Instead of fighting with the city of Sacramento for funding on a new arena, and the Golden State Warriors for the title of third most popular team in California, the Kings should move to Virginia Beach.
Phillip Newswanger and Bill Cresenzo of Inside Business are reporting that the Maloof family (owners of the Kings) are meeting with representatives from Comcast this week. The two parties will be discussing a potential move to Virginia Beach.
I'm not trying to make enemies with Kings fans. If I were a resident of the great city of Sacramento I'd be rolling my eyes right now. But from a business standpoint, a move makes sense.
The Kings will never be major team in the state of California. Even in the glory years of the early 2000s the Kings didn't get the respect they deserved.
The Maloof family would be bringing their franchise to an untapped NBA market. The Kings (if they kept the name) would not only be the new thing, but from a professional basketball standpoint, they would be the only thing in the state.
As a franchise on the east coast, and in a favorable climate, they could become an attractive spot for free agents.
Sacramento obviously has California weather in its favor, but the state belongs to the Lakers—and now the Clippers. The latter has proven that gaining some relevance isn't impossible, but without finding Blake Griffin, the Clippers would still be bottom-feeders.
Griffin's arrival and his subsequent impact lead to the Clippers success and acquisitions over the last two years. The Kings could try and land a player with Blake's ability and charisma, but that is obviously not an easy thing to do.
The Kings aren't going to land in Virginia and suddenly get the best out of Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins. They aren't going to automatically win every draft lottery they're entered into, but the move would represent a new start.
At this point, I think that is what the franchise needs.
Follow Brian Mazique and Franchiseplay on YouTube and Twitter for reactions, analysis and news from the world of sports and sports video games
Read more NBA news on BleacherReport.com
No comments:
Post a Comment