Marc SteinofESPN.com reportsthat former Portland Trail Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard is being considered by the Sacramento Kings... ------------------- Sources close to the situation say that Kings co-owners Gavin and Joe Maloof, after years of patience, are giving strong consideration to starting all the way over should the team complete its increasingly anticipated relocation to Anaheim … which would mean a change in the front office, as well, before deciding whether to retain or oust Westphal. The Maloofs, sources say, are fans of former Trail Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard and increasingly considering him as a potential hire for the looming new era in Orange County as the Anaheim Royals. It remains to be seen if the Maloofs can actually stomach going through with such an aggressive revamp, after working so closely with Geoff Petrie so long, but the Kings have been steadily declining since Petrie's unsuccessful dismantling of their glory-days team from the early 2000s. With the franchise stuck in the league's bottom five for three successive seasons and faced with concerns about how young cornerstones Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins mesh, there's a rising sense in Sacramento -- in what unavoidably looks like the Kings' final days there -- that the Maloofs' patience has finally run out. ------------------- Should the Kings follow through and relocate to Anaheim, they would represent a similar from-the-ground-up situation in which Pritchard thrived in Portland. Hard to think of a better face to help sell a new franchise and to win new fans. If you're not readingTom Zillerand the folks over atSacTown Royaltyevery day, as theyfight to keep their team, you should be.Update: The Kings haveissued a statementof support for current GM Geoff Petrie... ------------------- "There is absolutely no truth that we are considering anyone else for our General Manager position. We consider Geoff Petrie to be the best in the business and look forward to continuing our resurgence with him at the helm." ------------------- -- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com |Twitter