Aldridge On Sacramento, Scott Brooks, Rondo

While the city of Sacramento, the Kings, and the NBA have reached a tentative deal to keep the team in Sacramento, the franchise isn't quite out of the woods yet, as David Aldridge of NBA.com writes. Sacramento city council will vote Tuesday on whether or not to approve the framework of the arena deal, and councilman Robert King Fong is confident they'll get the required votes:

"I think we certainly have enough votes to pass it," Fong said. "I think it would be nice to have more than enough. It would be good optics. But I think we'll pass it."

Here are some other notes from Aldridge's column:

  • There are some questions about how the Maloof brothers will come up with their contribution to the Sacramento arena. "I don't think anybody expected they had that kind of money," said Jack Robinson, editor of the Sacramento Business Journal. "But we presume that since David Stern was sitting right next to them that the NBA is going to make sure that they have that kind of money… the NBA seems to be satisfied and seems to be putting its weight behind the Maloofs."
  • It's surprising that the Thunder have yet to extend the contract of coach Scott Brooks, says Aldridge. GM Sam Presti says he hopes Brooks will coach the team for "many, many years," but declined to comment further on the coach's contract status. However, Brooks' agent, Warren LeGarie, suggested that extension talks may not be revisited until after the season.
  • While acknowledging that he was told Rajon Rondo is "a personality challenge," Aldridge questions the logic of trading the star point guard. Aldridge spoke to one GM who thinks Celtics GM Danny Ainge was only seriously interested in trading Rondo when Chris Paul was on the table, but hasn't delved too deeply into talks since then.
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