David Aldridge's latest Morning Tip column at NBA.com is packed full with updates on a few notable stories from around the league. Here's Aldridge's latest on the Kings' sale, the NBPA, Andrew Bynum, and more:
- Owners don't like telling other owners to whom they should sell their teams, so the final decision on the Kings sale still may come down to the Maloofs, rather than the league's finance or relocation committees, a source tells Aldridge.
- A source involved in the process tells Aldridge that for the Maloofs to consider moving away from the Seattle group in favor of the Sacramento group, there'd have to be an extremely good (and extremely well-articulated) reason.
- Aldridge believes that David Stern genuinely wants to give Sacramento a legitimate shot to make its case at April's Board of Governors meetings, so no decision will be made before then.
- Sacramento's bid for the Kings was deliberately arranged so that Mark Mastrov would be the one officially buying the team, with Ron Burkle heading the charge for the new arena, given the Maloofs' history of antipathy toward Burkle.
- Star players like LeBron James have pledged to take a more active role in staying apprised of union affairs and issues, according to Aldridge. The NBPA executive committee, which includes Andre Iguodala, also includes a few more big names this time around. "In the past, team reps have always been 10th, 11th guys going to the meetings," Iguodala said. "Eighth, ninth. 10th, 11th guys were going to the meetings, and we weren't as involved as we should have been. But I think we're stepping it up."
- The Sixers remain "intoxicated" by Bynum's potential, a source tells Aldridge, suggesting that the team is still contemplating re-signing him. When we asked yesterday whether Philadelphia ought to re-sign Bynum, nearly 70% of you said no.
- Mike D'Antoni tried to talk the Lakers into pursuing buyout candidate Raja Bell before last Friday's deadline, but the front office didn't feel like Bell was worth adding to the team's salary and tax bill.