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Our good friend, Jerry Brewer at the Seattle Times wrote a terrific piece yesterday on the urgency of the decision of the NBA to relocate the Kings to Seattle or at least provide a solid path to a franchise. Be it by another potential relocation (Bucks or Pacers) or expansion. Expanding to Seattle would require a firm date (probably 2015) and signed public documents by the NBA this is firm and will happen on a specified date.
The NBA cannot afford to spurn the Seattle area again. There is so much that Seattle has going for it in the process to get the Kings. Seattle has done everything the NBA has wanted and then some.
Seattle has a signed sales agreement with the Maloofs. Sacramento does not.
Seattle has an arena that is shovel ready as soon as a team is secured. Sacramento has some hoops to jump through and more things to do to make it an actual done deal.
Chris Hansen has put out $30M in non-refundable money to lock the purchase down. Sacramento has not as far as we know.
The biggest reason the NBA could be lost forever in Seattle is the fans. There are so many fans that have not watched a game since the NBA screwed Seattle over the first time. There are also a lot of fans who have watched the NBA and continue to love the NBA. To get told no by the NBA again would kill all the will for the NBA to ever return to Seattle.
The fans simply could not handle going through a process like this ever again.
Do we even know if Chris Hansen and Steve Ballmer would continue to fight if they are told no with zero reassurances coming back?
Brewer is right; this is it. It's win or go home for Seattle.