Category: Sacramento Kings

by Ken Gimblin

SACRAMENTO–In what is viewed as probably the biggest victory since the NBA Board of Governors ruled in favor of Sacramento keeping the Kings and avoiding their move to Seattle, a Sacramento Superior Court Judge, Timothy Frawley has said that there were too many flaws in the petitions that were submitted to put an inititative on the ballot asking the voters if public subsidy funds should be used to pay for a new Kings arena.

The 22,938 more than qualified ballots for the initiative appear to be going down to defeat as Frawley said if there were some very minor worded errors he might be able to admit the petitions but there too many flaws and the subsidy measure appears it won’t make the June 2014 ballot, “these petitions are defective in a multitude of ways, collectively there are so many errors” said Frawley to a packed courtroom on Friday.

Frawley concluded the 90 minute hearing and returned to his chambers and will render a decision next week and maybe as soon as Monday or Tuesday. The pro arena groups, the city leaders and supporters of the Kings new arena are cautiously celebrating but are waiting for Frawley’s official decision coming next week.

Frawley said among the errors made the two key errors were that the campaign leaders left their names off the legal required notice which was published in the Sacramento Observer, the campaign letters in the Observer were letting the public know that the petitions were about to circulated and the second issue left out was an “enacting clause” which was suppose to be on the petition to allow the voters know this would become law.

Sacramento City Attorney James Sanchez said that the court statement was a near ruling for victory for the Kings and the city and such a subsidy question not appearing on the ballot would certainly allow the Kings and city to move forward with the new arena, “we appreciate (Judge Frawley’s) thoughtfulness, and that gives us a measure of confidence” said Sanchez

Sacramento Taxpayers Opposed to Pork or STOP attorney Brad Hertz said that although Frawley talked about a multitude of flaws and errors in the wording of the petitions Hertz plans to fight the case until a decision is made by the court, “It’s never over until it’s over, but we were disappointed with some of the priliminary findings, certainly there were no conclusive findings. There were preliminary adverse rulings on some of the mistakes.”

Hertz and STOP realize that if Frawley rules in favor of keeping the measure off the ballot then STOP would plan to appeal. Frawley needs to rule before March 3 so that the city and the Kings can place the new arena issue on the June 2014 election.

Ken Gimblin is covering the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors arena developments for Sportstalk radio

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings and the Brooklyn Nets completed a trade on Wednesday that brings guard Jason Terry and forward Reggie Evans to the Kings in exchange for guard Marcus Thornton.

“Adding Jason and Reggie provides our roster with toughness and veteran leadership that will help this team continue to grow,” said D’Alessandro. “They bring a wealth of NBA experience to Sacramento that will undoubtedly make a positive impact on our younger players. We also thank Marcus for his contributions and wish him great success going forward.”

Terry is a 15 year veteran who has played with Atlanta, Dallas, Boston and Brooklyn. He was a member of the 2011 NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks. Terry has averaged 4.5 points per game, 1.1 rebounds per game and 1.6 assists in a very limited role for the Nets.

Evans is a 12 year NBA veteran who has played in Seattle, Denver, Philadelphia, Toronto, Los Angeles (Clippers) and Brooklyn. He is known as a tenacious rebounder and as a player who hustles on the court. Evans has averaged 2.7 points per game and 5.0 rebounds per game.

Thornton was in his fourth season as a King and was having a disappointing year. He was shooting under 40.0% from the field. Thornton is averaging 8.3 points per game.

The trade should create more playing time for Kings’ rookie guard Ben McLemore.

By George Devine, Sr.

The Kings were without a win on their current road trip, and seemed destined for one more loss before coming home to Sacramento. When DeMarcus Cousins limped off the court late in the game, there was little hope against the Knicks in their home court at Madison Square Garden. But a Sacramento rally in the fourth quarter brought the game to a tie and a surge in the extra period had the visitors winning, 106-101.

Rudy Gay was back in form, after being out a couple of games with the flu and playing below his typical 20-point level in the next two. He came in right at that number, but more to the point contributed a pair of key steals, 2 field goals from beyond the 3-point line (out of 6 attempts) and 7 rebounds, 4 of them on defense. He tied the score at the end of regulation — helping his team overcome a 13-point disadvantage — and his go-ahead trey in OT put the Kings ahead for good.

Cousins scored 19 points before departing the game, after playing 32:49. He had 14 rebounds, all but three of them defensive. Isaiah Thomas had 20 points and 7 assists. But the star of the evening, besides Gay, was Jimmie Fredette, who had his best night yet in the NBA with 24 points, and 2 crucial steals.

For New York, Carmelo Anthony scored 36 points and Tyson Chandler added 17. Each had 11 boards. Raymond Felton contributed 8 points and a dozen assists. Amare Stoudemire had 20 points and 2 blocks. Anthony missed what could have been a winning basket at the end of regulation, and the Kings’ defense shut him down in the extra period.

In their next game the Kings host the Golden State Warriors at Sleep Train Arena on Wednesday, February 19 at 7:00 p.m. PST.

By George Devine, Sr.

In tonight’s game at Cleveland, the Cavaliers beat the Kings 109-99 and Anthony Bennett showed why he was a top draft pick, scoring 19 points and contributing 10 rebounds. 7 of them defensive. The win for the Cavs has them in a good frame of mind approaching the All-Star break and has the opposite effect for the Kings who have had a tough road trip, losing 7 in a row away from Sleep Train Arena.

Rudy Gay, who had been the star for Sacramento in most of his recent games, scored only 14 points although he did have 9 boards, 7 on defense. The high scorer for the visitors was DeMarcus Cousins, with 21 points; he had 10 rebounds, 6 of them defensive. Isaiah Thomas scored 16 points and contributed 8 assists. However, 6 of Cousins’ rebounds and 11 of his points were in the first quarter, and then he was quiescent until halftime. At the other end of the evening, a 7-point run for the Cavaliers — sparked by Kyrie Irving beyond the trey line — made a crucial difference despite the Kings leading the scoring in that final frame but in no other.

The field goal percentages were roughly comparable with 47.7% for Cleveland and 45.9% for Sacramento.

For Cleveland, Luol Deng led the scoring with 22, and contributed 4 assists; Dion Waiters scored 20 points and had 8 assists. Bennett had 19 with 10 rebounds, 7 of them on D. Irving had 13 points and 6 assists and Tristan Thompson poured in 16 points, making 13 rebounds, 7 of them defensive.

The Kings next play at New York in Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, February 12 at 4:30 p.m. PST.

By George Devine, Sr.

In another game where neither team scored in triple digits, the Kings went down on the road. This time Rudy Gay joined in the action for 32:17 but only scored 5 points. He is recovering from the flu, which sidelined him in Friday’s loss at Boston, 99-89. This time it appeared he would be well enough to make a major contribution, but in fact he only achieved approximately 25% of his typical production. The Kings are 0-4 with Gay absent, not only due to the recent flu but previously on account of an ankle injury.

The other key to the game was the defense of Washington, led by Nene, who had not only 3 blocks but 18 points. This meant that Sacramento came up 9 points short despite an above-par 86% from the free throw line (down a tad from Friday’s 91.7%) and an advantage in rebounds, 49 to the Wizards’ 38. But on field goals the Kings trailed, 43%-35% and especially on three-pointers where the margin was a staggering 38%-18%. The long ball plus the “D” made enough difference to get Washington back to the .500 mark against the visitors, whose win-loss percentage is approaching the batting average of a successful MLB player.

Isaiah Thomas led the Kings with 30 points and had 8 assists. DeMarcus Cousins had 14 points, with 12 boards and 2 blocks. For the Wizards, 16 points were scored by Bradley Beal, including a pair of treys in the last six minutes of the game. Marcin Gortat scored 17 points and had 8 rebounds.

The Kings outscored the Wizards in the final period, 20-18 and in the third, 19-18, but their slim advantage after halftime was insufficient given the home team’s lead in each of the first two quarters.

The next game for the Kings is on Tuesday, February 11 vs. Cleveland at Quicken Loans Arena. Tipoff is at 4:00 p.m. PST.