So word’s spreading fast that the Sacramento Kings might be coming to Seattle. And it could happen as early as next season. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Chris Hansen, the hedge-fund manager who is trying to build a new arena in SoDo, would be the owners of the SuperKings (just kidding about the name).
This is not a done deal and there’s sure to be a lot of unknown. Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson, a former NBA guard, said he is trying to secure local ownership and keep the team in California.
Art Thiel, of Sportspressnw.com, as usual, is on top of the news surrounding the story.
Seattle basketball fans are giddy, but if this deal happens, they should be warned that they won’t be getting a playoff team. There are no Kevin Durants on the Kings’ roster. Durant played his rookie season in Seattle before owner Clay Bennett whisked the team off to Oklahoma City.
Isaiah Thomas, the former Husky star from Tacoma, is a backup guard. Aaron Brooks, who played at Franklin High in Seattle and Oregon, is also on the roster. Jimmer Fredette, the former BYU star, is a second-year player for the Kings. Oft-troubled center DeMarco Cousins is Sacramento’s top player, averaging 17.2 points and 10.2 rebounds. Keith Smart, the former Indiana star, is the head coach.
The Kings (13-22) are one of the worst teams in the West. It would almost be like starting over with an expansion team.
I know I’m getting ahead of myself here, but how about Jack Sikma as head coach?
So —– whats the possibility of a new team in Seattle going to cost the taxpaying homeowners this time? The last team hadn’t won much of anything in years and ticket sales was declining at a rapid rate. Why bring in another one unless they can be totally selfsupporting? I sure don’t want pay any taxes to support a team that I would never go see in my liftime.
Their five leading scorers have a combined total of thirteen years in the league for an average of two and a half years. Cousins averages a double double. Robinson and Fredette get little playing time with only a year and a half of experience between them, but they’re understudies to Salmons and Outlaw who are past their prime but still quite solid vets on the bench. It could be a playoff team in two or three years with the right coach. They have enough talent if they can gel as a team.