Fitzgerald Cecilio

New York, NY

Advocates of the Maloof family's possible sale of the Kings to the Seattle group are concerned that NBA Commissioner David Stern may be siding with their Sacramento counterpart.

Stern is holding the Maloofs to league procedures, in effect buying Sacramento time to consolidate its plan.

Recently, a Seattle television station opined Stern was working behind the scenes to block the Kings' move.

Stern rebutted suggestions that he has been favoring one city over another, taking issue with a Seattle reporter's question implying he's been trying to lobby owners on Sacramento's behalf.

The commissioner noted that they have expended enormous time and money for outside consultants, making it by far their most extensive review of anything in the league's history.

"What makes this particularly difficult … is the Seattle group has done a lot of work. It's well funded. It's got spectacular businessmen who support the community behind it, and the Sacramento group has a very strong base of economic support as well," Stern explained.

The Maloofs, who have owned the majority of the team since 1999, have serious questions about the Sacramento group's financing for the team and for a new arena. Both were hastily put together in the past two months after the Maloofs caught announced a deal to sell the team to Seattle investors in January.

The Seattle group has deeper pockets and is led by billionaires Chris Hansen and Steve Ballmer, who is one of the richest men in the world. They have an arena deal that was approved by city and county officials last fall.

The Sacramento ownership group, which has changed its makeup several times, is now led by Silicon Valley businessman Vivek Ranadive.

Stern downplayed Hansen assertion that he could get his arena in Seattle completed by 2015 and potentially beat Sacramento's arena plan, citing the league's longtime knowledge of arena deals.

He added that whether its Seattle or Sacramento, the Kings will be in a temporary building that is not adequate by NBA current standards.

The Maloofs, in a lengthy letter Wednesday, also complained that Sacramento's counter-offer comes up financially short of the deal they struck in January with Hansen.

They say Hansen is putting a $550 million valuation on the franchise - giving them $357 million for the 65 percent share of the team they control. Meanwhile, the Sacramento group's matching offer of $525 million value gives the Maloofs a payout of $341 million.

When Stern was asked to compare the two offers, he said, "They're in the same ballpark with respect to the net result to the selling family."

He added that the bid "is not as complete as it is going to be by the close of business today or tomorrow" and that it includes a down payment, although he didn't say if it's non-refundable. The Maloofs noted that Sacramento offered them only a $15 million deposit, half of what Hansen has given.

The Maloofs' letter also said the Sacramento bid is non-binding and presents them with "staggering and ultimately unacceptable execution risk" when compared with their binding offer from Hansen. This was contradicted by Stern, who insists that the Sacramento offer is binding.

George Maloof spoke to a small group of owners at a previous meeting in New York two weeks ago to appeal to the NBA to accept the Seattle deal.

But Stern made it clear Friday that the future of the Kings is up to all the owners, not the sellers of a single franchise.

Stern said a final vote on the Kings' future would take place the week of May 6. A committee of 12 owners will make their recommendation on which way to vote after meetings next week.

 

 

 

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Kings Ransom? Seattle Group Fears Stern is Siding with Sacramento