Kansas City's last tie to the NBA's Sacramento Kings -- once known as the Kansas City Kings -- could soon be a very distant memory. An attorney for the team's owners filed trademark registrations for the names "Anaheim Royals," "Anaheim Royals of Southern California," "Orange County
Royals" and "Los Angeles Royals."
Sacramento's inability to get a public-financed arena built has led to the
relocation talk. The potential name change is just another move toward what's looking more and more like an inevitable relocation.
The Royals name reaches back to the franchise's beginnings in Rochester and Cincinnati. The team changed it after relocating to Kansas City (and Omaha) since
Kansas City's baseball team already used the Royals name.
Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, a former NBA
player, has said he believes the Kings
will move to Anaheim's Honda Center
next season.
"The likelihood of them leaving is probably greater than them
staying," Johnson told reporters earlier this month. "It's clear [the
Kings] are looking to try to strike or create a deal with Anaheim. ...
If they don't get a deal, they'll choose Sacramento. I don't think
Sacramento has a whole lot of say right now."
The NBA's board of governors granted Kings' owners the Maloof brothers an extension to apply for relocation. They have
until April 18, which gives the Maloofs plenty of time to discuss their
options with the rest of the league's owners at the NBA Board of Governors meetings April 14-15.
It's becoming more and more clear that Sacramento fans are about to feel the same pain that Kansas City pro-basketball fans did in 1985 and that Seattle did in 2008. It's also clear that the Kings won't be coming back to Kansas City.
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