If the Sacramento Kings do indeed relocate to Orange County for the next NBA season, don't be surprised if the team changes its name to the Anaheim Royals. The Sacramento Bee reports that a lawyer with ties to the Maloof brothers, who own the Kings, recently filed for trademarks on four names, including "Anaheim Royals" and "Los Angeles Royals."
‘Anaheim Royals’ Trademarked By Sacramento Kings’ Owners, According To Report
Adding a level of intrigue -- or indigestion, if you’re a Kings fan -- is that the team recently wore Rochester Royals jerseys for five home games in Sacramento as a part of the NBA’s throwback program. The news broke after the Kings had worn the white, red and blue Royals jerseys for the last time. The Kings were originally scheduled to wear the jerseys four times in late February and early March, but extended it to a fifth game as the jerseys proved popular. The franchise also ran a promotion in one of the game in which replica t-shirt with “Royals” scrawled across the front were gifted to fans.
Should the Kings move to Anaheim and become the Royals, nothing good will happen to many of those t-shirts.
The Maloofs received an extension on the NBA's deadline to file for relocation, and now must decide whether to file by April 18. They plan to discuss the matter with other owners April 14-15; it remains unclear whether those talks will include honest assessment, or a play for financial considerations by L.A.'s two current NBA owners, Jerry Buss of the Lakers and Donald Sterling of the Clippers.
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