FanHouse TheMaloofs

You can sum up the nearly decade-long Sacramento arena crisis much like you can sum up the existence of the Sacramento Kings these days: long stretches of boredom spliced intermittently with bits of deep panic. ARCO Arena is busted, as the Maloofs have been saying since 2001, and the city is no closer to a new gym than it was then.

Every now and then, progress looks so far off that someone -- an agent of the Maloofs, a mayor, a bunch of fans -- cranks up the wailing and the Evil Advent Calendar begins its countdown to a relocation. The Maloofs, at this point, actually have good reason to yell "Fire!" as the latest plan (hatched by the NBA itself) isn't making progress.

But to the shock of nearly all, the Maloofs have done the completely opposite: they have assured Sacramento the Kings will remain in town for the long haul.

Before naming Paul Westphal the new coach of the Kings, Sacramento GM Geoff Petrie asked all three candidates (including Lakers assistant Kurt Rambis) if the team's set salary structure (two years at $1.5 million, a third year team option at $2 million) would work for them. If not, you know, see ya.

According to the team, Rambis -- mired in the Finals -- refused to answer if the salary structure would work. On Tuesday, Petrie pushed forth with the question. Rambis' agent Warren LeGarie said his client couldn't be bothered to think about it right now ... so Petrie hired Westphal. Now accusations that LeGarie had been ripping Westphal behind the scenes have come out, while Rambis claims he actually turned down the job.

It's a lot of drama for a job almost no one outside of Sacramento cares about.

By theory, the NBA Draft Lottery (Tuesday at 8:00 PM ET) is left to randomness. But what if basketball karma dictated the results? Good triumphs over evil. Fairness and compassion reign. Robert Horry does not exist. It's a wonderful world.

Close your eyes and imagine how the ping pong balls would bounce if karma ruled tonight's lottery ...

Pardon the leap of logic present in that headline, but there's little room to see the latest round of Rick Pitino rumors any other way if you've paid attention to the situation. To catch up, earlier this week, Sacramento Bee Kings beat writer Sam Amick mentioned Pitino's name in a story on rumored candidates for the coaching vacancy in Sacramento. Thursday night, Yahoo! yeoman Adrian Wojnarowski followed up with a full story, placing the interest squarely on Pitino's side.

Kings owner Gavin Maloof has denied talking to Pitino, and mentions only that Pitino is a "great coach." Ultimately, there's an overwhelming sense that these Pitino-to-the-NBA rumors are being pushed by The Rick -- not the Kings. That Louisville is now jumping out to publicly declare Pitino will stay is all the more suspicious.

For 24 hours, the NBA had no head coaching vacancies. That's a stunner for the week after season's end; usually there's a bloodbath immediately following the final regular season game. But Flip Saunders quickly replaced Ed Tapscott, Oklahoma City hurried to lock in Scott Brooks, and the other potential openings remained tentatively filled ...

... until the Kings declined the 2009-10 option on interim coach Kenny Natt's contract Thursday. The move had been expected with some certainty. But in comments related to the new opening, Geoff Petrie has raised some eyebrows about what kind of coach the team will seek.

With nothing but pride to play for, the Kings had a worst-case scenario unfold Monday night in Denver, as Spencer Hawes landed hard on one leg -- his left leg, which already underwent microfracture surgery at age 14 -- and crumpled to the ground.

Hawes is OK. An MRI revealed a strain, and he'll miss Wednesday's season finale but shouldn't have further problems. But the Kings -- specifically Kings co-owner Joe Maloof -- are angry at the cause of Hawes' terrifying fall: Kenyon Martin.

As you can see to the right (or at the 15-second mark of this highlight reel), Martin shoved Hawes under the arm as the young center flew in for a fast break dunk.

Hopes of keeping the Kings in Sacramento moved forward Friday, as the NBA unveiled its plans for a huge development with a new, privately-financed arena as the centerpiece. The plan is absolutely massive in scope ($1.9 billion, 8 million square feet), with a new state fairgrounds, condos, retail and office space all apart of the plan.

Call it "Pacific Yards" -- the "Atlantic Yards" of the West. But while Nets owner Bruce Ratner has been central in his role getting the NBA to Brooklyn, Kings owners Joe and Gavin Maloof didn't even show up to Friday's Sacramento plan unveiling.

The long-awaited plan for a new NBA arena at the site of Cal Expo in Sacramento will be unveiled Friday afternoon. It's the latest in a litany of attempts to secure the long-term future of the Kings in town.

It's hard enough to get an expensive gym built in the best of times. The Maloofs have been trying to pull this off since 2001 ... when the Kings were good. Now, the team sits in last place in the entire NBA. Attendance is awful, the local economy has suffered more than the nation as a whole, and reports place the Maloofs' 2009 losses around $25 million.

Great timing, huh?

Here's some news that won't be one bit controversial: the protagonists pushing Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards project -- the plan that would move Ratner's Nets from Jersey to Brooklyn -- are trying to wedge themselves to the front of the line for potential New York disbursements of the federal economic stimulus.

The stimulus (which has passed both the House and Senate, and is currently being finalized in conference committee) would offer up chunks of cash to complete various infrastructure and construction projects. Some specific plans are highlighted in the bill, but Ratner would seem to be after some of the discretionary cash going to states for "shovel-ready" projects. Ratner argues that Atlantic Yards is shovel-ready.

The Kings sacked Reggie Theus this morning, landing somewhere between surprise and "duh" on the Richter scale. For most people who know, Sacramento's performance and the general ferver surrounding the coaching guillotine sent Theus toward the gallows of expected dismissal. But closer to the scene, Geoff Petrie's history left many of us sure Theus would survive until April.

Petrie has only fired a head coach once in his near 20 seasons as a basketball executive. In four years in Portland, Petrie stayed with Rick Adelman; Petrie left when Adelman did. Upon arriving in Sacramento in 1995, Petrie kept atrocious incumbent coach Garry St. Jean for nearly two full years. However, in March of 1996 with 15 games remaining, Petrie canned St. Jean. Since then, the Kings have gone through four coaches; only Theus saw his end come during a campaign.