Early Monday, former Sacramento Kings great Chris Webber took to Twitter to voice his pleasure on the Maloofs decision to keep the franchise in Sacramento. Later that evening, he shared his thoughts on the air during TNT's Inside the NBA.
The former Kings power forward said he found out the Maloofs decision to stay in Sacramento two days ago.
"It is one more year," Webber began. "But we do have to have our due diligence. And as a community (we must) show that fans are going to support, show that we have a new arena, which are things we're going to do.
"It's a great day in Sacramento because the Kings were gone," Webber emphatically added. "And I'm glad we have them there for another year. And within this year, we're going to make some special things happen."
Webber also added that he's hopeful in renewed efforts to build an arena, stating he has private investors lined up to help pay for a new entertainment-and-sports complex.
"I'm very optimistic," he said. "And to the fans, keep the faith and keep praying. But I'm working with a group, I'm working with the mayor, I'm working with the Maloofs. And the goal is to keep the team there."
Fellow TNT Analyst Charles Barkley weighed-in as well. The former Phoenix Suns power forward said that it isn't fair to let taxpayers bear the financial burden of constructing new venues.
"I don't think these cities should have to pay for the whole arena," Barkley said. "If these guys who own these teams (and they're going to) own the arena...they should have to put half the money up.
"We can't just keep passing the buck onto the fans," he added. "We've been doing that for a long time, screwing these fans. And I really hate when we take a team from a city."
Barkley also pointed out that Sacramento basketball fans have proven through dedication, in good times and bad, that they are more than deserving of an NBA franchise.
"Even when the Sacramento Kings sucked, which was most of the time, they had the best fans." Barkley said. "They had great fans. They had the great run with C-Webb and Vlade (Divac) and those guys (who) were there. But let's be realistic the majority of the time, they've been bad. But, that place was sold out every single night, they were really noisy and I would hate to see that team leave there."
Fellow analyst Kenny Smith agreed with Barkley. But the former Kings point guard stressed that the ball to keep the NBA in Sacramento is now in the hands of regional leaders.
"The fans already proved that they can support the team," Smith said. "It's up to the city and the county to show that they can support an NBA franchise."
Listen to the discussion below. Download it here. (Audio courtesy of TNT).