Q&A: Talking up the Anaheim Royals

With the NBA Lockout coming to a close and the season set to begin on Christmas Day, fans in Sacramento will once again have to endure the prospect of the Kings moving to Anaheim to become the Royals. While it would give Southern California, and Greater Los Angeles three NBA teams, it’s been a debatable issue in Los Angeles as to what the move would mean for the area. To look at things from the Sacramento perspective, I sat down with Bryan Rosa, the lead editor of the Kings blog A Royal Pain, to discuss all things Kings and Royals.

Q: How does the Lockout affect the chances of the Maloofs moving the Kings?

Bryan: You know, the Maloofs have burnt a lot of bridges in the last few years, especially within the past year. They just handled the moving situation so wrong and now, with the NBA essentially telling them to suck it up (at least for now), they’ve had to try and pretend nothing happened which makes them look even worse. They’re essentially the spouse that cheated but pretends nothing happened. Yeah, we’re not buying it. As far as moving, it’s all going to come down to the arena efforts that are currently ongoing (and in the best shape they’ve ever been). Assuming that the city and Mayor Kevin Johnson (yes, THAT KJ) continue to make progress and have a concrete plan in place by the end of this season, I don’t expect the Maloofs to move the Kings (mostly because the NBA wont allow them to with a new arena). That doesn’t mean they don’t WANT to move the Kings, but, they simply wont be allowed. If arena efforts fall through as they have in the past (which is possible but looking less and less likely by the day) then they’re going to move the Kings as soon as they can. It is understandable as they can’t financially compete with their current arena, but, the Maloofs financially are struggling (they’re now just 2% owners in the Palms – they haven’t owned their family beer business for years and the Kings are cash strapped) so I’d be shocked (assuming the Kings stay in Sacramento) if the Maloofs own the Kings franchise in two or three years. They already had guys like Ron Burkle in line to buy the team (and keep them in Sacramento) during all of the relocation meetings. I mean really – how many professional sport franchises do you know that leave healthy (although inactive) players off of road trips to save on hotel fees or disallow team employees to eat the media spread before games? Times are tough on the Maloofs – even more so now considering they have to spend 18 million dollars this free agent period JUST to meet the NBA’s new minimum salary agreement.

Q: What’s the public sentiment? Is there a general consensus that the team is leaving?

Bryan: As I mentioned above, the arena movement is as far and progressed (and more importantly, realistic) than it’s ever been. All the right people are involved – the group that had their hands in the Staples and Pepsi Center’s are working with the city, Mayor Johnson, etc – it’s currently in a good place. Assuming it continues down that path, the Kings will have no reason to move – despite what the Maloofs may want to do. The greater Sacramento area supplies a lot of fans – it’s not a market the NBA would want to leave if they had a new arena financed, so unless there is a big snag, I’d fully expect the Kings to stay. I think a lot of people compare this situation to Seattle and while on the surface it might be somewhat similar, Clay Bennett (who’s oddly the head of the relocation committee and a chief proponent of the Kings staying in Sacramento – ironic) was from Oklahoma and wanted to move the team to his hometown. The Kings simply just need a new arena and given the positive progress, it’s looking good for a long term stay in Sacramento. Things can always change, but, right now it looks good for a Sacramento stay.

Q: Any chance you stay a Kings fan if they move?

Bryan: I get asked this question a lot – and for me, given my location in Southern California, I’d still be a fan. I grew up a Kings fan in Northern California but moved to Southern California as a teen – but they’d be a totally different franchise to me. So yes, I’d still be a fan – but it would be different.

Q: Looking back the Kings-Lakers rivalry, what would it take to bring it back to where it was 10 years ago?

Bryan: It’s going to be tough. The Kings are still a few years away from playing at anything near a high level and by that time, Kobe will be in his final seasons – clearly not the Kobe he once was and I’m sure the Lakers (despite having Bynum) will slide back some as they attempt to re-tool for the future (or just trade Shannon Brown for Dwight Howard lolz). So, while we might have some solid Laker-King games when they’re both above average teams, getting it back to where it was when they were the two best teams in the NBA just isn’t going to happen – sad as that is. A few years of playoff series’ against each other as they did in the late 90’s/early 2000’s and it might feel like it though.

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