Our team hasn't performed the way it should. We needed to do something. I think the fans in Sacramento were ready for a change no matter what.

I told him the fans in Sacramento will definitely embrace him and this organization will do whatever we can to make him comfortable.

The main thing is star power, ... If fans recognize a first-round pick, or someone who's done something in the NBA, they'll come out and watch him play (in the D-League). ... It can only help the NBA. It's worked in baseball. Why not basketball?

He is a terrific athlete, we all know that. He's one of the top 15 or 20 players in the league, in our opinion anyway, and he brings it every night.

We didn't know whether or not he wanted to come. We want somebody that wants to come to your organization, and that was our big question. That's why we wanted to talk to him for ourselves today. He said he wants to play and he wants to be in Sacramento. That's good enough for us.

We just talked to him on the phone. He told us he's excited to come to Sacramento, and just hearing him say that, we were convinced he was sincere.