Latest On Seattle Arena Proposal
Investor Chris Hansen has reached a tentative agreement with Seattle city council on the financial terms of a proposed new sports arena for the city, according to reports by the Seattle Times and KING 5 News. Both reports suggest that Hansen and his group have agreed to establish a $40MM transportation fund, reducing the financial commitment for taxpayers and alleviating concerns about traffic near the proposed arena.
Nothing is official yet, but the agreement between the two sides is expected to be announced later today. If things go smoothly, the proposal should be officially approved by city council within the next few weeks, at which point Hansen could tell the NBA that the city of Seattle is ready to host a franchise. Of course, that doesn't guarantee an NBA team will come to Seattle, but it would give the city a leg up on many other potential destinations if a franchise were to relocate.
Seattle mayor Mike McGinn released a statement late last night expressing enthusiasm about the latest step forward in the process, according to the KING 5 report:
"I welcome the news that the City Council has decided to support bringing basketball back to Seattle. [King County] Executive [Dow] Constantine and I negotiated a proposal with Chris Hansen, an Arena Review Panel vetted it and the County Council approved it. The City Council was the last piece of the puzzle. We haven't gotten a team yet, but Sonics fans have a reason to smile today."
Latest On Kings, Potential Move
SUNDAY, 10:15am: Mike Gruss of The Virginian-Pilot examines how five highly sought-after retail stores are an indicator of whether a market is likely to be suitable for the NBA. His research shows that the fewer Apple, Ikea, Anthropologie, Crate & Barrel and Brooks Brothers stores located in a market reflects an area less likely to be able to support an NBA franchise.
Simply put, these particular companies avoid areas where they believe consumers do not have enough money to spend at their stores. Gruss contends that if these stores won't come to a particular market due to financial concerns, then it is even less likely that a professional franchise would make such a move.
FRIDAY, 6:42pm: The Kings don't appear to be heading to Virginia Beach anytime soon, despite a local report last week that suggested otherwise. Still, an executive from another team told Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com that the general sentiment around the league is that chances are "more and more remote" that the Kings will remain in Sacramento (Twitter link). Howard-Cooper isn't sold on that idea, and says Sacramento may still win out in the end since the Maloof brothers, who own the Kings, face roadblocks between them and any new destination (Twitter link).
Josh Kerns of MyNorthwest.com yesterday passed along a report from Sacramento radio host Carmichael Dave that the Maloofs rejected a recent bid by investor Chris Hansen of upwards of $400MM to buy the Kings. Hansen, who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, has been the primary force behind an effort to attract an NBA team and build a new arena in Seattle. Earlier this week Hansen purchased an $8MM piece of land in Seattle that he plans to use for the arena. That gives him all the land he's said he'd need for the project, according to Nick Eaton of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
Howard-Cooper believes Anaheim, where the Kings almost moved in 2011, is still in play, and says the 20-year local TV deal between the Lakers and Time Warner Cable that kicks in for the Lakers this season could help Anaheim's case. Former Lakers broadcasters Fox Sports West and KCAL-TV could use the Kings as replacement programming (Twitter links).
Thunder Notes: Westbrook, Lakers, Heat
They may have been one of the NBA's least-active teams in free agency this summer, but the Thunder have remained in the news in recent weeks — in August alone, Oklahoma City had four players in the gold medal game in London and signed Serge Ibaka to a long-term extension.
In yesterday's round-up of Northwest Division notes, we heard that the head coach of the Thunder's D-League affiliate in Tulsa had been hired away by the Trail Blazers, and received the latest updates on a potential extension for Eric Maynor. Here are today's Thunder-related links:
- Russell Westbrook appeared on 710 ESPN in Los Angeles, and was asked about the Lakers' summer acquisitions of Dwight Howard and Steve Nash. As Sports Radio Interviews notes, Westbrook wouldn't concede that the pickups were more than "good."
- Westbrook also called the Heat the team to beat in 2012/13 and said he wouldn't mind seeing the Lakers in the playoffs again.
- In an Insider piece for ESPN.com, Chris Broussard explains why he thinks the Thunder are still the favorites in the Western Conference.
- The franchise's old home, Seattle, continues to make progress toward building a new arena. King 5 TV in Seattle reports that Chris Hansen has purchased another parcel of land for $8MM in the area where he hopes to construct the new building.
Pacific Notes: Warriors, Jenkins, McGuire, Kings
With the most active weeks of the 2012 free agent period behind us, it's never too early to start looking ahead to 2013 free agency. Stephen Brotherson does just that today, ranking the best of the 2013 free agent class in a piece for HoopsWorld. There's a heavy Los Angeles presence at the top of his list, with Andrew Bynum coming in third, Chris Paul in second, and Lakers' trade target Dwight Howard in the top spot. I examined Bynum as a potential extension candidate earlier today, but here are a few other Tuesday notes on L.A.'s rivals in the Pacific Division:
- Matt Steinmetz of CSNBayArea.com notes that Charles Jenkins' contract with the Warriors becomes guaranteed if he's not waived by tomorrow. Despite the team's proximity to the tax threshold after agreeing to sign Carl Landry and Brandon Rush, Golden State will almost certainly be keeping Jenkins, according to GM Bob Myers. At this point, only about $200K of his 2012/13 salary is guaranteed, but as of tomorrow he'll be in line for his full $762,195 salary.
- Meanwhile, given their recent signings, the Warriors appear very unlikely to re-sign Dominic McGuire. According to Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group (via Twitter), McGuire would like to return, but the Warriors think they can get similar production out of Draymond Green.
- Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld examines what the future holds for the Kings, pointing out that there's no guarantee where the team will play starting in 2013/14. Kyler says to keep an eye on Seattle, which is making progress toward building a new arena.
Odds & Ends: McGuire, Wafer, Hinrich, Magic
The Metropolitan King County Council took the initial step towards bringing an NBA arena to Seattle, according to the Associated Press. Investor Chris Hansen's $490MM plan calls for nearly $300MM in private funds and $200MM in public contribution. Here's tonight's look around the Association..
- If the Warriors re-sign Brandon Rush, they'll have 15 players on the roster and virtually no wiggle room under the luxury tax threshold. With that in mind, Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group looks at moves that Golden State can make to keep Dominic McGuire.
- Von Wafer's deal with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers of the Chinese league will be for one-year at $2MM, a source tells Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (via Twitter). The Chinese season wraps up much earlier than the NBA season, giving the 27-year-old a chance to sign with a team down the home stretch.
- Kirk Hinrich's new two-year deal with the Bulls is fairly balanced as he will make $3.94MM in year one and $4.06MM in the second season, according to HoopsHype (via Twitter).
- The Magic need to move Dwight Howard in order to give their new coach Jacque Vaughn a fresh slate to work with, opines Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel.
Odds & Ends: Evans, Bulls, Magic, Seattle
The latest news and notes from around the NBA on Saturday night:
Odds & Ends: Knicks, Shaw, Celtics, Seattle
The NBA TV's recent "Dream Team" documentary revisited the developments that earned NBA players the right to compete in the Olympics 20 years ago, something that continues today. But there's a chance that the 2012 games in London will be the last time the Association's biggest stars participate in Olympic play. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, David Stern and the league are pushing for an under-23 Olympic team, with NBA players only participating in a rebranded world championships, called the World Cup of Basketball. A World Cup would allow the NBA to benefit finanically from letting its players play internationally, Wojnarowski explains.
Here are a few more Tuesday odds and ends from around the NBA:
Odds & Ends: Crawford, Warriors, Seattle, Bulls
The Lakers made history on this day 11 years ago when they beat the Sixers 108-96 to claim the NBA championship with the highest playoff winning percentage of all time at 93.8%, according to Hoopedia. Led by Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles went 15-1 in the playoffs by sweeping the Trail Blazers, Kings and Spurs before losing just once to Philadelphia. Let's take a look around the league to catch up on the latest news and stories making headlines…
Odds & Ends: Jeffries, D12, Bird, Green, Turiaf
NBATV's "The Dream Team" documentary debuted tonight to mostly positive reviews from NBA writers, and hoops fans may want to savor the film and this year's summer Olympics as much as possible. Commissioner David Stern says there's a 50/50 chance that Olympic basketball will be restricted to players age 23 and younger after this year's games, writes Chris Sheridan of SheridanHoops.com. Still, Sheridan believes discussion of such a rule will be tabled until after the 2016 games.
There's plenty going on stateside as well, with a free agent expressing a desire to return to the Knicks and more news on Dwight Howard.
Seattle Arena Plan Moving Forward
The city of Seattle, King County, and investor Chris Hansen have reached an agreement on an arena proposal for Seattle in hopes of bringing the NBA back to the city, according to an AP report (via ESPN.com). Lynn Thompson of the Seattle Times first reported that the "memorandum of understanding" would be announced today.
According to pair of reports, the arena proposal calls for $490MM in funding, including at least $290MM in private investment. Only an NBA team — as opposed to both an NBA and NHL franchise — would be needed to start construction, should the Seattle City Council and King County Council approve the memorandum. If both an NBA and NHL team were acquired, the city/county contribution would be capped at $200MM, whereas it would be capped at $120MM with only an NBA team involved.
Hansen is hopeful that the city will approve the memorandum by June so he can take it to the NBA's board of governors. However, with "in-depth financial analysis" of the proposal still to come, that timeline may be a little optimistic, says Thompson.
"Our receipt of the documents is when the Council's formal review begins," said city council president Sally Clark. "We want Mr. Hansen to be successful, but the Council has a duty to scrutinize the agreement carefully."
Commissioner David Stern and other league officials have said repeatedly that expanding the NBA beyond 30 teams is unlikely, so relocation would probably be Seattle's only chance to land a franchise.