Sacramento Kings Tickets

NBA lockout could be bad bounce for surging Sacramento Kings ticket sales

The Sacramento Kings' season ticket sales have already surpassed last year's total, team officials said this week, thanks to NBA marketing assistance and a newfound ardor among fans after the team nearly left town this spring.

But that bonanza could slow, starting Friday.

The NBA's collective bargaining agreement expires at midnight Thursday. If the league and players don't come to a new agreement by then, a lockout may ensue, and with it the possibility that the upcoming season will be shortened or canceled entirely.

That untimely drama creates new questions about the team's future in Sacramento. Can the team owners, who have struggled financially, handle months of lost momentum as they try to rebuild fan and corporate support in Sacramento?

Can Mayor Kevin Johnson and local political leaders continue progress toward a do-or-die March 2012 deadline to finance a new sports and entertainment arena downtown?

Kings officials refused this week to discuss the possibility of a lockout, or its potential financial effect on the team. National Basketball Association officials, however, emailed The Bee a statement saying that ticket buyers face no risk.

"In the unfortunate event that games are missed next season, all NBA season ticket holders have the opportunity to receive a refund of the purchase price, plus interest, for all missed games," NBA spokesman Mike Bass said.

A lockout lasting into the basketball season would harm the Kings in the near term but could benefit them over time, NBA business experts said.

"Short-term, it would derail the momentum," said Bill Sutton, a former NBA vice president, now a marketing consultant for NBA teams. "Right now, everybody is excited about the Kings. Everything is going good."

Larry Coon of the University of California, Irvine, an expert on NBA collective bargaining, agrees that the Kings could be "one of the bigger losers" initially if there is an extensive lockout.

"They're retooling and trying to build brand awareness back and attract a following," he said, "and a lockout interrupts all that."

But if a lockout produces changes sought by the NBA, it could help stabilize the Kings financially and make it easier for the team to stay in Sacramento, both Sutton and Coon agreed. The league is pushing for new player-salary caps and league revenue sharing to benefit smaller-market teams.

"Any solution that fundamentally overhauls the league finances has the potential to help them considerably," Coon said.

NBA Rumors: Will Jimmer Fredette Keep the Kings in Sacramento ...

NBA Rumors Say Jimmer Fredette Could Keep The Kings In Sacramento

There are two keys to selling tickets in the NBA: one, winning, obviously, and two, having marketable players.

The Sacramento Kings haven't started winning just yet, but they already got that second part down.  According to sacbee.com , the Kings have already sold more tickets than they did all last season.  One undeniable reason for that: Jimmer.

The biggest name in the entire draft is already making a difference to a team that has just one more year to prove that it can survive in Sacramento.  That probably isn't the primary reason the Kings selected Jimmer at No. 10, but it's definitely a nice bonus. 

Jimmer's name may be able to sell tickets, but is he a good fit to help the Kings win games?  Sacramento had a huge need for a floor general going into the draft, but he's not really a floor general.  Jimmer is a scorer first, passer second point guard, and that may not fit well in an offense in which Tyreke Evans likes to have the ball in his hands.

His defense has to be in question too.  Jimmer was nothing special in college as defender, but he supposedly outplayed the lightening quick Kemba Walker one-on-one.  He's going to have to defend the likes of Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Steve Nash, and Tony Parker being in the West so he's not going to be able to be a one-way player. 

If Jimmer makes a successful transition to the NBA which he is talented enough to do so, the Kings will most likely be safe in Sactown.  If he fails, he'll be playing for the Anaheim Kings in 2012.

David Daniels is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report and a Syndicated Writer. Follow  him  on Twitter.

NBA Rumors Say Jimmer Fredette Could Keep The Kings In Sacramento

There are two keys to selling tickets in the NBA: one, winning, obviously, and two, having marketable players.

The Sacramento Kings haven't started winning just yet, but they already got that second part down.  According to sacbee.com , the Kings have already sold more tickets than they did all last season.  One undeniable reason for that: Jimmer.

The biggest name in the entire draft is already making a difference to a team that has just one more year to prove that it can survive in Sacramento.  That probably isn't the primary reason the Kings selected Jimmer at No. 10, but it's definitely a nice bonus.