Are Kings A Candidate For NBA Contraction?
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) -- At one point it seemed like a real possibility that the Sacramento Kings would play elsewhere next season, but the NBA players union head said if the lockout isn't resolved, next season the Kings may be gone altogether.
Billy Hunter is talking about contraction -- dissolving a franchise -- it's not an uncommon conversation in the sports world, but it is unusual for a union representative to bring up the issue.
But Hunter said if the NBA cancels their season, the Sacramento Kings franchise could be eliminated.
"They've got to be concerned about whether or not in the face of a protracted lockout if there will be some franchises that won't make it," Billy Hunter said.
KHTK 1140 sports radio host Carmichael Dave doesn't think the kings franchise is in danger and doesn't understand why Hunter would even mention dissolving a franchise, something that would mean 15 or so less jobs for his union.
"I was unbelievably shocked," he said. "The NBA is not going to contract in a city that they heavily pushed and invested time and effort to get an arena built, it just will not happen."
Sacramento attorney Robert Bowman has spent years negotiating labor agreements. He thinks Hunter is preparing the players for a deal from the owners that might not be exactly what they're looking for, but also one that isn't as negative as a franchise dissolving.
"It sounds like he wants to set the tone for the players and say, 'Hey, you're going to have to make some concessions to make this work," Bowman said.
For fans the hope is that the talk of contraction is just that, talk.
"They're trying to sort their things out behind closed doors," Wayne Clark of Natomas said. "There's a lot of propaganda going around."
Other NBA teams being mentioned as possible contraction candidates are the Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Hornets, which are currently owned by the NBA. The last team to actually contract was the Baltimore Bullets in 1954.
