Sacramento Kings: An Ownership Lawsuit Ends

During the frantic days of the Sacramento Kings’ near-relocation to Seattle in the winter and spring of 2013, many people were left with heartbreak, tentative hope, and a reason to rejoice – sometimes any of those, depending on the day or week.

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One man whose fortunes left him in the former-most category was developer and lobbyist Darius Anderson, whose firm, Platinum Advisors, maintains an office in Sacramento.

During the 2013 scramble to secure the team’s place in the city, Anderson was a key member of one would-be ownership team led by grocery and logistics billionaire Ron Burkle. Burkle and Anderson had tried previously become involved in the Maloof family’s attempted Anaheim relocation effort in 2011.

This time, Burkle’s interest in the Kings venture waned and finally dissipated in April 2013, with the deciding factor being a conflict of interest in relation to his part-ownership of Relativity Media, which represents NBA players.

At this point, in swooped the ownership contender led by Vivek Ranadive (then-CEO of TIBCO), and the rest, as they say, is … a lottery trip or two from success.

Oct 30, 2013; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive addresses the crowd before the game between the Sacramento Kings and Denver Nuggets at Sleep Train Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports /

Since the Kings ownership deal was sealed, Anderson had made rumblings about his discontent with his lack of a role in the Kings’ ownership.

These resentments ruminated until Anderson finally brought suit against Ranadive and fellow Kings co-owner Mark Mastrov in December, claiming that he was promised a stake in the team by the present ownership team before they had a change of heart and cut him out of the loop.

Though the Kings’ ownership responded with dismissive public comments about the lawsuit, it was clear that Anderson was sticking to his guns, seeking unspecified financial compensation as well as a legally-mandated piece of the team.

From the get-go, the suit seemed to be one brought upon not by clear deviousness or wrongdoing on the part of Ranadive and/or the ownership team, but of Anderson’s irrepressible and long-lived desire to have a hand in the franchise.

As the two parties girded themselves for what could have been a long and drawn-out affair, numerous personalities from the events of 2013 were mentioned as possibly having to testify: Sacramento Mayor (and former NBA All-Star) Kevin Johnson, former NBA commissioner David Stern, and Burkle, among others.

On May 8, Anderson dropped his lawsuit without having reached any settlement or having really gained anything from his legal posturings. Predictably, the Kings organization responded with by calling the withdrawal a confirmation of the suit’s lack of “merit,” and its “frivolous” nature.

With this historical footnote coming to a close, and with the team’s new arena currently being built, perhaps the Ranadive era can begin properly, as front office and coaching leadership seems to be place for the coming years (knock wood). Indeed, the recently-hired VP of basketball and franchise operations, Vlade Divac, will be on hand to represent the team at the 2015 NBA Draft Lottery in New York May 19.

One hopes he (and general manager Pete D’Alessandro, if his role is not totally diminished) have some solid choices in mind for a number of draft scenarios, as the Kings have a 6.3 percent chance of landing the No. 1 first round pick, and a 21.5 percent chance of landing in the top three.

Perhaps Divac’s luck will rub off on the organization, and there is some metaphorical meaning to this clip:

Next: 2015 NBA Playoffs: First Round Winners And Losers

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