Kings/Seattle Rumors: Wednesday

As we wait for the NBA to review Seattle's bid for the Kings, Sacramento continues to move closer to preparing a bid of their own to try to keep the team. Here's the latest on Sacramento, Seattle, and the Kings, with any new updates added to the top of the page throughout the day:

  • While the conventional wisdom suggests that Seattle has the inside track on the Kings, the league is "clearly signaling" that it wants a counter-proposal from the Kings, a source tells Tony Bizjak, Ryan Lillis, and Dale Kasler of the Sacramento Bee. "Sacramento has a real fighting chance," the source said. "[The NBA] knows how the community has responded to the team. If a deep-pocketed group buys, if the Maloofs get the same amount of money, and an arena set up, it will be difficult for the board of governors to just dismiss that."
  • Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson is expected to make a public pitch to the NBA Board of Governors in April, but the league figures to privately vet the Ron Burkle/Mark Mastrov group before that point, according to the Bee report. The Burkle/Mastrov group will have to submit their proposal directly to the league's finance committe, as opposed to the Maloofs.
  • The Bee report also notes that the NBA's relocation committee will be tasked with evaluating "the support of the [Kings] in the existing location by fans, telecasters, broadcasters and sponsors," which Tom Ziller of Sactown Royalty views as a positive sign for Sacramento.
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