Sacbee: King's Ownership Change May Discourage Re-signing Of Williamson and Stewart

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                            KINGS ARTICLE INDEX

                        [The Sacramento Bee][KINGS]

     Where do Kings go from here? Ownership change may discourage free
     agents

     By Martin McNeal
     Bee Staff Writer
     (Published Jan. 16, 1999)

        The Kings appeared to have cleared up their ownership picture
     Friday with the announcement that the Maloof family will take
     over from majority owner Jim Thomas on July 1.

     And Gavin Maloof, who heads his family corporation's sports and
     entertainment operation, says his family plans to be aggressive
     in the pursuit of talent.

     "We're pro-active," he said. "We want to be aggressive. With the
     new rules, we can only do so much and we're going to stay within
     the guidelines. But we want to put out the best product we can on
     the floor. We have a commitment to the product. We've got money,
     and we're committed to putting a better product on the floor. We
     have to."

     Agents for two of Sacramento's most prized free agents are
     waiting to see how committed the new ownership is -- and, for
     that matter, how much money the new ownership is ready to spend.

     Elbert Crawford, who represents forward Corliss Williamson, was
     admittedly disappointed Friday evening after talking with Kings
     vice president Geoff Petrie. And Bill Duffy, agent for center
     Michael "Yogi" Stewart, said he was unsure of the team's position
     under the new ownership.

     "We haven't received a proposal from them yet," Crawford said of
     the Kings. "But if they don't do better than what they did
     (Friday night), then it looks like Monday or Tuesday we will
     definitely be getting serious with some other teams. We have
     talked with three other teams seriously, and Corliss has given me
     the indication that they would be places he'd strongly consider.

     "But Corliss has always indicated that this is where he wanted to
     be and that he wanted to give Sacramento the opportunity to do
     him right. I'm still hoping that they are going to do that.
     That's what we want. But if things don't change in the next 72
     hours, Corliss probably is going to be playing somewhere else
     this season."

     Petrie said Friday night that he was not going to get into the
     specifics of his conversation. The guidelines of the new
     collective bargaining agreement set a salary cap of $9 million
     for a player with zero to six years of experience. Suffice it to
     say, an offer for that much was not tendered.

     "We talked about the general parameters of where we thought we
     were as of (Friday)," Petrie said.

     "Certainly, I'll be talking to Elbert again, and I will certainly
     give him a full, detailed proposal. We talked about some starting
     numbers."

     Crawford said he made his displeasure known to Petrie.

     "Hey, we had a lockout that lasted six months," Crawford said.
     "This is no time for B.S. We've been hearing some serious things
     from other teams and then to hear what the Kings are thinking,
     it's an insult."

     The Kings and Williamson nearly reached an agreement before the
     start of the 1997-98 season on a six-year deal worth about $42
     million. But the deal fell through, and he became a free agent.

     "They are still in that ballpark, and trust me, we're way beyond
     that ballpark," Crawford said. "And other teams know that."

     Williamson followed with a season in which he averaged 17.7
     points on nearly 50 percent field-goal shooting, 5.6 rebounds,
     2.9 assists and 35.7 minutes in 79 games.

     Meanwhile, Duffy said he was uncertain where the new ownership
     was headed because he has not spoken with them.

     "Right now, we're dealing with an unknown," he said. "I also
     don't know who the next GM is going to be or if there is going to
     be another one. I don't know if the new ownership appreciates
     'Yogi.' I don't know what the new ownership's direction is. Now
     if they were to call us and let us know that they think 'Yogi' is
     important and respect his talent, that's something else again.

     "In a way, it feels like we're dealing with a whole different
     franchise."

     Rick Adelman clearly is a different coach than the one -- Eddie
     Jordan -- Stewart previously played for. But Adelman said he
     likes the 6-foot-10 shot-blocker.

     "I was really impressed with 'Yogi' last season," Adelman said.
     "I think he can be a real valuable part of this team. With the
     rules the way they are, we're searching to see what we can do to
     make sure he stays here. We can add some people, but we still
     think he can be a valuable piece to the puzzle."