Bye Bye Kings, Hello Royals

[Lights Out]

Evans > Gordan

Gordon's scored 23.7 PPG this year. He's been one of the best scorers in the NBA this season when he's been healthy. Tyreke's played in about the same number of games and has scored only 18.3 PPG even though he's supposed to be the #1 scoring option.

[omnivore]

Maybe for the first year, but if the Royals can't draw numbers, that $13M will dry up and they'll be looking at much smaller numbers.

Ask Arte Moreno - the perception that the Angels were an OC-only team was holding back the amount they were able to get for their television rights. The Royals will have to show they can pull in audience from all over LA to get a decent deal.

The Angels situation is different than this one for a host of reasons most notably a local team trying to brand itself regionally and seen as illegitimate. I don't think the Royals would be dumb enough to sell themselves as an LA team, but as an OC team, but the TV market is the same so they benefit.

The Royals will cover the void of over-the-air TV because the Clippers deal doesn't end for several more years and the Lakers are leaving. Even if they got a cut rate amount of say, $9-10mm per year, that's still a premium when you consider there are no other NBA alternatives for the over-the-air channels, but it works perfectly for a new team trying to establish itself in the region over a period of time. TV deals aren't negotiated year to year, though, so there's no danger in the value dropping and the move by the Lakers has caused quite the over-the-air ripple. It creates a void they'll want to fill, even if the Royals won't be very good to start and again, a cut rate deal will be an incentive for both parties.

I realize everyone wants to hate this move because the bounty of riches of an established area getting a third team offends. But it doesn't matter. The economics of this make more sense than the team staying in Sacramento and if it didn't, the Maloofs wouldn't be doing it with the other options on the table. Even I think it'd be logical for them to move back to Kansas City or to Seattle were there a new arena there. But if the owners have a vested interest in being close to Vegas and live in Los Angeles and they decide the losses in Sacramento are too great to continue, seems moving your team that you're committed to never selling to where you live -- with an arena desperate for an NBA tenant -- is the next best option for you, even if people don't see the logic of the decision from fan glasses.

I don't see this deal working out for the long haul...it's an expedient quick fix to a chunk of the maloof's financial woes but 3 teams in socal doesn't make sense in the long term...in addition the honeymoon effect will wear off in terms of home attendance withing 5 years if they aren't consistently in the playoffs...lastly I think they are overestimating the amount of corporate wealth available in oc to bring in as incremental revenue vs. sac town...personally I think this will be a temporary move for the maloof's to inflate the value of the club (larger media market) before selling it to pay off their casino debts.

I think the Maloofs just like owning a basketball team and it gives them a rush that burning money in Vegas doesn't. I think they'd be more likely to camp out in the O.C. and try to move to Vegas when the market picks up (if?) rather than sell the team off.

If things get worse in Vegas, they can always file for bankruptcy, it's not as if the businesses are connected in any way so the Kings wouldn't be liquidated or anything if things for them in Vegas got worse. And no one has ever accused them of being anything close to shrewd businessmen, so I think their savvy only goes so far to begin with. (Hence why making a visceral move to the OC rather than to a market with a newer arena, where the team came from and no NBA team.)

[LetsGoOakland9]

Evans > Gordan

Gordon's scored 23.7 PPG this year. He's been one of the best scorers in the NBA this season when he's been healthy. Tyreke's played in about the same number of games and has scored only 18.3 PPG even though he's supposed to be the #1 scoring option.

20-5-5 last year as a rookie, and this year he averages more assists, rebounds, and steals than Gordon. You can be a Clippers homer if you want but Tyreke is the better basketball player

[C's]

I'd hardly call a founding member of the league's history useless, or unimportant. Granted the first half of their existence was a lot more eventful than the second half, but that doesn't mean the team is useless and unimportant. Just beacuse you weren't (maybe you were, who knows) alive to see the franchise in it's glory years doesn't mean they haven't had a good history. Saying the Sacramento Kings are a useless and unimportant to the NBA is like saying the Pittsburgh Pirates are unimportant to the MLB. While they may not contribute much now-a-days they still have played an integral part in the history of the league.

Terrific. But how does this justify... 'updating' one of those ratty-ass logos and uniform sets from this oh-so eventful past?

The whole point of this is, the Kings have an excellent look now, throwing it away for some generic reboot of the Cincinnati era would be a mistake.

[LetsGoOakland9]

So, now Sacramento is part of the Bay Area? Have any of you even been to California?

It's close enough.

well then NYC is in New Jersey and San Diego part of Mexico

[TalktoChuck]

I'd hardly call a founding member of the league's history useless, or unimportant. Granted the first half of their existence was a lot more eventful than the second half, but that doesn't mean the team is useless and unimportant. Just beacuse you weren't (maybe you were, who knows) alive to see the franchise in it's glory years doesn't mean they haven't had a good history. Saying the Sacramento Kings are a useless and unimportant to the NBA is like saying the Pittsburgh Pirates are unimportant to the MLB. While they may not contribute much now-a-days they still have played an integral part in the history of the league.

Terrific. But how does this justify... 'updating' one of those ratty-ass logos and uniform sets from this oh-so eventful past?

The whole point of this is, the Kings have an excellent look now, throwing it away for some generic reboot of the Cincinnati era would be a mistake.

Their look is anything but excellent. Mismatching logo and uniform fonts, horrible number font, white word-mark on white jersey, logos that are in desperate need of an update, and a uniform that is average at best all make for a lack luster identity. While a resurrection of their old Royals look wouldn't be much of an upgrade, I'm all for a a switch back to the Royals name.

And we don't know if they are going to bring back the old logo and uniforms yet. All we know is that they will bring back the Royals name, for all we know they could go with a brand-new modern update of the Royals name.

[C's]

So, now Sacramento is part of the Bay Area? Have any of you even been to California?

It's close enough.

well then NYC is in New Jersey and San Diego part of Mexico

Would it really be a great idea to have one NBA franchise in Sacramento and two others in the bay area, in SF and SJ?

For sports purposes, I consider it part of the bay area. Sue me.

[Lights Out]

20-5-5 last year as a rookie, and this year he averages more assists, rebounds, and steals than Gordon. You can be a Clippers homer if you want but Tyreke is the better basketball player

You can be a Kings homer if you want but Eric Gordon has developed into an amazing shooting guard. He has less assists, rebounds, and steals but the Clippers don't need a ton of those from him, especially not rebounds.

[C's]

Their look is anything but excellent. Mismatching logo and uniform fonts

You mean like the Celtics and Lakers?

horrible number font

Well you're certainly entitled to your opinion.

white word-mark on white jersey

Nothing wrong with that.

logos that are in desperate need of an update

Well you're certainly entitled to your opinion.

and a uniform that is average at best all make for a lack luster identity.

Well you're certainly entitled to your opinion.

And we don't know if they are going to bring back the old logo and uniforms yet. All we know is that they will bring back the Royals name, for all we know they could go with a brand-new modern update of the Royals name.

Educated guess says they will.

[TalktoChuck]

20-5-5 last year as a rookie, and this year he averages more assists, rebounds, and steals than Gordon. You can be a Clippers homer if you want but Tyreke is the better basketball player

You can be a Kings homer if you want but Eric Gordon has developed into an amazing shooting guard. He has less assists, rebounds, and steals but the Clippers don't need a ton of those from him, especially not rebounds.

Considering he has a Golden State Warriors avatar, I doubt he is a Kings homer. And assists, rebounds and steals are all very important stats in order for someone to be considered an amazing shooting guard.

For the record I wouldn't consider Evans or Gordon an amazing guard, both are good guards but no where near amazing yet.

[C's]

20-5-5 last year as a rookie, and this year he averages more assists, rebounds, and steals than Gordon. You can be a Clippers homer if you want but Tyreke is the better basketball player

You can be a Kings homer if you want but Eric Gordon has developed into an amazing shooting guard. He has less assists, rebounds, and steals but the Clippers don't need a ton of those from him, especially not rebounds.

Gordon's the better player, but he's not 'amazing'. At best he's option 2A or 2B on a legit contender. Gordon could succeed in such a role much better because he can actually shoot.

[TalktoChuck]

Their look is anything but excellent. Mismatching logo and uniform fonts

You mean like the Celtics and Lakers?

Yes, and both of those teams should address the same problem.

And we don't know if they are going to bring back the old logo and uniforms yet. All we know is that they will bring back the Royals name, for all we know they could go with a brand-new modern update of the Royals name.

Educated guess says they will.

What are you basing this educated guess on? Opinions and assumptions?

[jtthasportfreak]

St. Louis will not get an NBA franchise as long as Ozzie and Dan Silna (Spirits of St. Louis owners) continue to receive a chunk of the NBA television revenue. Talk about being set for life...

[Lights Out]

Considering he has a Golden State Warriors avatar, I doubt he is a Kings homer. And assists, rebounds and steals are all very important stats in order for someone to be considered an amazing shooting guard.

Never said either of them were amazing, but I think it depends on the role you're expecting your shooting guard to play. In the Clippers' offense, Gordon is expected to be a scorer first and foremost. The Kings, however, expect Tyreke to be more of an all-around guard. Didn't he play point guard his rookie season?

[LetsGoOakland9]

Eric Gordon has developed into an amazing shooting guard

[Lights Out]

Ah, I didn't remember using that word. Good catch.

"Amazing" is a bit too strong, but Gordon's been great this year when he's played.

[LetsGoOakland9]

I'm a big fan of Gordon, (personally I think Evans is better and is going to get much better) but I'm just saying outside of Blake Griffin, the Kings' future, bleak as it may be, looks just as good as the Clippers'

[McCall]

Their look is anything but excellent. Mismatching logo and uniform fonts

You mean like the Celtics and Lakers?

horrible number font

Well you're certainly entitled to your opinion.

white word-mark on white jersey

Nothing wrong with that.

logos that are in desperate need of an update

Well you're certainly entitled to your opinion.

and a uniform that is average at best all make for a lack luster identity.

Well you're certainly entitled to your opinion.

And we don't know if they are going to bring back the old logo and uniforms yet. All we know is that they will bring back the Royals name, for all we know they could go with a brand-new modern update of the Royals name.

Educated guess says they will.

Ok, as confusing as this may seem, there IS a difference between these examples. The Celtics use a basic arial-type font in their logos, just something simple because the celtic itself is the focal point of the logo. They use a basic block font on their uniforms. Exceptable. The Kings, however, use a custom design font as the focal point of their logo, yet use another very slightly similar (really just the 'S') as their jersey fonts. This is is sloppy mismatching. Using basic fonts simply to state the team name where their is an objective as the intended representation of the logo and then another font on the uniforms is perfectly fine. A perfect example happens to apply to the Celtics, the old "ring around" logo. And the Lakers don't have mismatching fonts. It's a thicker version with only some slight veriations and none of the motion marks.

[rams80]

And if the Anaheim deal doesn't work (which more than likely it will) Missouri could use a team.

St. Louis will likely pick up the Hornets once Howard Balsille purchases the Blues and moves them to Hamilton.

-- sigh --

I always thought Checketts (being a Utah guy) should have moved the Blues to SLC, because we all know that us Utahns are known for our jazz and blues.

Don't think the Blues are going anywhere. They're popular and own the longest playoff streak in sports history at 25 which just ended in the past 5 years so the on-ice success is there. Plus if the Hornets come to Missouri it would be KC and their 2-1/2 year old state of the art arena without a major tennant.

I agree that the Blues won't relocate. I would just find it ironic to have two sports teams in Utah named after music rarely/scarcely/not found in the SLC area.

Very true. The Blues are worshipped in StL. StL is a big basketball town too....that's why the NCAAB always has a large portion of their tournament there (except this year). I lived there for 5 years and was surprised by their passion for basketball. Now football has no business there. The Rams fans in StL are fake for the most part and only show up when they are winning (kinda like TB Bucs fans).

College "passion" doesn't convert to pro "passion". Unless the team that moved there won, a lot, it's D.O.A.

St. Louis can at best support 2.5 major league teams. Unfortunately you don't get half teams. The Blues and the Rams compete in a quasi (quasi because if both teams blow St. Louisans won't go to either) zero sum tug of war for that 1.5, and both suffer as a result.

[rams80]

Terrific. But how does this justify... 'updating' one of those ratty-ass logos and uniform sets from this oh-so eventful past?

The whole point of this is, the Kings have an excellent look now, throwing it away for some generic reboot of the Cincinnati era would be a mistake.

LOL WUT pear goes here. Although if it makes you feel any better, Stevie Wonder agrees with you.

St. Louis will not get an NBA franchise as long as Ozzie and Dan Silna (Spirits of St. Louis owners) continue to receive a chunk of the NBA television revenue. Talk about being set for life...

I don't think that particular buyout had gave them any market rights in perpetuity. I think it was just a "please take this money and go away" thing.