Rick Adelman follows the Kings just as he does every team in the NBA, keeping up through box scores, video or the work of his Houston scouts.
But none of those mediums tells the tale of how Sacramento has changed since he was there, how Arco Arena has become a relative morgue on most nights and how the fan base once known as the league's most passionate has long since lost that distinction. Yet while the Kings are 29th in the league in home attendance (12,185 average), the Rockets coach and former Kings and Portland coach is the first to predict that it won't last.
"There are some places where you can have that unrest or people not interested or whatever, and you may never get back," said Adelman, who was not re-signed in the summer of 2006. "But I think Sacramento is just like Portland. If you start losing games and have some real negative years, especially with the economy, you're going to lose your people like Portland did. But now (the Blazers have) kind of turned it (around).
"They've got a young group. They're a good team to watch, and now people are coming back.
"In Sacramento, it would take one year or maybe a half a year of success, and those people would be there again. It's too good of a town, with too good of fan support. ... You've got to win. You've got to give them something to cheer about."
Yet the success left with Adelman and ushered in the current era of instability, with the three seasons that have followed now involving three coaches with Monday's firing of Reggie Theus and promotion of Kenny Natt to interim coach.
While he is well aware how Kings fans have grown even more appreciative of his eight-year tenure as time goes on, he said it's normal during down times to remember the good.
"You always remember the success," he said. "I think that's kind of a natural thing.
"But I also feel like we worked pretty hard at it. We were very consistent over the course of those years, and that's not an easy thing to do. ... It gives those people something they can remember. Like I said, as soon as you start getting success, they're going to be right back at it."
Adelman said he was surprised by the Kings' record this season based on their talent but that injuries and absences clearly made it a tough situation.
"I thought they would have a better record right now," he said. "I still think they have talent, but it's really hard to lose Brad (Miller) for the first five games (to suspension), and you start on the road. Then 'Cisco (Francisco Garcia) goes out, and Kevin (Martin) is out. That's huge. That's like us not having Tracy (McGrady), but we have a lot of veteran players.
"Hopefully Kenny (Natt) will turn it around. He's been around a long time. He deserves a chance. Hopefully it works out for him."
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