First off, Amick is pretty much the genius that makes the ship, the Good Bee, work. Dude, is absolutely one of the best writers, period, covering the game of basketball. Best "beat-writer", or anything else aside, dude is flat out awesome. There are many others that strike me as just as worthy, but none of them cover the Kings. First what I would do is read the Blog entry of Sam's that he posted over-night. I'm probably one of the first to read it, and as such, will be one of the first to comment, mebbe. Off the top of my head, there is a lot to chew on. But for those counting, there are alot of important things said.

1. The Family doesn't want Geoff to leave until he's ready (Good!)
2. John Thomas is in seemingly good shape within the franchise (Interesting)
   
3. Levien is a bright cat, which underscores how valuable he'll be to the team before you even encounter the future and what that holds (Hmmmm--Agent talk)
   
4. Gavin Maloof should represent the family in public, in regards to the Kings (Ya think?)
   

Overall I feel this was a great moment that accompanied an off day.  With the team probably making more noise in the front office, as opposed to the court, this is a team that has stronger ties than originally thought 2 weeks ago.  That's good news. After the jump some of the details.

One of the reasons I put those 4 rthoughts in order is that I wanted to discuss them, albeit not in the order listed. So the first part of this discussion is really a bit about the Maloof's, and John Thomas. Back to a snippet of Amick's interview with Gavin for a moment:

We stand by people who do the job. If you do the job, and you're loyal, hardworking. We don't like to switch people. It's like (team president) John Thomas, who we've had for like 10 years now. As long as they're doing the job and helping us make informed decisions, then they can stay with us as long as they want to.

Gavin isn't Joe. Things don't just pop out with him; I think that was a measured vote of confidence that given time, they can sell this team to the public. I think the Family knows that more people can't come to the games. But, if the team works at it, it can get people back in those seats. Well, everyone but me, but in my case it's simple: My ass is too big to fit in any of them. (Interestingly enough, I went to Safeco in May, and had no problem. I have the same issue whenever I go to the Coliseum though.) Either way, it's clear this ownership/management group is trying to take proactive measures to keep the team in working order. Good. The other part is about Gavin himself. He said a lot of interesting things, but I found this to be of the highest working order:

We're just operating with the contract we have now. You know, if it was up to us we'd never need a contract with Geoff. The people that do the job for us, we'd prefer they didn't have a contract because they could have a contract for life as long as they're doing the job and we're satisfied. The contract is just a piece of paper as far as we're concerned.

We live in a cynical world. My algebra teacher said this the other day about Barack Obama: "I like him, but he talks too much." I kind of think that's where the statement with Gavin comes in. When Joe says something, it sounds awful in many a way. When Gavin says stuff, it seems more dis-jointed and a bit out of place. I don't really think the piece of paper comment had anything to do with Geoff; it's just how the family works. If you do a good job for them, contract's aren't needed. If Geoff wants to retire that's his right, and I also think Geoff knows that piece of paper guarantee's him something. If nothing else it's a timetable for his exit strategy into retirement. What Gavin said, among other things, is that we want Geoff around, and if he wants to stay, and if not, that's his choice. I had been getting good vibes from the Maloof's for awhile now, and with the stupidity moment that qualified as Joe's interview (the timing--not his actual points) being an exception, the hiring almost seemed a necessary counterpoint to get people off the negative end of the looming Petrie decision. It's bad enough to take a team with positive vibes that's probably going to be at 6 or 7 games  won after 20 games through the season. It's even worse when management is doing things in a dysfunctional manner. You wanna look around? Try being a Dubs fan right now. They got smoked by the Bullets last night. And Atma Brother One, said the only joke was Dubs management. (Don't blame him.)

Fan Diatribe Coming.....Now: You want confusing? Be a Clips fan for a day. Go over to Les Boulez, and see how much fun they're having with the firing of Eddie Jordan. If I've learned anything over the years about fans, it's that we tend to cull and absorb information differently than people on the inside do. The reason is that we look for reasonable 2nd, or even worse, 3rd or 4th hand information to sustain us. When you're an insider, having 1st hand information is what it's about. Otherwise, making a decision without it is not wise.

So, in otherwords, the Kings, for all the Maloof's and Petrie's warts during the last few years, are still a world better than a team like the Dubs who just can never get their act together. The Levien hiring isn't news, at least as far as new news is concerned, it was all but a done deal last week, but the signal of a positive direction around a team that sorely needed some after a few years of having an almost schizophrenic idea's and direction. Jason Levien is an interesting figure in all of this, and well, what was constantly said was that he was a LAWYER. His agent status wasn't brought up, too much, but his lawyer status was consistently brought up. Clearly the Maloof's care about how he can help them with the CBA, and to be quite honest, even if Petrie doesn't have a potential retirement looming, and Levien was happy being part of the team, Levien's gifts to this team would still be obvious. He has a knowledge of the salary cap, and he may be able to explain it to the Maloof's in ways that Petrie can't. There's already been proven benefits of Levien types in a front office, and while some Blazer fans hype the "Pritch" slapped virtues, it's clear that without Tom Penn he wouldn't have done all the impressive things that Portland needed to get players like James Jones. The most interesting thing about Penn, is that he was the former assistant GM of the Grizzlies under Jerry West. So this stuff has precedence, and ignoring that Levien was an agent, it's his knowledge of the CBA that's probably of greatest immediate important. Even then Gavin mentioned this:

He's an attorney and a bright guy, so he'll work well under Geoff. He'll review players contracts. He'll help us form the contracts, do a lot of legal work that we need done. Whatever is involved in the business, that's what he'll help us with. And he's a basketball junkie, which is great too. You've got to find somebody who eats, breathes, and sleeps basketball, and that's what he does. I feel fortunate to have him, and I think he's going to bring a lot to the table.

The emphasis is mine. It doesn't change what Gavin said. Or really what he meant. I think the hardest thing in this league is to judge the CBA and how it affects you. Penn has done a tremendous job of acquiring talent for the Blazers by creating exceptions where other teams would have done just the trade by it's standstill. I think after the summer where the Donte Greene technicality held up the trade for about 15 days, the Kings, or Geoff perhaps, realized that having a salary cap expert is something the team needs moving forward to remain competitive. After all, the Kings are already at a disadvantage in a league where a market is a huge part of the built in advantage. The Clippers could move to Anaheim, and still probably, at 40% of the Southern California Market, would be a far bigger share of the attention and hype than a team like the Kings being the sole team in the whole market of Sacramento . Or, the Warriors with the huge Bay Area to draw from. (Which is not to say the Bay Area isn't a huge market as is. The Bay Area doesn't have 2 "teams", but it might as well considering that the Kings are so close to the Bay.) Small teams need to out think their bigger market counterparts, and in a way, the Levien hiring is just that. Plus, he was the agent for SpeedRacer. That deserves a little bit of dap doesn't it?

Moving on to Petrie for a moment. If there is a question that Petrie addresses, it's about his future:

Q: When the story came out last week, by far the most frequent question being asked by your fanbase was not only 'What is this guy going to do?' but - so long as your deal doesn't go beyond next season - people wonder where your career is at. Does this have any impact on that? Is there a bigger picture at play here at all?

A: I don't think so. I really don't. I mean, I want to continue doing what I'm doing as long as it works for everybody. Obviously, you're healthy enough and you think your track (record) is good and you're accomplishing something. I don't think people should be really caught up in that at all.

Sorry Sam, had to take it all there. The whole question and answer is worth noting, but I do think that Levien will take the reins sooner or later, with Petrie still having a ton of input. I think Petrie saw what happened with Donnie Walsh when he was still in Indy, and said, you know, that's not a bad idea! Let me get a replacement that isn't Coop, because he's my age and may not want to be in the front office toiling silently as my practically unknown Veep of Hoop operations forever. But he is 52 years old, and I think his valuable talent instincts would make him an attractive talent decision maker to combine with Levien in the future. It works in Denver with Mark Warkentian and Rex Chapman. Why can't it work in Sacramento? Doesn't Coop have some esteem within the organization? One would hope, but I believe he does. He wouldn't still be here otherwise. Scotty Stirling is another interesting question, but I don't know enough about him personally to ask that question. These questions will be asked by people with more knowledge and inside info than me anyway.

This tidbit from 1 of Amick's question's to Levien I find interesting:

I didn't get into the agent business to stockpile as much money as I could. I did it because I really cared about my clients, I really cared about the game, and I felt that I could give good advice and make a difference in their lives. I feel as though, you know, I'm not getting into this for the same reason obviously.

I mean if dude isn't into stockpiling money, well then shit he'll be okay with Sac-a-tomatah? Ya think? Homey got plenty of money, and if he didn't, he surely doesn't sound like the type of guy overly worried about it. His comments showed the tone of a guy who thought this decision over from every angle. His family, location, and monetary situation all took part in the equation. It's kind of like a player choosing to be here. Having a part of the management team wanting to be here is an important measure of the future viability of this franchise long term. Jason Levien may not be the cure-all for everything that ill's this franchise, but Tim Duncan's only come through the draft every 10 years or so. 5 years if you're lucky. And he's hell of a start on what currently ill's a team, like say, the Warriors. I'll drink to that minions. It's a good day in Kings land. Let's embrace it for what it's worth.

If there is a bottom line to this type of deal, it's that the Kings got themselves someone with a vested interest in seeing the franchise do well. They got a young enough guy who could provide the franchise a valuable segueway for quite some time until another replacement is needed (20 years at a minimum mebbe?) down the road. To do that by hiring one guy, even if he's from the "other" side, means that you're willing to do what it takes. I don't care if the Maloof's spend 80 million dollars on a roster on any given year, but I care that they don't spend their time fighting with management they've put in place on coaches, roster and trades. It's one thing to decide something based on money; you sign the checks it's your right. It's quite another, in my humble opinion to spend your money on finding people that will work for you, and let them do their job. If the Maloof's have finally resigned themselves to the fact that they are not more qualified to run the basketball side of operations than their basketball people they've hired, and if Levien was a joint hire, as it seems, than the peace of unity will benefit this franchise many, many years from now. If you want a silver lining of bliss, and you can't find it with this, either you're too young to know better, or you're Stinky. In otherwords, the good ship Kings is back on track. Hallelujah!