Anaheim Kings?

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Steve Francis kind of killed any hopes of the NBA succeeding in Vancouver.

[Lee.]

Mike Bibby did the Grizzlies no favors, either. Or Bryant Reeves. Roy Rogers tried, but...

[Joshawaggie]

Shareef Abdur-Rahim!

[Lee.]

Shareef Abdur-Rahim!

You try dragging Bill Walton's ass up and down the court for 30 minutes every night.

[Eye]

If the NBA had given Vancouver half of a chance, and if Stu Jackson was no where near the franchise, the team would probably still be around. Instead, they never allowed the Grizzlies (and, granted, the Raptors) a number one draft pick, when Jackson DID draft he drafted players that openly declared that they didn't want to be in Vancouver, and declined the chance to trade for Steve Nash. Sheer idiocy.

When you have futility like that in the front office and no end in sight, the people tune out.

Anyone know why the hell that was? I don't remember this being the case for Charlotte, Miami, Minnesota, Orlando or Charlotte 2.0 and I could never find too much information why.

Mega edit:

Steve Francis kind of killed any hopes of the NBA succeeding in Vancouver.

One of the most overrated players ever.

[DaDucks]

It's probably gonna happen guys...but I'd still be a Lakers fan

[crashcarson15]

If the NBA had given Vancouver half of a chance, and if Stu Jackson was no where near the franchise, the team would probably still be around. Instead, they never allowed the Grizzlies (and, granted, the Raptors) a number one draft pick, when Jackson DID draft he drafted players that openly declared that they didn't want to be in Vancouver, and declined the chance to trade for Steve Nash. Sheer idiocy.

When you have futility like that in the front office and no end in sight, the people tune out.

Anyone know why the hell that was? I don't remember this being the case for Charlotte, Miami, Minnesota, Orlando or Charlotte 2.0 and I could never find too much information why.

I've read that it was because of how quickly after their Inaugural Season, the Magic won because of getting a few top picks in a row.

[officeglenn]

If the NBA had given Vancouver half of a chance, and if Stu Jackson was no where near the franchise, the team would probably still be around. Instead, they never allowed the Grizzlies (and, granted, the Raptors) a number one draft pick, when Jackson DID draft he drafted players that openly declared that they didn't want to be in Vancouver, and declined the chance to trade for Steve Nash. Sheer idiocy.

When you have futility like that in the front office and no end in sight, the people tune out.

Anyone know why the hell that was? I don't remember this being the case for Charlotte, Miami, Minnesota, Orlando or Charlotte 2.0 and I could never find too much information why.

I've read that it was because of how quickly after their Inaugural Season, the Magic won because of getting a few top picks in a row.

This is from Wikipedia, so take it with a grain of salt, but that seems to be a pretty credible theory ...

The Grizzlies were initially composed of players taken from other teams via an expansion draft, together with the team's first draft pick, center Bryant Reeves.[2] However, they were hampered by the NBA's decision to deny the Raptors and Grizzlies a shot at one of the top five picks in the draft. The other owners were still stung by the Orlando Magic making the NBA Finals in only their sixth year of existence largely on the strength of getting Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway with consecutive top picks.

[yh]

Haven't read all 24 pages of discussion but my personal take is that Anaheim/LA is a strawman here and that the Maloofs' real goal is to get the NBA to bless a relocation to Vegas. Could the LA megalopolis (which most certainly does include Anaheim when you use that term) support 3 NBA teams? I think so, especially with each franchise having its own independent source(s) of fan appeal (at present). Is it good for the NBA to have these types of concentrations, especially when there's an opportunity to pursue a niche market that likely could also support its own team? Probably not.

With respect to the New Orleans/Seattle issue, I'd like to see the Hornets relocate to Seattle, restore the Sonics identity to that franchise and re-brand the Bobcats as the Hornets (who needs Bob Johnson to have a legacy with a team that is no longer owned by him?) With respect to New Orleans, I would like to see the Grizzles become more of a regional franchise. Continue to use Memphis as the team's primary home base with 30 guaranteed regular season home games. Play 8 home games in New Orleans and perhaps another 3 home games in Louisville. I'd also be interested in seeing the Grizzlies use New Orleans or Louisville as a permanent pre-season "home."

[Lee.]

Do you not think that Memphis could reach out to St Louis as well? Or are they in Bulls/Pacers country?

[TBGKon]

Haven't read all 24 pages of discussion but my personal take is that Anaheim/LA is a strawman here and that the Maloofs' real goal is to get the NBA to bless a relocation to Vegas. Could the LA megalopolis (which most certainly does include Anaheim when you use that term) support 3 NBA teams? I think so, especially with each franchise having its own independent source(s) of fan appeal (at present). Is it good for the NBA to have these types of concentrations, especially when there's an opportunity to pursue a niche market that likely could also support its own team? Probably not.

With respect to the New Orleans/Seattle issue, I'd like to see the Hornets relocate to Seattle, restore the Sonics identity to that franchise and re-brand the Bobcats as the Hornets (who needs Bob Johnson to have a legacy with a team that is no longer owned by him?) With respect to New Orleans, I would like to see the Grizzles become more of a regional franchise. Continue to use Memphis as the team's primary home base with 30 guaranteed regular season home games. Play 8 home games in New Orleans and perhaps another 3 home games in Louisville. I'd also be interested in seeing the Grizzlies use New Orleans or Louisville as a permanent pre-season "home."

New Orleans is a tad outside of range if you ask me, but Nashville, St. Louis, and Louisvile are all within a few hours drive.

[rams80]

Do you not think that Memphis could reach out to St Louis as well? Or are they in Bulls/Pacers country?

More like "Nobody gives a " country. *shrugs*

[The_Admiral]

I think a lot of the country dismisses the NBA out of hand and only embraces the college game. Not only would the Grizzlies be selling what nobody's buying in Louisville, they're kinda doing that already in Memphis.

[TrueYankee26]

I think a lot of the country dismisses the NBA out of hand and only embraces the college game. Not only would the Grizzlies be selling what nobody's buying in Louisville, they're kinda doing that already in Memphis.

Doesn't help that the Grizz have been maladroit as a franchise except for 3 seasons (even got swept in the 1st round in all instances!)

[Gothamite]

It's probably gonna happen guys...but I'd still be a Lakers fan

And that's why it's a bad idea.

[IceCap]

It's probably gonna happen guys...but I'd still be a Lakers fan

And that's why it's a bad idea.

And I don't blame him. What Orange County basketball fan who's been a lifelong Laker fan is going switch allegiances to the Kings? In fact I doubt the Kings will win many converts from the Clippers fanbase. If you've made it this far as a Clippers fan you're not giving up on them now.

[omnivore]

I don't think local fans who are already there are the target market for this club. It's transplants to the area with families. And there are a lot of them in the O.C. and lots more moving there each year. I don't think they're going to have a problem drawing fans. It's basically Orlando with better television access. The Lakers and Clippers being there won't hurt this new club at all no more than the Devils, Rangers and Islanders being in the same market hurt any of the three. Each has a distinct base and while it might limited for this reason or that reason (and I know the reasons for the Isles and Devils lack of turnstile turning at times) it's not as if it's a worse proposition if you're owner of said club and don't want to put it in another market.

It's clearly an emotional decision, since the Maloofs could make a decent penny off the club should they put it on the market. But they just don't want to and so...you know, if you can't get rid of Donald Sterling, can't make them jettison their team either even if you'd like it elsewhere. Shrug. They'll be fine and once they're successful in that market; especially with a tv deal waiting for them, it'll be okay.

[Gothamite]

I don't think local fans who are already there are the target market for this club. It's transplants to the area with families.

And how many times has this been proven to be a bad idea in recent years?

[The_Admiral]

So now instead of getting people to drop the Lakers and Clippers, they're going to get people to drop the Bulls and Pistons. You know, the NBA isn't really that hard to follow out-of-market that they'd just give up.

[bosrs1]

Well looks like it's not going to be Anaheim Kings. Rather they'll likely be the Anaheim Royals, or possibly either the Los Angeles Royals, Orange County Royals, or Anaheim Royals of Southern California. Either way, the team's name will be Royals in Anaheim it seems.

http://www.news10.net/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=128672&catid=3

A lawyer with ties to the Maloofs has apparently been linked to registering several trademarks including the above listed team names, and several websites including anaheimroyals.com and losangelesroyals.com. These filings were all made approx 3 weeks ago around the time the relocation talk started to heat up. So read into it what you will, be it due diligence or laying the groundwork for a move. But regardless, it seems if/when they move the name will be Royals.