Kings' Maloof makes visit to Mid-Valley

The nine-figure man walked into the bar. His superbly tailored suit was suave, his demeanor calm and his candor honest — sometimes brutally.

On Thursday, Sacramento Kings co-owner Joe Maloof made an appearance at the Happy Viking in Yuba City to answer questions during a lunchtime visit to the Mid-Valley.

And before he could even sit down at a table in the center of the Plumas Street establishment, the celebrity owner showed that he wasn't going to overly sugarcoat the current state of his franchise.

"One of these ladies over there mentioned that the team didn't play as hard as it used to," said Maloof, pointing to a booth near the front door. "I think that's obvious."

Once he settled in, Maloof touched on a range of topics in between sips of diet soda, talking in front of cameras recording for view at www.appealdemocrat.com.

A miked-up Maloof spoke about hope surrounding the Kings' new rookies to the team's future in Sacramento — "we're not going anywhere" — to the disappointing 17-65 campaign of 2008 that saw the team finish with not only the worst record in the league, but the worst attendance as well.

It's a drastic departure from the thriving early 2000's, and Maloof didn't shy away from the realities of the current product at antiquated Arco Arena. He empathizes with the fans who didn't pass through the turnstiles last year — at times he "couldn't watch it" either.

"The fans haven't been there; the team's been bad, probably the worst team in the league," Maloof said to the crowd. "We've hit rock bottom, but now it's our time to try and build our way back up."

It starts with players like first round draft pick Tyreke Evans, said Maloof, who thinks, "he is going to be one of the best point guards in the league."

But to supplement players like Evans, and franchise-face Kevin Martin, the Kings "have to come out and try and get a veteran," he said.

"We have a young core but we're missing outside shooting," Maloof said.

The reason for Maloof's Yuba City stop was to help promote "Operation Sellout," an initiative that started in the capital city to try and fill the seats for the Kings' first two home games.

So far, it's working.

The team's Arco opener against Memphis is a sellout, Maloof said, which segued into one of his many compliments of the fans that he dished out over the 45-minute interview.

"We've always had the best fans in the world," he said.