Kevin Johnson has been out of the NBA for a decade, but he's still making an impact on the league through politics.
As the mayor of Sacramento, Johnson is trying his best to keep the Kings in his hometown.
The Maloof family, owners of the Kings, wants the franchise to stay put. However, they're dissatisfied with Arco Arena, built in 1988, the second-oldest arena in the NBA.
"At some point, if we can’t build a new entertainment and sports complex, they are going to have to shop elsewhere," Johnson told Yahoo.
Arco is also the smallest arena in the league and the team ranks second to last in attendance. The Kings want a home to showcase young stars Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins, and if they can't do that in Sacramento, the team could move to a number of possible landing spots, including Anaheim, Kansas City, Seattle, San Jose or Las Vegas where the Maloofs own the Palms hotel.
Four years ago, the city rejected plans for a $600 million dollar facility, but Johnson, mayor since 2008, is determined to get the job done. Currently, Johnson has sights set on the downtown rail yard as the building ground, according to the report. If that plan goes through, Johnson would be able to walk to the games from his mayoral office.
And he's not hiding the NBA fan inside him.
"If we are able to build a new arena, it won’t be in my first term," he told Yahoo. "I’m going to have to be re-elected because it’s going to take four years to do it. If I get it started, I don’t want to just cut the ribbon at the groundbreaking. I wouldn’t have quite as good of seats if that’s the case."
If Johnson can deliver Sacramento a new arena and keep the Kings in town, it might be the best assist of his career.
