NBA Kings Managing Partner Vivek Ranadive two years into his tenure with the team has been "humbled, invigorated, encouraged, distressed," according to Ailene Voisin of the SACRAMENTO BEE. Reviews of Ranadive's stewardship within the league are "similarly mixed." He "receives props for securing a franchise and a soon-to-be constructed downtown arena, but he is criticized for a product that has been underwhelming and fraught with instability." Ranadive last week said, "Two people report directly to me. [President] Chris Granger, who runs the business side, and [VP/Basketball & Franchise Operations Vlade Divac] from the basketball side. I want to make that clear as we move forward. We have a lot of work to do, and we are all in this together.” Voisin wrote the Kings are "inching toward respectability." Ranadive: "I made mistakes, and I’m sure I’ll make more mistakes. Hopefully, I’ll make different ones. But I am successful at everything I do, and that’s not going to change. We are trying to build something special here, not just for one year, but for many years. And I’m learning that the journey is not going to be easy.” Voisin wrote the NBA’s elite owners "clean up their messes and avoid repeating mistakes, and in that sense, Ranadive is becoming a quicker study." His hirings of Divac and coach George Karl suggests he is "grasping the delicate balance between committed, effective ownership and meddling, dysfunctional leadership." Ranadive said, "What I have discovered is that the NBA culture tends to be more of a ‘crony’ culture than Silicon Valley.” Voisin noted Ranadive still has "huge plans: Fix the Kings, which will expand the global brand; put the finishing touches on the downtown arena; implement a 'Kings Academy,' a two-pronged program designed to provide players with life skills and financial tutorials; and add a grassroots component to attract and further develop youth basketball throughout the region" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 5/10).
LAWSUIT DROPPED: In Sacramento, Dale Kasler reported local lobbying firm Platinum Advisors CEO Darius Anderson has "dropped a lawsuit that claimed" Ranadive and Kings investor Mark Mastrov "reneged on an agreement to let him invest in the Kings two years ago." Anderson dropped the suit in a filing in San Mateo Superior Court and "offered no explanation" (SACRAMENTO BEE, 5/9).
