Sacramento Kings are small market brothers of the Utah Jazz

The Utah Jazz are a small market franchise. So too are the Sacramento Kings.

Some of the most bitter sweet memories have been Jazz / Kings games, but that is a side show to how these two teams are actually so related. The long-time lead assistant coach to Jerry Sloan, our mustacheiod Phil Johnson, used to be the head coach for the Kings -- and even won a COY award for his efforts. Countless players have played for both franchises over the years, like Greg Ostertag (to name one). Another would be Tyrone Corbin -- who fate would have it has the honor of being the head coach for both teams as well, during his travels.

In a market where the biggest, loudest, fish get all the shine it can be hard to compete. The Kings did it in Sacramento with drafting / trading for Europeans, and getting some lucky moves to bring in high level American talent, like Chris Webber. Those Vlade Divac teams were fun to watch, even if we had to face them in the playoffs.Utah had a run kind of like that a while back in the Deron Williams / Andrei Kirilenko / Mehmet Okur / Carlos Boozer era, but didn't make as much noise in the playoffs save for a WCF trip.

Anyway, let's hit the film room:

Maaan, John Stockton was such a boss . . . and that Karl Malone kid isn't half bad either

The Jazz and the Kings are both in rebuilding / learning mode right now. Both will miss the playoffs this year. But no matter what, both teams will remain brothers. The whole process of the Kings trying to get a new Arena deal was harrowing to watch, and as a fellow small market fan, I feel like the Kings fans are my brothers and sisters.

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