Letter To NBA Board Calls For New Kings Owners
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - The full-court press to keep the Kings in Sacramento has taken on a new game plan: Keep the team in town but kick the current owners out.
That's what 25 Sacramento area business owners are now urging the NBA to do.
Just weeks after the Maloofs took center court, soaking in the applause and the attention of a new proposed arena deal, a member of Mayor Kevin Johnson's "Think Big" committee confirms to CBS13 that a letter will arrive in New York Thursday morning asking the NBA Board of Governor's to kick the Maloofs to the curb and consider new ownership for the Sacramento Kings.
Warren Smith, who stepped out of a Land Park little league dugout on Wednesday to speak to CBS13, is baffled with the Maloof's mindset. The Sacramento business leader has been part of Mayor Kevin Johnson's inner circle of business support helping to get companies to pledge millions so the team would stay.
He knows hitting a baseball is the toughest thing to do in all of sports but trying to figure out the Maloofs is a close second:
"I have absolutely no understanding of how they make the decisions that they make," said Smith.
Even though he didn't sign the letter, Smith feels the frustration of a process that's about as far away from the innocence of a baseball field as you can get.
"It's clear to me that [the Maloofs] really feel like they want to get something done or they're gonna get the absolute best deal, which may not happen," said Smith.
