whole idea of basketball IQ. It’s simple stuff they don’t seem to understand. That’s just basic basketball – if you have a good big, give it to your big. You give it to him and you let him set the table. I don’t know why they refuse to do that or they can’t seem to understand how to do that. But, that’s been their issue and until they figure that out, they’re going to keep having games like they’re having on this road trip. You know, you’ve gotta make the game easy. They don’t make the game easy for themselves at all.”
With the Kings on a six-game road trip beginning tomorrow in Chicago, all eyes in the region are on the game being played off-the-court. In an effort to raise funds for a new downtown arena,the Sacramento City Council votes whether to move forward on negotiating terms with a potential parking operator tomorrow. Sacramento Bee ColumnistMarcos Breton weighs in on this week’s podcast.
Highlights
On the Twitter hashtag #SayYes: ”I think it’s an expression of not only for myself, but for a lot of people, how they feel about getting this done, getting an arena done and keeping the Kings and revitalizing the downtown. The great thing about Twitter and the great thing about this particular incarnation of this arena saga in Sacramento is that this time, people have had the opportunity to express their love for the Kings and for what they represent as opposed to years passed when it was all about politics. And so, maybe if we had Twitter back in ’03, ’04, ’05, ’06 – we’d have an arena already.”
The Maloofs have seemingly let the NBA negotiate the arena deal on their behalf. Does that surprise Breton that they’re far removed from negotiations? “No, because that’s the way it’s been for a while. I think they are central to why we are at this place in Sacramento. I don’t think that they’re bad people. I just don’t think they’re very good owners.”
The arena proposal needs at least a 5-4 vote in order to move forward to the next step: “I think the five are there provided that a deal does not put the general fund in risk. If the only way they can figure this out is that if there’s cost overruns (and) that the general fund is going to be the backstop – that’s not going to fly. But I think if they can do it without doing that, then I think there’s majority to pass.”
It’s crunch-time here in the Sacramento. With less than a month until the NBA’s March 1st relocation deadline, it’s safe to say that city staff and officials have gone into overdrive in the push to build a new downtown arena. Joining us for an update on where the capital city stands is Jeremiah Jackson, project manager for Think Big Sacramento.
Highlights
So, what ‘s next? “I think there’ll be two, kind of, major steps… (The first) really will be the step to enter into the RFP (request for proposal) process (on leasing city parking spaces and garages to a private operator), which would hopefully be on the 14th (next week) or shortly thereafter. And then looking at that final step after that, which would be actually entering into a deal with the NBA…”
A report from the Seattle Times over the weekend suggested that Seattle is watching Sacramento’s situation closely as part of its efforts bring the NBA back to the Emerald City. “We’re not concerned with these other cities. I think there’s always going to be rumors until you actually get a deal done. But every indication we have is that the NBA is committed to Sacramento and that if there’s a deal to get done here…that the team will stay, that hopefully the Maloofs will remain as owners of the team and that we’ll really be able to move forward right here in Sac.”
Is the goal to pay for the entertainment and sports complex up-front as opposed to having any debt service? “Absolutely. And so you know, some things are more annual revenue streams. But as much as we can, we’ve always said we’re going to protect the taxpayers and we want to prevent the city from taking on long-term debt. And so the parking deal, AEG’s portion of this, the team and the NBA’s portion of this – we’re looking to line up as much of that money up front as possible and really leave the city with no need to have long-term debt.”
The city of Sacramento recently released a list of companies interested in purchasing a collection of city-owned parking garages that would provide a substantial upfront payment to help fund a new downtown entertainment and sports complex.
The list, shown below, is a mixture of national and local parking companies and financial institutions.
Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board
Xerox Corporation
InterPark LLC
Guggenheim Securities, LLC
Sacramento Forward, LLC
Gates Group Capital Partners
LAZ Parking/CIM Group
The Carlyle Group
CMB Export LLC
Morgan Stanley Infrastructure, Inc.
Bainbridge ZKS
Revitalizing Sacramento LLC
Capital City Parking Group
I recently spoke to Chris Lehane, executive director of the Think Big Sacramento coalition, about the status of the arena financing plan. The Sacramento City Council is expected to vote on whether or not to move forward with the parking lease at their Feb. 14 meeting.
Jimmer Fredette made his return to the beehive state when the Sacramento Kings played the Utah Jazz Saturday. The result was a loss, but the homecoming atmosphere was special for the Kings rookie, who spent four years in Provo playing for BYU. Cowbell Kingdom’s James Ham spoke to Jimmer one-on-one about the experience and his new documentary film about his life following practice yesterday. We bring that conversation to you in this week’s Cowbell Kingdom Podcast.
Highlights
Jimmer says he wasn’t surprised by the mixed reaction he received from the Salt Lake City crowd. “The University of Utah is right there. And that’s our huge rival, so I’ve heard it all. I’ve heard boos and I’ve heard cheers in that building, so you know, it’s nothing different.”
On his documentary: ” It’s fun for me to see when they pieced it all together. Some good home videos on there that even I didn’t see before got onto the film that my mom has had.”
On his recent individual success: “I knew it was going to be a learning curve in the beginning. But, (I’m) starting to figure it out, starting to figure out when (I can) get my shot off, where I can shoot it, all these things – and the shots are going in. And I have confidence in my ability to shoot and so does the coaching staff and the players. They get me the ball in good situations to score and that’s what I’ve been trying to do.”
With the March 1st relocation deadline quickly approaching, the conversation regarding a new Sacramento entertainment and sports complex is about to ramp up in coming weeks. KFBK reporter and CK contributor Rob McAllister joins us to break down the latest in the arena project.
While the figure is still being negotiated, representatives with the Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau appear to be ready to write a yearly check.
“Six figures at the very least, more likely seven figures,” said Mike Testa, the Senior Vice President of Convention Sales & Business Development.
Based on a 30 year span, which is typically the life of an arena, that could mean between $20-million and $30-million of the estimated $400-million cost of the proposed downtown sports and entertainment complex.
“There are no commitments as far as amounts but we are working through the (Convention and Visitors Bureau),” Sacramento Marriott General Manager, Doug Warren said.
Before arriving in Sacramento, Keith Smart spent eight seasons in the bay area with the Golden State Warriors. Rusty Simmons covers the Warriors for the San Francisco Chronicle and joins us on this week’s Cowbell Kingdom Podcast to shed some light on the personality of the Kings head coach.
Highlights
On Smart’s energy. Is the Kings head coach always enthusiastic – even when times get tough? “He is. He was that was way as an assistant coach and then last year as head coach. You know the Warriors had their struggles, they were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs pretty early on, but the team kept playing hard and I think that is because of Keith Smart, because he was still working hard – and they followed their leader.”
On Smart’s transition from assistant to head coach and how he handled and developed Monta Ellis: “For so long, he had been a friend and a confidant and then he had to be the guy who assigned his minutes and told him he had to practice and told him he had to show up to shoot-around. He made the transition better than I thought he would. And I think because Coach Smart had been so good to Monta for so many years, there was never really a problem. He played hard for him. He did what he said. He’s not a natural leader – Monta – but he tried to do that because that’s what coach was asking him to do.”
Comparisons have been made between Jimmer Fredette and Warriors guard Stephen Curry. Does Smart’s experience coaching Curry make him the right guy for Jimmer? “Coach Smart was a combo guard in college who was asked to try to be a point guard in the NBA. He knows what that like to try to make that adjustment. And Stephen Curry says today that he’s a better player because of Coach Smart. They had their ups and downs; Coach Smart would yank him when he made turnovers (and) there might be some growing pains with Jimmer, but I think Coach Smart is the right guy to work with him and to figure out what he can be in the league.”
“Small Market, Big Heart” is a documentary detailing the 27-year history (and counting) of the Sacramento Kings. It’s also about the capital region’s battle to establish identity through its only major pro sports franchise. The film is directed by Tobin Halsey and produced by Blake Ellington and Cowbell Kingdom’s own James Ham. It premieres tonight at the Crest Theater in Downtown Sacramento.
A conversation with the filmmakers in this week’s Cowbell Kingdom podcast.
Highlights
Ham on how the story is told: “When we decided to do this, we wanted to look at it from four different approaches. We wanted to tell the story from the media’s eye. We wanted to tell the story through the politician’s eye. We wanted to tell the story through the team’s eye. And lastly, through the fan’s eye.”
Ellington on why the film is an extension of the fan’s voice: ”After they decided to stay, we needed to have a direction as far as what we wanted to do, having a voice going forward. And the documentary itself, I think is going to come out at a time when the community’s voice still needs to be heard. And this is really going to demonstrate…how important professional sports and entertainment is to this region.”
Trying to beat the March 1st relocation deadline, the filmmakers produced this film in a condensed time frame. It was a challenge, says Halsey. ”When we started talking about it, we knew that it was going to be intense. That, especially at the finish, there would be very little sleep. We didn’t have a crew of people to work with – a large crew of people. We had lots of people that helped, but we didn’t have a full production crew. We had to do all this stuff on an abbreviated time frame, but you know, some of the best stuff is done like this.”
James Ham and I break down the latest in this developing story with Sports Illustrated’s Sam Amick on this week’s Cowbell Kingdom Podcast.
Highlights
Amick says Kings President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie is meeting with Cousins and his agent John Greig before the team heads out on its two-game road trip. Greig is based out of Seattle and flew down from Washington to address the situation first-hand.
In addition to Westphal, Amick spoke to Petrie and Gavin Maloof to gain a wide-ranging perspective from the Kings side on the story. He believes they back Westphal’s decision to go public.
Any chance the Kings explore trade scenarios involving Cousins? Amick doesn’t think so. But he added that other NBA teams will continue to closely monitor Cousins’ status with the team throughout the season.
