Sac Bee says they have a source with inside knowledge of the the NBA's thinking.
"A source with inside knowledge of the NBA, who declined to speak for attribution because the NBA has called for a no-talking policy, said the league is clearly signaling it wants a proposal from Sacramento.
"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.""
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/01/30/5150772/how-nba-would-evaluate-competing.html#storylink=cpy
"Multiple interviews and a review of an internal NBA document suggest Sacramento will get a private vetting by the league long before Mayor Kevin Johnson makes his planned public pitch to NBA owners in New York in April."
I mostly think this is just cheer leading and tunnel vision, but never really thought about the fact mentioned that Sac proponents only need to convince 8 owners to vote against the Seattle deal, to breathe more life into their own wishful plans.
I propose a new soap opera "As the Aircraft Carrier Turns" :)