OAKLAND, Calif. -- Incoming Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive is already making moves to rebuild the fallen franchise. The Kings have an agreement in place with Golden State Warriors assistant Mike Malone to be their head coach, a person familiar with the decision said Thursday night. The person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they werent authorized to speak publicly, said Malone was Ranadives top choice. Ranadive has been a minority owner of the Warriors the past three seasons and is in the final stages of closing a sale with the Maloof family to buy the Kings. Malones hiring officially ends Keith Smarts tenure. Smart took over the Kings for the fired Paul Westphal in January 2012 and had one year remaining on his contract. Yahoo Sports, which first reported the agreement, said Malones deal is for four years and $9 million, with the fourth year being a team option. Ranadive had promised to move swiftly in revamping a franchise that has missed the playoffs seven straight years. The NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved the sale of the Kings to the TIBCO Software chairman Tuesday, though the actual sale of the team to Ranadives group -- which will acquire a 65 per cent controlling interests at a total franchise valuation of $535 million -- still has to close escrow. The Kings cant announce any deals until the sale is complete. Under NBA rules, Ranadive will have to sell his minority stake in the Warriors. He also still has to hire a general manager, a move that typically comes before finding a coach; the contract for president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie ends June 30. Malone, the son of former NBA coach Brendan Malone, has been an assistant in the league for more than a decade and engineered defensive turnarounds at almost every stop -- which includes the Warriors, New Orleans, Cleveland and the New York Knicks. He also was an assistant at Manhattan College, Providence and Oakland University (Rochester, Mich.). Malone had interviewed for NBA coaching vacancies the past few seasons but never landed a top gig -- until now. He worked under Mark Jackson the past two years with Golden State, which made the playoffs for only the second time since 1994 this season. The Warriors finished 47-35, beat Denver in the first round of the playoffs and were eliminated by eventual Western Conference champion San Antonio in six games. Malone inherits a talented young roster in Sacramento headlined by volatile centre DeMarcus Cousins that has yet to blend -- or play defence. The Kings went 28-54 last season, gaining more attention for the franchises possible move to Seattle -- which NBA owners rejected -- than anything positive on the court. The hiring of Malone hands Smart another difficult setback in his coaching career. The Warriors, under new owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber, decided not to extend Smarts contract after the longtime assistant hastily replaced Don Nelson before the 2010-11 season and led the franchise to a 36-46 record -- a 10-game improvement from the previous year. Smart also had a stint as the Cavaliers interim head coach for the final 40 games in 2003 after taking over for John Lucas. The Cavs didnt retain Smart, then drafted LeBron James with the No. 1 overall pick that summer. Smart, the former Indiana guard best known for hitting "The Shot" against Syracuse to win the 1987 NCAA title, went 48-93 as Sacramentos coach. He is 93-170 in his coaching career. Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping . Gather a group of friends, or find a league to join online, draft your team, set your lineup and compete in a number of different formats. Wholesale NFL Jerseys . Pettersen, winner of last years Evian Championships, had nine birdies and three bogeys, holding off a series of challengers led by Marion Ricordeau of France. The second-ranked Norwegian made her season debut after missing the LPGA Tours opening event last month in the Bahamas because of a shoulder injury. http://www.nflcheapjerseysfreeshipping.com/ .Y. -- Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo had little trouble picking up his first shutout of the season against a Buffalo Sabres team thats having trouble scoring goals. Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping . LOUIS -- Valtteri Filppula assisted on three of Tampa Bays four goals, and the Lightning beat the St. NFL Jerseys China . -- Team after team passed on Andre Ellington in the draft. When it comes to megawatt star power, Saturdays UFC Fight Night in Salt Lake City is lacking -- but it might offer an early look at a future champ.Featherweight Yair Rodriguez, of northern Mexico, sure looks like a stud in the making. The 23-year-old won the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America in 2014 and is now 4-0 in the UFC.His last performance, a vicious head-kick knockout over Andre Fili in April, turned heads and likely played a part in him headlining his first event.Hell face 28-year-old Alex Caceres, a fellow TUF contestant who has held his own in the UFC but struggled with consistency. His overall UFC mark is 7-6.Lets take a closer look at Saturdays featherweight main event. Dont agree with these picks? Let me know on Twitter: @bokamotoESPN.Main eventYair Rodriguez (8-1) vs. Alex Caceres (12-8) Featherweights Odds: Rodriguez -310; Caceres +255Its no secret the UFC wouldnt mind having a young Mexican star on its roster right now. It wouldnt mind having several of them.In 2013, the UFC launched a development program that handpicked Mexican prospects to live and train in the U.S. This group eventually became the first TUF Latin America cast, and Rodriguez emerged as the cream of the crop.In some ways, hes an anomaly to mixed martial arts in Mexico. Generally speaking, Mexican fighters have a lot of ground to catch up on in the grappling realm with most coming from a single-discipline background. Rodriguez, on the other hand, rose to the level of black belt in taekwondo before the UFC laid eyes on him. He also trained in judo multiple years and had some experience in boxing, karate and Brazilian jiujitsu.These days, he trains with striking coach Mike Valle, whom he met in the development program. His wrestling coach is Mark Perry, a two-time NCAA Division I national champion out of the University of Iowa. His style is creative and nontraditional -- the phrase effectively wwild comes to mind.ddddddddddddThe best way to stifle him is probably to take him down. Hes a dangerous guy to shoot in on, but the last thing you want to do is give him freedom at a kickboxing range. He frequently switches stances, and the footwork -- and angles -- he uses to set up his offense is downright artistic. He figures to have a pretty significant power advantage over Caceres, although Caceres should be a breath faster.To be clear, getting Rodriguez to the floor isnt a sure path to victory. He has an active guard and has demonstrated an ability to throw nasty elbows off his back. That doesnt mean you cant score points (or hurt him) from top position, but its not necessarily a picnic doing so.Caceres is unpredictable in his own right, which, if nothing else, should make for an entertaining fight. Caceres isnt the type to take a physical, clinch/takedown-heavy approach. Hes relatively small for the division and he tends to fight as such. He relies on speed and timing on the feet and scrambling ability when bigger opponents look to take him down. Hes a talented featherweight, but stylistically, hell have to beat Rodriguez in elements of his own game.The fact this is a five-round main event might favor Caceres. As flashy as he can be, hes also pretty calm. Rodriguez is aggressive, and the risks he takes in the Octagon have big potential payouts. They also require energy. Im not sure I expect this to make it to the fourth and fifth rounds, but if it does, it would be interesting to see if Caceres has an advantage in the gas tank and how hes able to use it.Prediction: People tend to underrate Caceres, and theyre doing it again ahead of this one. That said, its tough to outright pick him against an opponent with such prolific offense. Rodriguez via second-round TKO. Cheap Stitched Jerseys China NFL Jerseys White Wholesale NFL Autographed Jerseys Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale China Jerseys Wholesale Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Youth NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Gear Youth NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys ' ' '