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Ranadive group gets OK to buy another 7 percent of Kings

Consolidating their control of the Sacramento Kings, new majority owner Vivek Ranadive and his partners on Monday secured a bankruptcy judge’s approval to buy another 7 percent share of the team.

The judge turned aside a last-minute purchase offer from former limited partner Bob Cook, who lost the 7 percent share when his real estate empire crumbled. The stake has been under the control of a court-appointed trustee since shortly after Cook went bankrupt in 2011.

Buying Cook’s share will increase the Ranadive group’s ownership stake to 72 percent. NBA Commissioner David Stern’s office has already approved the latest deal, said NBA lawyer Martin Zohn, and the purchase could close Wednesday.

Ranadive is buying the share for $15.1 million – the same amount Seattle investor Chris Hansen was planning to pay.

Reported by Dale Kasler of the Sacramento Bee

Mike Malone tells assistant Kings coaches they will not be retained

The remaking of the Kings continued Tuesday when assistant coaches from Keith Smart’s staff were informed by new head coach Michael Malone they would not be retained.

The contracts for Jim Eyen, Alex English, Bobby Jackson and Clifford Ray expire June 30. Smart was fired last week with one year left on his deal. Jackson, the popular former Kings player, was added to the staff for the 2011-12 season, under Paul Westphal. The team announced Jackson would remain with the Kings in another capacity yet to be determined.

After retiring from the Kings as a player, Jackson served as “team ambassador” during the 2009-10 season by representing the team at community events and being involved with fans. He also served in a regional scout/player development role. Jackson assisted the front office with scouting, player evaluations and preparing for the NBA draft.

The rest of the coaching staff wasn’t so fortunate.

Reported by Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee

DeMarcus Cousins remains big part of Sacramento Kings

Michael Malone walked into the interview room, sat next to majority owner Vivek Ranadive and didn’t dance around the overriding issues:

Defense and DeMarcus Cousins.

That’s where it starts, with a two-step outline. For the Kings’ annual appearances in the NBA lottery to end, Malone insisted, the defense has to be a factor instead of indefensible, and Cousins has to reward his new bosses – who are planting their feet firmly on his side of the fence – and fulfill his immense potential.

“At the end of the day, these players are all going to have a choice to make,” Malone said during his introductory news conference Monday. “You’re either going to embrace the change or you’re going to resist.”

As he approaches his fourth season, Cousins remains the great divide, which makes him Malone’s No. 1 challenge. There are those who believe Cousins will benefit from the ownership and organizational changes and mature into one of the game’s most dominant big men. But there are those who stare at his 6-foot-11, 270-pound frame, are scared off by his frequent outbursts and expressive demeanor, and wouldn’t let him near their foxhole.

Here, though, they’re all in. Malone wants Cousins as his cornerstone. Ranadive wants Cousins on the floor and in his foxhole, and he wants Cousins to become a familiar figure in his native India.

“I’d like nothing better than a billion Indians to know who DeMarcus Cousins is,” Ranadive said.

Reported by Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Kings officially name Mike Malone new head coach

The Sacramento Kings today named Michael Malone as the team’s 25th Head Coach (14th of the Sacramento era), according to team owner Vivek Ranadivé. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.

“Michael Malone is one of the best and most talented coaches in the game,” said Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé. “As Vice Chairman of the Warriors, I developed a great relationship with Coach Malone and witnessed first-hand how instrumental he was to the success of the team. His work ethic, passion, and vision for the game will create an entirely new culture and style of play. Hiring Coach Malone is our first step in giving the best fans in sports the excellence they deserve.”

Malone brings 12 years of NBA coaching experience to Sacramento, having most recently served as the lead assistant for the Golden State Warriors under Mark Jackson the past two seasons. Malone helped pilot the Warriors to a 47-35 record and a trip to the 2013 NBA playoffs, where they upset the Denver Nuggets in the first round as the sixth seed and took the eventual Western Conference Champion San Antonio Spurs to a hotly-contested six games in the semi finals.

The Warriors were one of the most improved defensive teams in the NBA under Malone’s tutelage last season, as evidenced by huge statistical jumps in rebounding (from 28th to 3rd), defensive rebounding (24th to 1st), opponent field goal percentage (20th to 3rd) and opponent three-point field goal percentage (28th to 7th). The Warriors had not finished in the top half of the league in opponent field goal percentage since ranking seventh in 1998-99.

Prior to Golden State, Malone worked as the lead assistant in New Orleans and helped the Hornets achieve a 46-36 record and a trip to the 2011 NBA Playoffs. The Hornets were the most improved defensive team in the NBA in 2011, allowing a league-best 8.7 fewer points per game than in the previous campaign (94.0 ppg, after giving up 102.7 ppg in 2009-10). Additionally, the Hornets limited their opponents to 45.7 FG% in 2010-11 compared to 48.3 FG% the previous season.

Malone also served as an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers for five seasons, during which the Cavs posted a 272-138 (.663) record, third-best mark in the NBA over that span. The Cavaliers made five consecutive playoff appearances during Malone’s time on the bench, reaching the NBA Finals in 2007 and the Eastern Conference Finals in 2009. In 2008-09, the Cavs notched a franchise record and NBA-best 66 wins.

Malone’s NBA coaching career began with a four-season stint with the New York Knicks, where he originally joined the team as a coaching associate in the summer of 2001, and was promoted to assistant coach in May 2003. Prior to joining the Knicks, Malone spent seven years coaching in the college ranks.

InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner says: The Kings have a lot of roster work to do before any head coach, no matter how talented, can turn this team into a winner.

Tech-based ownership of Kings could benefit Sacramento

Sacramento’s long and often difficult quest to build a major high-tech industry could get a burst of energy from a most unlikely source: the city’s basketball team.

The new owners of the Sacramento Kings, hailing from all over California, represent some of the stars of the state’s tech sector. The lead owner, Vivek Ranadive, runs a software company that powers railroads, airlines and scores of other businesses. The vice chairman, Paul Jacobs, is responsible for the chips found in millions of cellphones. Limited partners include tech entrepreneurs and financiers.

What the group’s tech orientation means for Sacramento is uncertain. The new owners have pledged to bring the full force of technology to the franchise and how it engages its fans – from new mobile apps to a fully wired new arena proposed for Downtown Plaza.

“We’ll bring as much technology as we can,” said Jacobs, chairman and chief executive of San Diego’s Qualcomm Inc.

One tantalizing possibility for outfitting the arena: three-dimensional instant replay on the video screens. Jacobs said he recently visited an Israeli company, Replay Technologies, which is developing such technology. But he cautioned that it’s far too soon to determine whether the 3-D video is coming to the Sacramento arena.

Reported by Dale Kasler of the Sacramento Bee

New Kings coach Malone sets realistic goals for first year

Malone has plans to correct the Kings’ problems, he told The Bee on Saturday, but has realistic goals.

“For me, it’s not going to be in wins and losses,” Malone said. “That’s not to say we don’t want to win, but for me, we’re going to judge success in Year One based off of three things. Did we change the culture, did we establish ourselves as a defensive team, and then, obviously, did our players develop?”

Malone said he will take something from all the coaches he’s worked for and bring his own spin to Sacramento.

Malone was brought to the NBA as an assistant for Van Gundy in New York, then he learned under Chaney and Wilkens with the Knicks before moving to Cleveland to work for Brown.

In Cleveland, Malone crafted his reputation as a defensive wizard. The Cavaliers won 66 games in 2008-09 with Malone as the defensive coordinator for one of the stingiest teams in the league.

Reported by Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Kings will introduce new head coach Mike Malone on Monday

The Sacramento Kings will introduce former Golden State assistant Mike Malone as their head coach on Monday.

The news conference to announce Malone’s hiring will come three days after new owner Vivek Ranadive officially took control of the franchise from the Maloof family, a team official said on condition of anonymity because no announcement had been made.

Malone replaces Keith Smart, who was fired Friday shortly after the sale of the team was completed.

Ranadive has been a minority owner the past three seasons of the Warriors, where Malone worked the past two seasons as an assistant under coach Mark Jackson.

Reported by Josh Dubow of the Associated Press

NBA sets deadline for new Sacramento Kings owners to build arena

Sacramento has kept its Kings but is facing strict deadlines, imposed by the NBA, for building the team a fancy new arena.

Hours after Vivek Ranadive and his partners completed the record-setting purchase of the franchise from the Maloof family, NBA Commissioner David Stern revealed that the Ranadive group must meet “a series of benchmarks” for a new arena – or risk losing the Kings to another city.

If deadlines are blown, Stern told The Sacramento Bee, the NBA has the option of pulling the Kings out of Sacramento and arranging for the team’s sale to new owners.

The Ranadive group agreed to the deadlines in writing, Stern said.

Stern said he doesn’t expect Sacramento to miss its deadlines, but league owners insisted on the doomsday option “in the unlikely event” Sacramento can’t get the arena project rolling in a “reasonable” amount of time…

The NBA is insisting that the building at Downtown Plaza open no later than 2017 – one year later than city officials forecast. The rival investors who tried unsuccessfully to move the team to Seattle agreed to similar deadlines, Stern said.

Reported by Dale Kasler, Tony Bizjak and Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Kings will not retain head coach Keith Smart

The Sacramento Kings today announced that Head Coach Keith Smart will not be retained for the 2013-14 season.

“The Kings would like to thank Keith for his hard work and dedication to the organization,” said owner Vivek Ranadivé. “We wish him and his family nothing but the best in future endeavors.”

“I enjoyed my time immensely in Sacramento,” said Smart. “From working with the people in basketball operations to the business side of the organization to interacting with the people of the city, it was a pleasure to be around such a classy group.”

Smart began his tenure with the club as an assistant coach prior to the 2011-12 campaign, later becoming the 24th head coach in Kings history when Paul Westphal was relieved of his duties on January 5, 2012.

In two seasons with the Kings, Smart amassed a 48-93 record. He previously served as head coach of the Golden State Warriors during the 2010-11 season after seven years with the organization as an assistant coach. Smart, a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, also served as interim head coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the final 40 games of the 2002-03 season.

Sale of Sacramento Kings officially complete

A new owner is in place. A new coach is on the way. And for the first time in 14 years, Sacramento Kings fans can celebrate a new era.

The Maloof family finalized the sale of the Kings and Sleep Train Arena to a group led by TIBCO Software chairman Vivek Ranadive on Friday, the NBA confirmed. Ranadive’s group acquired a 65 percent controlling interest in the team at a total franchise valuation of more than $534 million, topping the NBA record of $450 million that Joe Lacob and Peter Guber bought the Golden State Warriors for in 2010.

“We are pleased for both the Maloof family and the Ranadive group, but particularly pleased for the fans of the Kings,” NBA Commissioner David Stern said.

Brothers George, Joe and Gavin Maloof also released statements thanking NBA owners, Stern and the family’s limited partners with the Kings. George Maloof specifically praised Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and the City Council “for their efforts and loyalty to the Sacramento community.”

Ranadive already has been busy making moves to rebuild the fallen franchise.

Reported by the Associated Press