February 11, 2005

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The Sacramento Kings and the Maloof family today awarded Kings President, Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie with a multi-year contract extension. Per team policy, contract details were not released.

“Geoff (Petrie) is one of the premier general managers in all of basketball. We feel today’s extension is both deserved and a necessity for our basketball team to continue to enjoy its tremendous success,” states owner Joe Maloof. “From the moment we met Geoff in 1998, we knew he was the man to lead our team into the future.”

Gavin Maloof adds, “Geoff Petrie brought us to elite status within the NBA. His ability to build a team and basketball operations department is unmatched. We want to make him a King for life. We can’t imagine anyone else running our basketball department. He has a brilliant mind and a keen eye for scouting talent.”

Prior to Petrie’s arrival in the Capitol City in 1994, the Kings had advanced to the NBA Playoffs only once in the previous nine seasons in the Sacramento-era (1985-86). Under his leadership the Kings have qualified for the post season in seven of 10 seasons, including each of the last six years. Sacramento has won 55-plus games each of the past four seasons and is the third-winningest franchise during that period at 333-176, trailing only the San Antonio Spurs (362-147) and Los Angeles Lakers (342-165). The Kings also have won Pacific Division titles two of the past three seasons and advanced to the Western Conference Finals in 2002.

Not only have the Kings enjoyed competitive success under Petrie, his teams also have entertained millions of fans worldwide. Sacramento owns the longest current sellout streak in the NBA at 252 heading into tonight’s contest versus Dallas. In addition, the Kings have played in front of a national television audience 206 times over the last seven seasons; this after the organization appeared on national TV a total of only 13 times in the previous 13 years. The Sacramento Kings also have been ambassadors to the game of basketball, having performed in two games in China this past October and two games in Japan in 1999.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed my work and life here in Sacramento. The Maloofs are a very special family and an absolutely terrific ownership group with which to work. I can’t imagine working with any other organization,” states Petrie. “On behalf of our entire staff, I’m very proud of what we have been able to accomplish here in Sacramento. I look forward to the ongoing competitive challenges of today, tomorrow, and beyond.” Petrie was voted the NBA’s Executive of the Year in both 1999 and 2001. In fact, he is the only person in league history to win both the Executive of the Year award and be named Rookie of the Year (shared Rookie of the Year honors with Dave Cowens in 1971).

Petrie’s re-working of the Kings’ roster has come via all avenues of player acquisition. He has enjoyed success via the draft in both the first and second rounds and consummated 15 player trades since 1994 that have resulted in the additions of such talent as Chris Webber, Mike Bibby, Brad Miller, Cuttino Mobley, and Doug Christie. He also has utilized the free agent market to add key components to the squad, most notably All-Star center Vlade Divac and 2003 NBA Sixth Man of the Year Bobby Jackson, and has achieved success in keeping key players by resigning them to long term contracts, such as Webber, Bibby, and Peja Stojakovic.