It didn’t take long for the axe to fall in the shortened NBA season as the Sacramento Kings fired head coach Paul Westphal on Jan. 5 with the club’s 2-5 record cementing them in the basement of the Pacific Division. Geoff Petrie, the head of basketball operations for the Kings, said the team wasn’t performing as well as expected and assistant coach Keith Smart would take over the reins. Smart won his first game in charge with the Kings beating Milwaukee 103-100 the night Westphal was let go.

It appears to many that the firing was somehow related to Westphal’s relationship with center DeMarcus Cousins. For some reason Cousins and Westphal just couldn’t get along and team owners Gavin and Joe Maloof decided it would be easier to replace the coach than one of their star players, especially a 61-year-old coach who had a 51-120 record with the club. This is an important season for the Kings since they’re hoping to gain momentum towards getting a new arena.

Westphal thanked the players, his coaching staff and the Maloofs after packing his bags and said he appreciated the opportunity they gave him. He said there’s still a long way for the club to go, but felt they at least took some steps in the right direction. However, his relationship with Cousins seemed to be consuming much of his time lately.

He criticized the player’s commitment to the team in a statement on Dec. 31 and didn’t play him against New Orleans. In addition, he said that Cousins had asked the franchise to trade him, which was then denied by the player and his agent. Petrie claimed he knew Westphal planned to release his statement regarding Cousins, but neither of the Maloofs knew about it.

After Westphal was fired, Cousins said there have been quite a few misunderstandings and the last week has been pretty emotional. He added that it comes with the territory though and he felt Westphal was a good coach and a fine teacher to a lot of the players, but ultimately it was a decision made by the team’s management.

The 21-year-old Cousins was drafted in 2010 fifth overall out of Kentucky. At the time of the firing he was playing 26 minutes a game with a 13.7 point scoring average along with 9.3 rebounds. He’s had a reputation of being a volatile character though ever since high school and his work ethic and conditioning have often been questioned.

He said he realizes a lot of people are going to blame him for Westphal’s demise, but reiterated that it was the management’s decision. Westphal was depending on Cousins to help the team improve on last year’s 24-58 record and was hoping to make the playoffs for the first time in six years. But with the team struggling early on the Maloofs didn’t want to dig an early and deep hole that they couldn’t get out of.

Gavin Maloof said Westphal’s a great guy, but it was time to make a change and push for a postseason spot before things got out of hand. The franchise is also still waiting to hear about a new arena in Sacramento and will find out by the deadline on March 1. If they don’t get a new rink, the club could end up relocating, possibly to Anaheim.

Smart said being named the new head coach was a bit of a surprise to him, especially so early in the season, but added that Westphal engaged him in a heart-to-heart talk and gave him a vote of confidence. He’s gotten off to a good start, but still needs improve the coaching relationship with Cousins to succeed over the long haul.

After months of speculation, the Sacramento Kings decided on May 2 they’re going to keep the NBA franchise in Sacramento for at least one more season. This will give Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson the chance to prove he’s a man of his word and deliver a new arena for them to play in.

After failing to get a new venue in Sacramento, the Kings were thinking about heading over to Anaheim, Calif. But after thinking about it long and hard, decided to stay put and give Johnson another shot.

Joe Maloof, one of the Kings owners, told the league’s relocation committee that Johnson promised to have plans for a new arena within the next year. He said if Johnson doesn’t come through then the Kings will head out of town.

Maloof and the other Kings owners were supposed to inform the NBA by May 2^nd if they wanted to relocate the team and then ask for the league’s permission. But the former basketball player Johnson was adamant at keeping them in Sacramento. He gathered about $10 million in pledges from corporate sponsors in an effort to convince the Kings to stay.

The City of Sacramento is supposed to study the feasibility of a new arena later in May. Many residents are against building one if it’s going to cost the taxpayers, but Kings fans naturally, are all for it.

Several California lawmakers contacted NBA boss David Stern and said they’d work with local officials in Sacramento in the upcoming months to try and build a new performing arts and sports complex as a replacement to the current outdated arena.

Maloof said the club has waited for years for a new arena and has spent millions of dollars, but it’s up to Johnson and other officials to come up with a good plan and then pull it off.  However, he wants fans and politicians to know there’s a sense of urgency in the matter and said the NBA has already said it would support the team moving for 2012-13 if things can’t be worked out in Sacramento.

Maloof didn’t say if they would move to Anaheim team if it relocated though. He did thank the city’s officials for their encouragement and support and said he’s sure there will be a team in Anaheim one day.

Sacramento used to be an NBA hotspot and had sellout strings of 354 and 497 games in the past at the Arco Arena. But the city has been hit hard with job losses and budget deficits and both the fan’s interest and the team have declined over the years.

The Honda Center in Anaheim is ready for a team and comes with great sightlines and luxury suites, but the LA Lakers and Clippers compete in the same local market. Maloof felt he owed it to the fans to give it a little more time and it’ll be interesting to see how the team is supported next season. However, it’ll be interesting to see how everything turns out if the NBA locks its players out this season.

It’s no secret that the city of Anaheim is after the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, but now it’s more or less come out and revealed its ambitions. The city recently revealed a financial plan that’s being presented to the Kings in hopes of luring them to Anaheim’s Honda Center. It included $75 million in bonds.

Tom Tait, the mayor of Anaheim, said the deal won’t cost his city’s taxpayers any money. He released a statement that said he hopes the city will soon be hosting its own NBA team in the near future. However, the ball is still in the court of Gavin and Joe Maloof, the owners of the Kings as they have until April 18 to file a relocation request with the league.

Tait has made a 103-page staff report that will be presented to the City Council regarding a potential deal and it can be found on the city of Anaheim’s website. The report mentions an unnamed potential basketball team that will play in the Honda Center, which is owned by the city, but managed by a company that’s controlled Henry Samueli, the billionaire owner of the Anaheim Ducks of the NHL.

The deal would see the Honda Center receive upgrades to the tune of $25 million, which would include a sports training area, new locker room, and practice court. There will also be $50 million set aside for transition costs, which will also include the NBA’s relocation fees. The money will be raised by private investors and according to the lease will be paid back by revenue from the arena.

It’s believed that Samueli, who’s also a big basketball fan, is supporting the move financially since he’s always wanted an NBA franchise in Anaheim. However, there are still a few procedures that must be taken care of before the Kings move to Anaheim or anywhere else. The Maloofs have to get permission still from the majority of NBA club owners and that certainly isn’t a sure bet.

They also have to pay the other two local franchises, the LA Lakers and Clippers, who are only 35 miles away at the Staples Center. Those two clubs haven’t made any public comments about a proposed move, but Lakers’ coach Phil Jackson said he didn’t think it was a great idea on March 25 before playing the Clippers. Jackson said it doesn’t make much sense to put a third team in the same metropolitan area.

The New York City area, with about 19 million people, is home to three NHL teams, but the New York Islanders are struggling at the gate. The Los Angeles area is home to about 18 million people and it’s believed the Kings would try and attract fans from areas such as San Diego and others that don’t have an NBA franchise.

The Maloofs recently registered for trademarks on four possible names for the club if it moves. It appears if it ends up in Anaheim it’ll be named the Anaheim Royals. The Royals name was previously used by the franchise back in Cincinnati and Rochester. One of the city’s rules is that all pro sports teams in Anaheim have to use the city’s name in it.