Sacramento Kings moving franchise to the OC, CA.

Call them what you will.

 

I've always had a problem with people thinking that players "tank" games. They are NBA players. They may "slump", but these pros never intentionally "tank" in my opinion.

 

The traveling carnival show. Swoop into town, bleed the joint dry, then fold your tents and head for the next burg.

 

Players might not tank, but coaches and GM's don't always play their best lineups late in the season when losing games means more ping-pong balls.

 

I think marketing them as the "ORANGE COUNTY ROYALS" would be a good idea. It is a county south of LA County, and north of San Diego County. They have their own identity there, and don't like to associate themselves with SmeLL-A. I know because I went to San Diego State (Go Aztecs, sweet 16 for first time ever.lol.) and my roomate was from Orange County, NOT LA!

 

That sounds like Australian pro sports where there are 11 of 17 teams in the AFL (Aussie rules) within 30 minutes of downtown Melbourne and I think it's 14 of 20 pro rugby teams based within shouting distance of Sydney.

But I think having 12 teams in New York and 10 in L.A. probably isn't the answer. ;D

 

Players do not try to lose, but if you throw a bunch of Steve Colters and Tony Campbells out there it doesn't matter how hard they try. The players don't tank, the coaches don't tank but the owners sure as hell do.

 

Ducks attendance is down despite being an exciting, star-driven team fighting for a playoff berth. They missed the playoffs last season and, usually, this year's attendance is a result of last year's performance. They are announcing 15,000 or so each night (couple thou below capacity) but observers say in-house is much less than that.
Kings/Royals will need to be a good, competitive team to get past the initial surge of interest. OC fans are frontrunners and won't go to watch a loser.
I don't know if Henry Samueli has enough wealthy friends to blindly write checks to support two teams in town if the on-the-court/ice product is no good.

 

I don't think players tank. I think they get complacent in a losing season and coaches can decide to rest players longer than they need to. Also teams don't rush injured players back. Think of the Spurs the year before they got Duncan.

 

That's because fans, in general, are dumbasses. WOW, the system is so rigged! The NYK had a 1 in 7 pick to get the top pick and the NBA rigged it so they could get...Patrick Ewing! It's totally impossible for the NYK to overcome 1 in 7 odds to get the top pick!

Let's look at the winners of the winners of the draft lottery:

LA Clippers 3x (clearly, the NBA wants top stars to head to such a well run franchise)
Orlando 3x (small market team gets Shaq and Dwight Howard, two of the most dominant big men of their eras. I suppose you could make some conspiracy claim that the year after they got Shaq the NBA rigged it for him to have a running mate. Howver, the Magic then traded #1 overall pick Chris Webber for #3 pick Penny Hardaway.)
Milwaukee 2x (we all know the NBA is clamoring for Milwaukee to bring in the TV ratings)
San Antonio 2x (again, another small market team)
Philadelphia 2x (one of these wins was when every lottery team had an equal chance of getting the top spot)
New Jersey 2x (the NBA finals ratings in the Jason Kidd era shows that the Nets don't bring the NY media market to TV ratings)
Washington 2x (meh, a big market, but they don't really seem to move the ratings needle)
Chicago 2x (They were awful the first time they won, and the second time was the second biggest draft lottery upset of all time.)

Other teams that have won the lottery: Toronto, Cleveland, Houston, Charlotte, Sacramento, Golden State, Portland.

The year Houston won, Golden State had the best chance to win the #1 pick. Golden State + Yao Ming = no brainer for rigging. Instead, the Rockets jump from #5 all the way to #1, with Golden State dropping to #3, leaving them to pick Mike Dunleavy.

The year Portland won, Kevin Durant and Greg Oden were considered two of the best prospects in years. Boston had the second highest chance of winning the lottery. Portland, Seattle, and Atlanta all jump Boston, leaving them with the #5 pick!

The year Cleveland won, I'm sure plenty of idiot fans would argue the NBA wanted to rig it for the local team. Cleveland won the #1 pick and had the best chances of winning. You're telling me the NBA wanted LeBron in Cleveland over Chicago and New York, two other teams in the middle of the lottery? Hell, this is the same draft that featured 'Melo, Bosh, and Wade. Who did Chicago and NY end up with? Kirk Heinrich and Michael Sweetney.

You're a moron if you think the NBA lottery is rigged, plain and simple.

 

I don't think it's always rigged, but I think it has been rigged before.

 

Arte Moreno has no idea what you're talking about.