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Yellow Pages
For the first time ever, Off The Glass writers will be making some executive decisions regarding their favourite (or least favourite) teams, in the form of one suggested team hiring and a single team firing.
While all basketball fans can complain about the players on the court, we here at OTG are turning the blame game into an off-the-court naming exercise, where we can share our gripes with non-player personnel and offer meaningful suggestions for improvement.
Every organizational position is available here, aside from the players. Coaches, assistants, executives, video coordinators, scouts, even the mascots; everyone's resumes are on the table.
Without further ado, here is today's Hire or Fire piece on the Sacramento Kings.
Hire - Dirk-Jan van Hameren (Chief Marketing Officer)
The mass appeal for the Kings organization is a legitimate idea now. The team has an exciting squad of youngsters including De’Aaron Fox and Marvin Bagley III, and with the draw of up and coming teams being more prominent than ever, the front office needs to capitalize with the hand they’ve been dealt. Enter Dirk-Jan van Hameren, the VP Chief Marketing Officer for Nike. The reach of Nike within the sports world is incredible, and their ability to connect with a fanbase is rivaled by few companies. If the Kings were to take someone like van Hameren who has been involved with that success for over 25 years, the team could quickly become a favorite among basketball fans. With the dynasty of the Warriors on hold for the moment, Sacramento could dip into the Bay Area market especially if they have someone like van Hameren who has been able to be a part of a company like Nike that dominates their market.
Fire - Slamson the Lion (Mascot)
If you have to look up the mascot of the team, then the mascot may not be doing as good of a job as intended. Enter Slamson, the King’s mascot who takes the form of a lion that is missing a few key features on his face. The point of mascots is to make caricature depictions of something that represents the team as a whole and that even a toddler can idolize. Slamson is missing eyes as well as eyebrows and leaves you feeling uneasy as opposed to enthusiastic. I understand the appeal of a lion for the team, after all the lion is the king of the jungle. But looking back and forth, a real lion in the Sacramento City Zoo looks more like a mascot than Slamson does. The Kings have an opportunity to become a hot team in the western conference, but to increase fan involvement and enthusiasm, you must have a mascot that fans want to seek out and interact with, not cover their kid’s eyes and make sure their wallet is secure. Lions are such simple creatures to make a fun and quirky mascot from, and I hope the King’s organization can realize this while there is still interest in their team.
Courtesy of the Yellow Pages