All rise.

Hear ye’, hear ye’, all come to order. The court of common sense and reason is now in session, the honorable rbiegler now presiding (note – rbiegler had nothing to do with this, but "the honorable section214" rang very hollow, so I went to ‘biegs for some cred).

rbiegler: Be seated. We are here today to hear the case of the NBA lottery: Fix or no fix. Is the attorney for "Why it was fixed" ready?

Crazy Cat Lady: Arrrriaiar!!

rbiegler: And the attorney for "Why it is not fixed?"

section214: That raccoon stole my lamb chop!

rbiegler: Proceed.

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I have a friend (no, really!). We’ve been friends since 1973, back when the NBA’s best included Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Dave Cowens and Tiny Archibald and Wilt Chamberlain. Neither one of us grew up with much, be we didn’t go without, either. We were bonded by our love for sports, and that bond grew into a friendship that has withstood the test of time and geography.

My friend set upon a path of higher learning (Go Aggies and Bruins!) and ultimately took his skills and brilliant mind (let’s give it a Gregg Popovich ranking) out into the professional world, where he amassed millions. Meanwhile, I set upon a path of mid-range learning (Go Beavers!) and I ultimately took my "skills" and brilliant above average somewhat functional mind (let’s give it a Musselman/Theus/Natt/Westphal/Smart ranking) out into the professional world, where I was able to claw my way to just below the middle before slipping most of the way back down.

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Dove-tailing off of Aykis’ fine but depressing post on the state of our wings, I began to think about ways that we could fix the small forward position. Some of these require panning a little gold in the draft, while others require a little in-house miracle, and others still fall under the "If only…" category.

First off, I see the roster as really only having two small forwards on the current roster in Travis Outlaw and Tyler Honeycutt. Tyreke Evans, John Salmons and Francisco Garcia are really nothing more than 2 guards that move to small forward when the team "goes small." Donté Greene is likely gone, and even if he stays he is not the answer, unless the question is "Who is not a starting NBA-caliber small forward?" Terrence Williams may or may not be here next year, and I see him as no more a small forward than Evans/Salmons/Garcia (OK in small doses, but not the 30 minute a night solution for the small forward position).

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Hi, I am a very cute puppy. My job is to take your mind off the current plight of your Sacramento Kings.

I was thinking the other day (I can always tell when I’m thinking because my head hurts and I smell wood burning) that Kings fans are multi-taskers unlike virtually any other NBA fan base. I mean, look at the things that we have to concern ourselves with:

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(Editor's note - I am posting this for a would-be member that has had difficulty getting his membership to launch.)

The Tale of Sacramento

For the citizens of Sacramento and Northern California the opportunity to build a world class downtown that revitalizes the economy and community has arrived. The "term sheet" for a better Sacramento exists, the plan is in place with only one component to go. All that's needed is willing owners of an NBA anchor tenant. So how can Sacramento get NBA owners that are willing to be partners with the city? One way is to let the Maloof's overplay their hand and then pounce. Ladies and Gentlemen, presenting George Maloof, the NBA Board of Governors and The Tale of Sacramento.

So what is The Tale of Sacramento?

It's an ugly affair to have seen and severe warning for other cities to heed. The Tale of Sacramento is simple...if you play by the rules, meet all the deadlines, come up with the partners, develop a good plan, reach a deal and even if you produce the money....you can still lose in the end. If the city has been a good partner means zero. The NBA's word and effort could be worth nothing. Even owners tears, possibly fake and subject to review.

As The Tale of Sacramento grows in reach, as more city mayors and city councils hear, as more communities become aware, as Kings fan shove this narrative viscously deep down the media's throat, the NBA Board of Governors will almost certainly face a decision on relocation. If they vote to allow the Maloof's to relocate then The Tale of Sacramento will be a shadow darkening their arena prospects for decades. A major weapon to be continually used against them, justification and fuel for all groups opposed to public/private arena financing. It will be a precedent. A bad precedent.

Does the Board of Governors want this future? A future where all potential arena partners forever have The Tale of Sacramento lurking, ready to kill any deal? A future where partners continually fear that NBA owners might shake their hand, have a photo-op and a week later demand better terms or the deal is off? Available to the Board of Governors is another choice, a different future.

The Tale of Sacramento is not yet complete.

The ending is still unwritten. The opportunity for Sacramento to find a willing partner of the people exists. The chance for the best ending possible still looms.

The Tale of Sacramento can be a fairy tale, a shining example, a movie waiting to be made. All that is needed for the community to win and for the game to prosper in the Capital City is a no vote on relocation by the NBA Board of Governors. If the Maloof's are told by the Board of Governors that they had a good arena deal, they blew it and they must fix their own mess...then the Maloof's will fail and the team will eventually have to be sold. There is no investor that will build the Maloof's a new arena in Natomas for free adult movies at the Palms or tickets to the Maloof Cup and if we learned anything on Friday the 13th it's that the Maloof's are as broke as we thought (74 million dollars fronted by the NBA to pay their 73.25 million dollar share of the ESC project). So besides finding a secret SacTown sugar daddy, if the Maloof's are told they can't move the team, they'll be at the end of their run. A no vote turns The Tale of Sacramento into a feel good story. Sacramento gets its partner in redevelopment and builds a world class downtown, possibly even landing the Olympics. Meanwhile the NBA keeps its reputation while upgrading owners.

Or, the Board of Governors can vote yes to relocation and The Tale of Sacramento can end as a flop and disgrace. Seattle part two but much worse. A P.R. nightmare from hell that will linger like garlic breath. A cautionary account that demands all current and future NBA cities take notice, that all political leaders recalculate their level support for the NBA. It will be a precedent that makes building arenas with public money a much, much harder proposition.

Certainly other paths of resistance exist, for example boycotting the Maloof's sounds like good fun. But the real power lies with the Board of Governors, the Maloof's peers. They are the ultimate decision makers in this drama. The Kings play where the Board says they will play and nowhere else. And the members of the Board of Governors are business people. And the bottom line is the Maloof's are bad for business. So may be The Tale of Sacramento, unless the Board decides otherwise. Kings fans have every right to remind the Board of Governors and media of these facts. Sacramento has a tale to tell, time to start telling it.

"We did our part." - KJ

Hi gang. Back in December, I ran a Fanpost detailing the difference between a Fanpost and a Fanshot. Recently, we've had a number of each that did not meet the qualifications, so I am re-posting the "directions" here:

A couple of years ago, I think I used some lame verbiage that went something like, "If it's yours to boast, then Fanpost. If it is not, then Fanshot." Like I said, lame. That said, the simple difference is that if you are authoring the post, then it is a Fanpost. But if you are primarily posting someone else's work, then it is more appropriate to present it in Fanshot form.

Fanposts should possess content that exceeds what you would post as a comment in a thread. In other words, don't submit a Fanpost that is nothing more than a thread comment.

Fanshots are primarily content from other media sources. Remember copyright rules and simple ethics. Do not cut and paste someone else's work. Instead, create the Fanshot with the appropriate link to the site and work that you are referencing. Do not cut and paste ESPN Insider, for example, if that content can be accessed only by those that pay for such access.

Also, please remember that the "Weekly Asinine Trade Thread" is posted on a regular basis (except after the trade deadline to the end of the season) by StR member and snazzy dresser "lietothegirls" (code name "lttg"). Always look for that Fanpost for trade discusssion as opposed to posting your trade idea as an independent Fanpost.

Oh, and be sure to "rec" any Fanposts or Fanshots that you particularly like. 10 recommendations will vault it to the top of the Fanpost or Fanshot list, where it will be more readily available to all members for a longer period of time.

Last but not least, please give the Fanshot inventory a good review before posting your Fanshot. Many times the story that you're about to link may already be posted. And remember, if one of the StR staff has posted a Fanshot to the front page, it may not show up in the Fanshot sidebar that runs down the right side of the front page, so be aware.

Huge thanks to each and every one of you that takes the time to Fanpost and/or Fanshot. Your contributions really help take StR to a higher level.