CubanMustGo
04-07-2011, 09:20 AM
Given the disgust most Kings fans have for the LA franchise, it's ironic that the person who has come out most publicly against moving the team from Sacto is none other than Phil Jackson.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/basketball/nba/04/07/kings.relocation.news/index.html (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/basketball/nba/04/07/kings.relocation.news/index.html?eref=twitter_feed)
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Desperate times call for desperate measures, of course, and so the situation goes in Sacramento these days.
The Kings are likely headed for Anaheim, with the Maloof family that owns the team eager to leave its small-market struggles behind and tap into the Southern California market, the second largest in the country. It is a reality that has finally been accepted by the locals, a development so heartbreaking and harrowing that they're left longing for hope in any form.
Even if it comes courtesy of Public Enemy No. 1: Lakers coach Phil Jackson.
In a twist that is thick with irony and breaks every rivalry rule ever written, it appears the Lakers and their oft-despised coach might offer the best chance for Sacramento to keep its Kings. And with the rumblings growing louder that Lakers owner Jerry Buss is ramping up his behind-the-scenes effort to rally support against the move, Jackson played the part of public spokesman yet again on Wednesday in a way that should surely make up for the time he once infamously called Sacramento a "cow town."
After saying on March 26 that having a third team in the market would be "ridiculous," Jackson expounded on his views in an interview with SI.com.
"I don't see any community, I don't care if it's Bombay with 25 million [people], being able to support three teams [in the same market]," Jackson said before the Lakers fell to Golden State in what was their third straight loss. "I know Istanbul does it with three soccer teams, and England does it in London with three soccer teams in the surrounding area, but it makes it very difficult in our community and our television area to do that kind of a thing. It will hurt all the franchises."
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/basketball/nba/04/07/kings.relocation.news/index.html#ixzz1IqZfjVuX
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/basketball/nba/04/07/kings.relocation.news/index.html (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/basketball/nba/04/07/kings.relocation.news/index.html?eref=twitter_feed)
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Desperate times call for desperate measures, of course, and so the situation goes in Sacramento these days.
The Kings are likely headed for Anaheim, with the Maloof family that owns the team eager to leave its small-market struggles behind and tap into the Southern California market, the second largest in the country. It is a reality that has finally been accepted by the locals, a development so heartbreaking and harrowing that they're left longing for hope in any form.
Even if it comes courtesy of Public Enemy No. 1: Lakers coach Phil Jackson.
In a twist that is thick with irony and breaks every rivalry rule ever written, it appears the Lakers and their oft-despised coach might offer the best chance for Sacramento to keep its Kings. And with the rumblings growing louder that Lakers owner Jerry Buss is ramping up his behind-the-scenes effort to rally support against the move, Jackson played the part of public spokesman yet again on Wednesday in a way that should surely make up for the time he once infamously called Sacramento a "cow town."
After saying on March 26 that having a third team in the market would be "ridiculous," Jackson expounded on his views in an interview with SI.com.
"I don't see any community, I don't care if it's Bombay with 25 million [people], being able to support three teams [in the same market]," Jackson said before the Lakers fell to Golden State in what was their third straight loss. "I know Istanbul does it with three soccer teams, and England does it in London with three soccer teams in the surrounding area, but it makes it very difficult in our community and our television area to do that kind of a thing. It will hurt all the franchises."
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/basketball/nba/04/07/kings.relocation.news/index.html#ixzz1IqZfjVuX