The 15-time All-Star center promised to use the same brand that bullied Sacramento for years to bring positive attention to California's capital city.
O'Neal's larger-than-life personality did just that on his first day on the job. He attracted a crowd of about 75 reporters, with TV trucks fighting for the closest parking space outside Sacramento's suburban practice facility and about a dozen fans trying to sneak into the parking lot.
O'Neal said has no intention of being a silent investor. He wants to be a mentor to volatile center DeMarcus Cousins, give his input on basketball decisions and help the team build the NBA's first "indoor-outdoor arena."
O'Neal said he learned decades ago from Hall of Famer and friend Magic Johnson that endorsements "are good, but you want to own stuff." He declined to reveal his stake in the team but said joining an NBA ownership group "was always one of my dreams and aspirations," especially after retiring in 2011 after a 19-year playing career.
New Kings majority owner Vivek Ranadive said he first approached O'Neal about joining his group after he swayed the league to keep the Kings from moving to Seattle and bought the team from the Maloof family in May.
Ranadive's primary partner, 24 Hour Fitness founder Mark Mastrov, is friends with O'Neal. The two partnered in the past to build about 20 gyms, especially in South Florida during O'Neal's time with the Miami Heat. O'Neal said he moved from Los Angeles and couldn't find a place to work out at all hours and found Mastrov by searching his name on Google.
"Make no mistake: Shaq is a shrewd businessman," Mastrov said.
Ranadive said the deal came together a few weeks ago while "shooting hoops" at his Silicon Valley home with O'Neal and Mastrov.
"He's one of the most recognizable people on the planet," Ranadive said, "and we are trying to build the Kings into an even bigger global brand."
Ranadive revealed another one of those plans Tuesday. He said the team's season opener Oct. 30 against Denver will likely be broadcast in his native India.
O'Neal is the latest high-profile former player to join the Kings this summer after the franchise nearly moved to Seattle. Hall of Famer Chris Mullin was hired as a consultant to Ranadive, and Mitch Richmond is part of the ownership group.
But no member is a bigger surprise than O'Neal.
During the height of his career with the Lakers, O'Neal fueled the rivalry with the Kings with his play on the court and his personality off of it. He handed Sacramento its biggest blow by rallying the Lakers from a 3-2 deficit to win the 2002 Western Conference finals — which is still a sore spot for Kings fans — and never missed a chance to poke fun at the franchise.
"I wanted you to be very upset when you came to Arco Arena," O'Neal said, speaking to fans through reporters. "In my mind, if you could survive something like this, then you could win anywhere. You guys had us nervous all the way up until that Game 7."
Besides the opportunity to partner with friends, O'Neal said he wanted to work with one of the NBA's best young centers — and also one of its most troubled.
O'Neal said he's already initiated conversations with Cousins, who has been suspended several times by the NBA and the Kings for his behavior. He said he wants to help Cousins the way Phil Jackson helped O'Neal co-exist with others when he came to coach the Lakers.
"When I look at a young DeMarcus Cousins, I see a young Shaquille O'Neal. Very talented, very stubborn in his ways. Wants to do things his way," O'Neal said.
Cousins, who is entering his fourth year in the NBA, is eligible for a contract extension before Oct. 31 or he would become a restricted free agent next summer. Kings general manager Pete D'Alessandro said contract negotiations are progressing but offered no further details.
O'Neal declined to discuss what he thinks Cousins will do but said the center has been receptive to his help.
"The conversations," he said, "have already started."
Original post
Remember when Shaquille O'Neal called the Sacramento Kings the "Sacramento Queens," and not in a good way? Well if you don't, here it is:
Perhaps all will be forgiven now that the NBA great is taking a minority stake in the team. In fact, he apologized for the comment a couple of times during a press conference today. (Story from the Sacramento Bee here.)
From the USA Today story on O'Neal's new relationship with the Kings:
As the Kings continue their image makeover that was sparked by the late May sale of the team to Vivek Ranadive, they have made a big and bold move by adding O'Neal as a minority owner. The TNT analyst once gleaned pleasure in deriding the Kings, whom he owned in a very different way when his Lakers thrice knocked their rival out of the playoffs en route to titles in 2000, 2001 and 2002. Now his joy will come from seeing one of the league's worst-performing franchises turn things around.
Some speculation from the Sacramento Bee that O'Neal may be deployed in the battle over a new venue for the Kings:
O’Neal and his outsized personality could be used to sell Sacramentans on the proposed $258 million public subsidy for a new downtown arena, a subsidy that’s being challenged by a citizens group.
“He’s a well known, engaging personality with considerable star power,” said Doug Elmets, a Sacramento political consultant and veteran of the failed 2006 effort to build a downtown sports arena. “It comes at an important juncture in the effort to build the arena.”
The Kings’ new president, Chris Granger, said he wasn’t sure whether O’Neal’s role in the team would affect the arena fight but called O’Neal “a big salesman.”
The group trying to block the arena subsidy, Sacramento Taxpayers Opposed to Pork, has said it’s close to collecting the 22,000 signatures needed to put the subsidy issue on the June ballot. STOP spokesman John Hyde said O’Neal’s ownership stake in the Kings won’t sway voters.
The Kings are working hard to turn things around after the era of the Maloofs, who tried to move the team to Seattle but were blocked by the NBA. They then sold the team to a group headed by high-tech entrepreneur Vivek Ranadivé.
The O'Neal announcement comes after ESPN The Magazine's recent inclusion of the Kings at the top of their lists of best and worst pro sports franchises -- guess which category? Hint: It wasn't the "best.".
The Kings responded with a full-page ad, which was tweeted out by News10 Sacramento's Brian May:
