Jun 3, 2013; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings new head coach Michael Malone (left) and owner Vivek Ranadive speak during a press conference at Sleep Train Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

Vivek Ranadive

Ranadive started the process by replacing head coach Keith Smart with Michael Malone. He also intends to replace general manager, Geoff Petrie, with someone yet to be named. Already he is creating a new picture with broad brush stokes, beginning from the top on down. It had to be done. There is no better way to clear out entrenched thinking than with a new brain trust.

Ranadive appears to be taking an active part as the primary owner of the team, putting his very stamp on the team’s identity. The selection of replacement personnel should provide us with more hints of how he wants his new team assembled. He has already indicated he would like to see the globalization of basketball. The Kings will be his flagship, an extension of himself.

Michael Malone

Malone will begin his first head coach job with the Kings. Sacramento Bee’s Ailene Voisin, recently did a piece on him. One thing stood out to me:

As crazy as it sounds, said Brendan Malone (Michael’s father), there has always been a method to his son’s NBA madness. Michael, he says, has been ultra-organized since boyhood. Of the six Malone siblings, it was his youngest who folded his clothes, separated his pants and shirts in the closet, lined up his shoes, maintained to-do lists and turned in his homework.

This tells us something about Malone’s personality. He is organized, goal-directed, and responsible. These are qualities he will likely translate into his coaching style. I would expect him to run a fairly tight ship; he will know what he wants to do and have a plan to get him there. He will likely expect his players to be responsible and accountable, as he is.

Not to cast dispersion on Keith Smart or other former coaches, I think we can expect tighter and more consistent rotations. While he may tinker a bit with his lineups at the beginning of the season, I predict he will settle on his starting line-up earlier than either Smart or Paul Westphal. I don’t think he will feel the need to give everyone on his bench the opportunity to play minutes every game by spreading the minutes thin. He will likely settle on a core of 8 or 9 players and stick with them. I may be going out on a limb with my predictions, but I believe he will be less likely to experiment on the fly. We are unlikely to see a lot of mis-timed substitutions and odd combination of players on the court. He will have a plan of who he wants to play and when to play them.

There will be emphasis on team basketball versus one-on-one basketball. For that to occur with some regularity, players need to know how to play with each other, where to be on the court, and their role. This will require consistency with his rotations. A well-oiled machine has parts which fit together. If you change-up the parts all the time, then the wheels aren’t going to work smoothly. Remember, Malone likes his shoes in order. He will want to see the same kind of order with his team.

When the players return this season, they will know as soon as they walk through the door this will be a different culture from last season. Sort of like that first day of school; you don’t know what to expect, but you know it will be different. I can’t help but believe this will be a relief for our players who have lived in limbo for the past three seasons.

We have an outstanding ownership group. They are going to methodically transform a losing team, a losing culture, and frustrated fan base to a winning team, with a winning culture. Fans will have a connection with the new ownership in a way we could never conceive as possible. Ranadive has a vision for the future of the Kings. He truly appreciates the game, wanting to elevate it globally. I anticipate we will experience a magical journey, as we share this ride together.

Sacramento Kings fans Sean Roth and Karen Roth hold up a sign. Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

Following the news the NBA blocked the relocation of the Sacramento Kings to Seattle, I felt an enormous sense of relief rush over me. At the same time, I noticed my Twitter timeline filled with many fans expressing their relief over the news. I observed other feelings and gestures, some expected, others unexpected. From these observations I put together my own list of the stages we were experiencing emotionally.

Here is my list of the Five Stages of Happiness, a volte-face to the five stages of grief:

Stage I: Relief

Most people seemed to express a profound sense of relief after news the NBA owners voted to block relocation of the team. Considering this ordeal has gone on for two years, I guess it shouldn’t come as any surprise. The time, effort and intensity to pull everything together by so many parties is nothing short of phenomenal. So many starts, stops,and turn of events. Just when it seemed everything was going Sacramento’s way, the Seattle group would find a way to upset the applecart.

Stage II: Disbelief

Once I got past sheer relief, then there was a sense of disbelief, “Wait – Is this really happening?” I felt as though I could not exhale until the contract was signed by the team’s owners. There was this nagging concern it could all vaporize. I heard others voice worry and concern. Could our fear be due to the fact the Maloofs pulled out of the deal last year after celebrating center court with Mayor Kevin Johnson? That would explain it.

Stage III: Forgiveness

The odd thing, after months of back and forth dialogue with Seattle fans hoping to regain a team, some of it dissolving into mud-slinging; after years of verbally bashing the former team’s owners, the Maloofs, all of that seemed to disappear. Suddenly, people are “making nice” to the so-called “Sea Trolls” and the Maloof family. It is almost as though none of it ever happened. Strange.

Stage IV: Celebration

Once relief over the sale becomes a fait accompli, we can trust this is actually happening, and having made amends to anyone we may have disparaged in the heat of saving our team, we are free to embrace the team’s new ownership group headed by Vivek Ranadive and unabashedly celebrate keeping our team in Sacramento. Time to party!

Stage V: Happiness

Merrian-Webster provides one definition of the word happiness, which seems especially apropos:

The feeling experienced when one’s wishes are met.

Yes, that satisfies. So, for us Sacramento Kings fans, we finally get to experience what it feels like to be happy once again and the promise this will lead to more happiness in the years to come. The end.