Gavin Maloof: ‘Kings are Reason for My Existence’

The Maloof bros give the Sac Bee an unintentionally hilarious interview. Read the whole thing, but here’s one highlight: “Since you brought up Arco Arena, what’s the latest on the arena situation? Your commitment to Sacramento? Because of the arena uncertainty, it’s no secret your family routinely is approached by groups attempting to lure franchises to Seattle, Kansas City, Las Vegas, San Diego. Joe Maloof: ‘We don’t want to hear about those people. Who are these people, anyway? I think they just want to get their names in the paper. We want to hear about getting our team better and getting people back in the building. Now, it’s a fact of life that cities that don’t have NBA teams go after them. There are only 30 franchises; they’re jewels. But we’re not interested. We have a team and a wonderful community, and we’re committed to turning it all around in Sac.’ Were you surprised that Peter Gruber’s ownership group recently outmaneuvered Larry Ellison for the Warriors? Joe Maloof: ‘No, that was a fair price ($450 million) for both sides. You can’t go into these situations looking for bargains. That was the mistake we made before we bought the Kings. Want to hear a story? We tried to buy nine, 10 teams, and we kept looking for a good business deal. And nothing was happening. Our younger brother Phil finally told us, ‘Pay more than the other guy and get your team.’ That’s what we did when we bought the Kings. And, really, it’s so much fun. Gavin Maloof: ‘It’s the reason for our existence, for my existence.’ For your existence? Are you serious? Gavin Maloof: ‘If you take the team from me, you might as well bury me six feet under! I would never sell. I might sell a percentage but would never give up controlling interest. We want to leave the team to our nephews.'”