The vast majority of the Sacramento Kings' ongoing problems can be traced back to managing co-owner Vivek Ranadive. As such, it's time to reiterate a request I made a while ago. Specifically, I would like LeBron James to buy this franchise when he retires from the court. He would have to be better.
Ranadive has been in charge of this franchise since May 2013. That means he's approaching his 14th anniversary of leading the Kings, and all he has to show for it is making it to the first round of the playoffs once and only once. There's not much else to hang his hat on when it comes to success.
Over the years, Ranadive has been accused of micromanaging the Kings into obscurity. This issue has been most evident with head coaches. His constant meddling cost the team two eventual championship coaches in Mike Malone and Mike Brown. Maybe Vivek just doesn't like the name Mike.
The Kings are now saddled with Doug Christie as their bench boss, yet another Ranadive decision. On top of that, he leaves his partners out of major decisions, has created a toxic team culture, makes bad hiring calls, and has damned this franchise to what's been referred to as basketball hell.
James could be the King of the Kings
Sacramento has reached a point as a franchise where the only way to build real, lasting change is to rid themselves of their bad ownership. That means someone has to buy out Ranadive, and there's no one better for that job than LeBron James, an idea I have pitched before and will keep bringing up.
James is 41 years old and is in his 24th season in the league. He's now playing for the 76ers alongside an All-Star starting lineup that's ready to compete for his fifth title. It's safe to say that no current player in the NBA has more experience with the game or knows it better than him.
It's also worth noting that he is an incredibly successful businessman. Basically, he's the complete package when it comes to franchise ownership and management. It also doesn't hurt that the Kings are a relatively affordable franchise, with its average valuation around $5 billion.
At some point, James has to retire, and it's hard to see him completely leaving the game behind. He could easily lead a buyout of the Kings, take over as the managing partner, and guide this franchise into relevancy at the very least, if not actual success. Now, we just have to convince him to do it.
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