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		Kings Favorite Son Brings New Hope By Tony Renteria June 25, 2007
	New Mexico State basketball coach Reggie Theus, who played five years for the Sacramento Kings, answers a question during a news conference where he was named coach of the NBA basketball team in Sacramento, Calif., Wednesday, June 20, 2007. Theus replaces Eric Musselman, who was released at the end of the season. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
	The Maloofs own the Palms in Las Vegas, one of the hottest Casinos in town. They turn a great profit from those rolling the dice wishing to come up with a winner. Over two months after firing Eric Mussleman the Maloofs rolled their own dice by hiring former NBA Player Reggie Theus and more importantly one of the most popular players in the Sacramento Kings Era. In the time where the creditably of the Maloof’s and Geoff Petrie is being questioned almost daily by the local media and fans alike they gambled on a promising coach who turned around a losing program in New Mexico into a team that qualified for the NCAA tournament. At one point in time Reggie Theus was Mr. Sacramento King. A former NBA all star and rookie of the year, he brought the creditability that the organization needed to get people in the seats. Reggie Theus could have run for Mayor of Sacramento and won hands down. He was the Kings version of Magic Johnson, the town’s sole media star and NBA Magnet. The history of the Sacramento Kings has been one of gambles, more failing than succeeding. It started when Greg Lukinbill bought the Kansas City Kings to bring NBA basketball to Sacramento and has come nearly full circle as the once most popular player has become the teams coach and perhaps the savior of the Organization. In the midst of the apathy of the players on the roster, the failure of the coaching staff to bring any sense of discipline to the team and the failure to get a new arena built Reggie maybe the savior the Maloofs need to keep the Kings in Sacramento. The Kings broke the NBA record of consecutive sellouts while starting the trend in a converted warehouse and then moving to Arco Arena. The Arena is dated at best and not very fan- friendly at worse, it needs to be torn down, then the new one built being the state of art arena that a one major sports team city needs. Reggie is a good looking, smooth and charismatic personality than will become the face of a team that will in months be torn apart for players who actually want to play. The Maloof’s need someone who can sell the rebuilding process and the arena at the same time. Why not pick the one man who helped inspire the rapid following that makes a kings game more like a college basketball game. Sacramento Kings are hanging by a thread with a lack of talent, questions of the creditability of the owners and the non approval by the voters of Sacramento of a new publicly financed arena. One the other end of that thread is Reggie “Run Street’ Theus, an NBA rookie coach who could sell an Eskimo an igloo. The Maloof’s have gambled that they hired the right salesman, the fans of the Sacramento Kings hope it does not come up snake eyes.