Continue to discuss today’s purchase in this thread if you will. My take is that the bankruptcy court trustee was publicizing this this all along to get Hansen/Ballmer to maximize the value of these shares to increase his own commission on the sale. This somehow got twisted into the ROFR discussion.
Of course the prospective majority owner would always be the person most interested in acquiring these shares. Now that that is the case …
Myk said in the last thread: “This is a no risk…all benefit move for Hansen. Literally, the only thing he loses is the “interest” on his money during the 15 days if the purchase gets matched.”
Correct.
Hmm could hansen bid 15 knowing it could be matched then offer let say to acquire the shares that the minority owner currently have + that 7% that the mintoriy owner matched? Perhaps this his plan?
Its really a no lose situation. $15 mm for 7% that should be worth $36 mm (In Seattle).
Olden Polynice talking smack. I told him he is just butt hurt because he isn’t revered here in Seattle because unlike Sacramento and their history of basketball we have a history of success and a standard of excellence.
From the document;
“he intends to file on or before March
29, 2013 a supplement to the Motion and seek final approval of the Purchase Agreement (or in
the alternative approval of a sale to any Non-Selling Limited Partner timely exercising a Right of
First Opportunity)”
This tells me two things. One, it’s ROFO, not ROFR. Two, and more importantly, LPs only get 2 days, not 15.
Olden? The policeman?
Hey, Olden Polynice… was not Benoit Benjamin. That’s all I’ve got. That and a dozen “Officer Olden” jokes.
I am not gonna get into hear Ventura conspiracy theories about this. Hansen was the only credible bid and all if the sac/kj peeps dropped the ball. Simple as that. If there is a right of first opportunity that means they an match but Hansen could then rebid if my wiki sources are correct. Different than ROFR. I have heard this is ROFO.
I’d like to hear from KJ why his local buyers weren’t in on this. I thought they wanted a local element to their ownership rather than just the out of town rich guys showing up for the public to private wealth transfer they have now.
Also from the document;
“preempting the requirement of an Auction under the Bid Procedures”
Not a bid. A purchase.
Olden is the color commentator for the Monarchs. Hes worried about having a job
Then where are the 15 days coming from?
Didn’t he once beat up a guy on a golf course once?
Danimal mentioned at the end of the last thread that the trustee document says that the NBA pre-bid approval process takes 3 weeks and that no one else even applied to the NBA to get approval.
Which means that the only people who can still get this share are the current limited partners, including, ironically, the Maloofs. And Michael McCann says that if they do, Hansen can’t up his bid, but he can just buy it from them in a separate transaction.
We’re going to need some strict enforcement of this, perhaps by a ROFOCop.
The document itself says it is ROFO
Too late.
Wondering that too. I responded someones tweet asking if the Maloofs can in turn invoke ROFO and just flip it back to CH
I love that Sacramento’s Here We Buy is taking season ticket pledges. HOW BOUT YOU GO BUY TICKETS!!!! Since they are so certain the Maloofs are done
Ugh. I mean “Didn’t he once beat up a guy on a golf course?”
So in other words, the Maloofs can just bid on this 7% in two days with, oh, I don’t know, part of the 30M they were given by Hansen, make sure to beat any offers from Kehriotis or the other minority owners if there are any, then flip it back to Hansen for whatever they paid for it?
I hate to have to root for the Maloofs, but oh well.
McCann believes that this is possible…as he put it “is this what the $30 million is for”?
I believe they can, maybe use some of that $30MM downpayment. And because they are currently the majority shareholders they have the right before any of the other minority investors do. So, either this goes through without incident, or, if one of the other minority owners (Kehriotis anyone?) tries to make a play, they just buy it up and sell it to CH.
Here’s the long and short of it. Every time there is an opportunity for a press event they do it. Every time there is an opportunity to put money down our guys do it.
At the end of the day Hansen is setting up a transaction and KJ Is setting up a press release.
They probably don’t have 15 million in cash to bid with.
In order to stay consistent……..KJs group just offered $10 mm for the 7%.
He has a plan. He says it will come out in 2-3 days, but because I’m connected, he leaked it to me- here it is. It’s a two-plank plan:
1) Hope media forgets about the 7%… maybe Tom Hanks will die, take media attention elsewhere.
2) If asked, give no answers, refer to city manager (make sure city manager is out on assignment)
“The Purchase Agreement provides that the Sale is conditioned on, among other things, (1) offering the LP Interests to the Non-Selling Limited Partners for the same Purchase Price and the failure of any Non-Selling Limited Partner to elect timely match the Purchase Price”
If I’m reading this right (I work in a law firm but am now a lawyer), they “limited partners” (minority owners) were already offered ROFO.
Isn’t that hansen can’t up his bid if only it minority owners claimed ROFR? But if its a ROFO i don’t see how Hansen couldn’t up.
Ugh this is confusing can someone explain it to where i am less confused regarding the document? ROFO in document ROFR in document two days for ROFO instead of 15? then where in the world did the 15 come from and if its ROFO then why is people claiming they can match ugh?
There is also the other minority partner that is selling along with the Maloofs.
100% on point.
This kind of reminds me of Seahawks fans right now. I know a bunch of us are kind of feeling weird about the Seahawks because it seems so odd that we are one of the most well run franchises in the league and have one of the best young QBs leading them. Strange, strange feeling…
Same goes for Hansen…we are so used to utter failure and ineptness surrounding this process that we want to believe that we need to temper our feelings. We shouldn’t…the guy how played this very well.
LOL…well played…
They will just say that they don’t KNOW if that $15 mm is for the 7% or for the 7% and the relocation costs..!!!
BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE. KJ talks the talk (does some walking) and Hansen is the quiet guy….you know…the one that people should be worried about
Nice to see someone in Sac finally have some skin in the game.
Then the bankruptcy judge will say their offer is so low it’s not even worth considering.
At the end of the day Hansen is setting up a transaction and KJ Is setting up a press release.
That is so great!
That is what I read.
I think that this is another example of the people behind the scenes who are actually involved in deciding this process already know it is a done deal and the vote is more of a formality. The rest is PR. The H/B group is merely acquiring the rest of the owner shares in a methodical way until they own it all eventually. In that sense they were biding against themselves, if they are already “considered” the majority owner.
Also, some posts talk about Stern’s need to repair his reputation before he retires as it relates to the Sonics/OKC debacle (and I tend to agree). But remember, Clay Clay is the head of the relocation committee. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind trying to mend his reputation as a weasel a little bit by being the one that granted us a new team. As opposed to stabbing us in the heart Again at the first opportunity.
I wonder if stern is setting this all up so he can get a book deal when he is finished.
I wonder how much PR Hansen would be doing if he wasn’t given a gag order by Stern.
Would any of the L.Ps risk owning this 7%, then having the NBA approve the Hansen deal? If Hansen raises his relocation fee and wins, then there will be for sure a cash call to pay the relocation fee and arena costs. Maybe that scares them off from even matching.
Not half as much as the mouth to the south.
LOL Nice
It’s funny how people have gone from the sale being rejected to now being certain it will pass in one day…this just needs to end
Probably not too much. We have seen in the past that he is very calculated with what he chooses to discuss. And if his group are the presumptive owners in waiting, he wants people to keep going to the games as well. It’s his team.
But twice as many free beers. lol
So is there really a ROFR with 15 days to match the 15.1m or not?
Aaron Bruski @aaronbruski 3m
I’m told the SAC camp did not want to bid against themselves on Cook’s 7% and they will successfully match Hansen’s offer.
Hansen was just waiting until we had Macklemore, Russell Wilson, and Richard Sherman in Key Arena before this news came out…well played Hansen, well played.
Some good news to wake up to. Great to see KJ well behind as per usual but that will be a good thing when the Sac spin train gets rolling.
ROFO which means that they have the opportunity to match but that doesnt mean they have already relinquished that right
How? They are not limited partners
Not sure how he thinks “the SAC camp” can legally match anything. Unless there are current minority owners involved that have been totally involved since day one but haven’t been mentioned up until now because hand waving hand waving don’t look over here.
So dumb.
Bruski’s almost out of a job, he needs to write BS while he still can
LOL. Works for me.
What prevents Hansen from upping his offer if its matched? I mean this is a bankruptcy auction, right? Also, couldn’t they have put in a bid and left Hansen in the cold since he isn’t a minority owner and doesnt have the ability match?
Seems like its in the best interest of all parties involved if there is a bidding war, Cook has about $40,000,000 in debt.
Only if they have already made application to the NBA for that share.
Which they haven’t……
So there are 2 issues with “Sac’s Camp”, 1 being they are not pre approved, and 2 they are not LP’s. Oh Bruski…..
I swear if I never hear Bruski’s name again after 4/19 it will be too soon.
Is that in the original bankruptcy agreement?
It is in their working documents.
This is so right on! lol.
I get the ROFO but the confusion that is being reported that there is a ROFR.
Chris Daniels just said he heard the first Sac offer was $125m short on Softy.
Chris Daniels just said on KJR that the sac offer was 125m off.
I just like the fact that even thought this may not mean much, the pom poms elsewhere have dropped for the time being.
Whoa. Chris Daniels just said he’d heard the Sacramento offer for the Kings was as much as $125 million below the Hansen group’s.
Can everyone do me a favor and stop posting what this turd says. It’s taken a long time but he never shows up in my timeline on Twitter anymore. I was blocked long ago and gradually all the Seattle people I follow must have been blocked as well because I don’t see any retweets or replies. Would love to not have to read anything he says again.
Same goes with Dave Carmichael/Carmichael Dave. Got to be one of the most obnoxious people in this saga.
So then it’s over. The 7% is Hansen’s pending NBA approval.
Chris Daniels just said that the Hansen group bid moved the value of the King’s franchise to #11. That moved all of the other teams up the list along with the NBA. If the NBA denies the Hansen group, then the value of the King’s franchise drops immediately along with the value of the other teams and the NBA itself.
That is a pretty good argument.
Unless they do have a LP in their camp…
Yeah, danimal and others have been up on the documents details. I don’t think Bruski does any research at all even if the info is right in front of him.
Exactly. This is also why I’ve just become bored to death with all of this stuff over the last month or so. This isn’t a roller coaster; this is a merry-go-round. I can only go around and around so many times.
I’m kicking myself for missing a chance to contribute to Kev’s last thread. For the record, if I had to pick between those two guys, I’d roll with Oladipo, though I’m not going to do cartwheels over drafting a guy with a top ten pick who may or may not end up being as good as Desmond Mason was.
There is some debate on if they already were given that opportunity. I haven’t read the documents to see if that was the case (doubt id understand anyway)
Don’t read the posts if you see their names. I skim posts and read the ones that seem to bring something new.
Can’t have outside help, so its ether Klitoris, the other guy, or Maloofs that can match. These other 25 clowns are irrelevant and SOL
Maloofs would have first dibs, also. The ROFR or ROFO or whatever it is would move down the list based on the size of the stake held.
Now, if the Maloofs bought it and tried to flip it to Hansen in a separate deal, the LPs would again have that ROFO, but I imagine they’d have a plan for that.
Well if they were 125 million short plus the new 36.75 million thats a BIG DIFFERENCE
They can’t match! There’s a no-compete clause in the agreement.
Only the limited partners can match. No one outside of limited partners can match.
Would Kehriotis want to match? Why would he when he was turned down by KJ when Kehriotis wanted to talk about a fully privately financed arena.
And by doing so, thus lowering the value of their own minority shares. Wrong again, Bruski…
The original Mastrov only offer or the new offer with all the shiny new whales?
The Mastrov offer.
Why would he match when doing so would lower the values of his own minority shares.
Maybe the other two guys are part of the bid? Doubt it though since that would have been paraded around I’m sure.
The Mastrov offer.
That paired with him bringing in a guy to be the new lead investor says that our doubts about Mastrov’s net worth were based in reality.
The only people who can match are the other minority owners. Are they part of the “Sac camp”?
You guys REALLY need to post links to the new threads. I’ve been posting on the old one for a half hour! lol. It didn’t help that there were a couple people still replying. With how long the threads get, it’s impossible to tell on your phone when there’s a new thread.
Daniels also said that the timing of this deal should be noted and that it may just be the first cannon shot.
TBD…but I would think the would have been mentioned in the PR blitz
Daniels makes a really good point. When asked by Softy about expansion, he said that who knows it could happen at some point. But highly doubtful for the league to agree on something like that in this short of time. Expansion would be a controversial proposition amongst the owners that would likely have to play out long term. So that would pretty much rule out any April scenario where Hansen and co are denied the Kings, but promised an expansion team. Really think that makes a ton of sense and that we should never even bother discussing it. Sorry, Peter. ;)
It’s interesting that he did not mention the relocation fee as a possible competitive advantage for Hansen.
I think it’s more of this.
Aaron Bruski @aaronbruski
League source to PBT, “Hansen knew that SAC would match, but momentum hard to come by for SEA these days so he’ll take it.”
With that gag order, this was about all he could do to try and curb Sactown’s enthusiasm.
Can the mods just close threads to comments? That could help but might stop some good discussion
It wouldn’t surprise me if Hansen has already made deals with the two other minority owners. Maybe even Kehriotis? Kehriotis has been pretty silent lately after going public a few weeks ago.
Why would he care about Sactown’s enthusiasm? That might matter to the fans, but as far as Hansen is concerned, he knows he has the Kings purchase in the bag. He’s just putting the boots to Sacramento to make 110% sure.
I don’t think Hansen gives a shirt about “Sactown’s enthusiasm.” This is business, he was making a calculated decision.
And isn’t there a process for expansion? Like where they take bids from other cities?
The closest to a promise of expansion that might occur would be a handshake behind the scenes deal, nothing in writing, nothing actionable according to our MOU, etc. I can’t imagine Chris cutting his losses on all of the money and time he has put into buying the Kings so far just so he can take the NBA’s word for it that they’ll probably get him a team later.
This is going to be a battle, and on April 3rd, our guys won’t be gagged at the BOG meeting.
Or the Maloofs match because they want to remain minority owners in a team and this is their way of doing that.
So much more fun reading speculation on a Seattle group action instead of speculation of what the Sac vote last night means.
Reminds me of speaking on a conference call while your phone is on mute.
“EJ:
You guys REALLY need to post links to the new threads. I’ve been posting on the old one for a half hour! lol. It didn’t help that there were a couple people still replying. With how long the threads get, it’s impossible to tell on your phone when there’s a new thread.”
A real good Jesse Ventura there
Thanks for your input but trying to sell Aaron Bruski and his”sources” isnt going to work here. Sorry
Well yeah, the whole idea of one of the partners matching is a Jesse Ventura. Might as well point out how funny it is for Sac to ignore the fact that the two biggest shares are already selling to Hansen.
You won’t even buy Hansen a Bruski when this is all over?
Wish the “news” we get would actually be definitive news, instead of something that can be speculated on to death by both sides, until your blue in the face. Nothing seems set in stone. I’m not a lawyer by far, and most of this is just spanish to me. Can’t tell if it’s good or not. All I know it it’s not bad, but even “others” can spin that too as a weakness on our part, to get momentum after all that’s happened this week.
UUhHGGG.
Kings purchase in the bag? You’re a fool. Doesn’t matter if you’re a Seattle fan, Sacramento fan, or none at all. You’re a fool for thinking this is in the bag. When Sacramento first floated over their low ball counter bid, Stern could have ended all of this then and there. Instead, he pulled Mastrov and Burkle aside and practically told them the number they needed to hit to be competitive. That was a very telling moment that really shows the public that the NBA is giving Sacramento a real chance to succeed.
And as for this 7%, it was basically a no risk maneuver for Hansen. PR side is good. Shows that Seattle is still here and willing to put money down. Also doesn’t hurt that Hansen would double his money if the purchase went through. Definitely a hedge fund shark. But if Sacramento somehow matches, then it’s no skin off his nose. I don’t think it has anything to do with ROFR on the large deal. I think it stops with these two points.
“Sources close to the situation told PBT that the framework of the offer delivered to the NBA on Friday was very close to Seattle’s $341 million offer for a controlling 65 percent interest in the club.”
Aaron Bruski
March 4th
http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/03/04/future-of-nba-arena-subsidies-market-comparisons-to-decide-kings-fate/
All you need to know about his “sources”.
I don’t think hansen cares about pr right now, much less reads this or sactown sites. You can spin that any way you like.
Haha,
Explain how this is the case. I guess they found out that the number was way higher than their sad little bid, but I don’t see how that comes close to specifics.
When Sacramento first floated over their low ball counter bid, Stern could have ended all of this then and there. Instead, he pulled Mastrov and Burkle aside and practically told them the number they needed to hit to be competitive. That was a very telling moment that really shows the public that the NBA is giving Sacramento a real chance to succeed.
But why was the bid so low in the first place? The Hansen deal had been public knowledge for a while, and you’d think Mastrov and Burkle would have known they couldn’t be taken seriously if they’d offered $125 million less.
rimshot
Hey now, I don’t think I’m a fool. I mean, I don’t post tweets from Bruski and agree with them regarding Hansen’s strategy, now do I? Now THAT would be the work of a fool. :)
Not gonna believe anyone who says the sale will be denied just to give Seattle an expansion team. $30MM says it would have to be the other way around.
It gets easier when you realize only one side is doing the spinning.
There are reports they are frustrated they can’t do more to get their side out there but doubt they are up in arms
There is a city loan of $77 mil and relocation fee of anywhere from $30-50 mil that the Sac investors probably thought they wouldn’t have to account for in the bid. Tried to get the hometown discount if you will. Stern said, no, you’re going to have to pony up some real cash if you want to make this happen.
LOL yeah his great sources. “A source is a source of couse unless your source is Mr. Ed. Or maybe thats a horse?
I actually had those thoughts already and you can check the previous thread to see if you don’t believe me. They are called logical and rational thoughts. Try them sometime ;)
The relo fee is ALWAYS after the PSA so I wouldnt see why some guys that are much more business savvy than any of us would consider that in the purchase agreement. The loan maybe but still I doubt it. Now expecting a 125 million hometown discount maybe.
Now the funny thing about Sac with Ranadive is that I have seen reports that he has been involved, silently, for some time; so theoretically he was part of the low ball bid
I think that’s wishful thinking. The thought that a relocation fee would be part of a purchase price doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. That’d just be embarrassing planning.
+1
One thing this for sure does is up the Hansen offer reported at $341MM to purchase shares in the Kings to $356MM. And $15MM more in cash too boot. Nice.
Everything else going on is just noise.
This was lost in the jumble, but if a minority investor matches Hansen’s offer does that start a bidding war or it essentially one-and-done?
“I would like to purchase this vehicle for $10,000.”
“Great. Sold!”
“I intend to ship it to Europe, so here’s $8000 to cover the expenses for what I want to do with it after I buy it.”
“Uh…..”
You have a very loose definition of “logical and rational,” I see!
Right, but you guys are missing the point. However big or small that blunder was for the Sac investors, if Stern and the NBA were really done with Sac, they would have squashed this whole thing then. Why continue this masquerade? Now Sac has added two more whales, one of which is already and LP of the warriors and gateway for the NBA to break into India. Why allow this?
You guys and the whole India thing. Funny.
India is irrelevant
Why hook up Hansen and the Maloofs? Why are Hansen and Ballmer still pushing forward?
The hypothetical question based arguments are flimsy and work for both sides.
And the ‘break into India’ notion is a fun talking point, but not based in reality. The NBA has several strategies for moving forward in the Asian market already, and a star Indian player might cause that kind of explosion, but not some owner.
Stop with the gateway to India argument. It is baseless. Players get the fans not owners.
When GP is in New York and the Sonics lottery ball is announced, KJ will call a press conference and demand that Sacramento gets a ball of its own.
Why not allow it? The NBA gains a lot by keeping Sacramento interested during this period.
It sucks for the fans but the NBA doesn’t need to speed things up.
Actually if you buy something for 15 million it doesnt mean it isnt worth 36.75 million. So the new total, in my opinion, is 378 million.
And if Stern was really helping Sac along, he would have told them what amount they needed to bid in the first place. Right?
Its like going to Burger King and telling them you arent paying full price for the Whopper because you wont be taking it “to go”.
Haha, Bruski gotta Bruski… thats all there is to it.
I’m sure he didn’t want to have to be so obvious about it…
Haha. I’m sure you’ll fill any gaps in your speculation with more speculation.
Would KJ still have a presser stating that they are “playing to win” even after the BOG approves the sale? How about after Chris Hansen announces the team’s new colors?
Its such a ridiculous stretch. Its actually borderline racist if you think about it. So basically any minority, not minority in terms of share, owner is somehow a gateway into that market? Please.
Did Jaguars Jerseys fly off the shelves in Pakistan? Does every black kid in Carolina rock Bobcats gear because Jordan owns them? Every Russian kid loves the Nets now right?
Anyone see this on Field of Schemes??
Only 13 of the 58 people signed up to speak at the hearing (in two-minute increments) were opposed to the deal, but that’s not necessarily a sign that the deal is popular with the public. Rather, the t-shirt-wearing supporters had jammed the hearing room by 5:30 (the hearing began at 6:30), and anyone who showed up after that was not only barred from attending, but from signing up to speak. Which if it sounds vaguely familiar, should.
Sacramento is an odd place…
you couldn’t even answer my first question
Sorry, but this is the real gateway to India:
http://tinyurl.com/cqh7vga
He very well might have done that. But the problem then becomes its up to the “owners” to decide. Its not going to be Stern’s call. He has flat out said that. Stern can say whatever he wants and in the end he can just put it on the owners. Its perfectly played like a politician should.
That must be why their first offer was $125 million short.
“You’re a fool for thinking this is in the bag.”
Name one sale of an NBA franchise that was denied by the BoG after a signed purchase agreement was drawn up.
Touche.
I still can’t fathom why all these Sac fans think of Bruski’s words as gospel. Anyone, ANYONE can see that his source is non other than the “Desert Queen” himself or someone in his office.
I agree. I was just bringing up that observation.
Not disagreeing with you - just stating the reported facts and staying away from spin. 72% of the team, $356MM offer with substantial cash backing ($45.1MM reported to date, probably higher in the full purchase price).
I don’t know the answer. I don’t know exactly what Stern is thinking or what his motives are, you’re asserting that you do. That’s the point. You ask hypothetical questions about ‘why would someone do X if not Y’, which isn’t logical. You’re operating off of presumption, not deduction.
Am I really reading conspiracy theories that Stern some how masterminded a deal to convince possibly the future wealthiest ownership group to go through all this, just to deny them a team to relocate and to keep that team in a smaller market, with a less wealthy ownership group? WTF? This has gotten way too bizarre.
And why in the world would Hansen care about PR in Sacramento? This story isn’t even in the classified ads in Chicago.
Done deal! #20 will be raised in Key Arena next season!
Yes based on monetary investment. i guess Im just pointing out that in terms of the actual value of the share is that.
I get why they do it: desperation.
What I don’t get is why they post his stuff on a pro-Sonics site as “proof” that they might keep the Kings.
You’re right. But there has never been anything like this. This is one of those unique cases where the existing fan base is just as strong (maybe stronger if you want to go off arena sellouts) as the market they are moving it to. I’m not going to say that Seattle won’t get the Kings. But I think to say it’s in the bag is far from accurate.
Wish NBA cared about fans, if so we would still have the Sonics
There is a game thread up but I think in the “Best Interest of the Sonics Risng” clause that we should keep Kings relocation related stuff here. Just my opinion but Im sure that Kevin wil appreciate it because I know we kind of posted about that before.
What you dont see is that the NBA doesnt really care about that. Its sad but true. They really dont care about the fans at all. They care about money.
Why don’t I see any pro seattle posters over there debating every day? Is this a one way troll street?
I agree it’s not a done deal either way. But I don’t see why Hansen would buy the 7% for PR purposes only to lose it if one of the minority owners match. If that happens, that would seem to be a PR defeat for Hansen (albeit a relatively minor one).
but i could answer your hypothetical’s because they were erroneous in this context. I was merely trying to spur discussion on why Stern/NBA would even bother allowing Sac to rally.
But the BOG is less concerned with ‘fanbases’ and more concerned with ‘markets’, and as a market, it’s not close.
How many of those sellouts were manufactured though? The Mariners have a tendency to say an attendance figure that is no where near the actual butts in the seats.
This isnt about the fans and never will be
Or if Hansen was really worried about losing to one of the minority partners, he would have overpaid for the 7%, like he did for the arena land and the 65%.
They probably get banned. Only pro Sac thoughts are welcome anyone who disagrees is a “SeaTroll” LOL
fans? do you seriously think the fans are even a consideration in all this?
Too that point what was the price of a ticket each year compared to the price of a ticket in Seattle? So many variables if you want to compare fan bases.
Kinda hard to compare game attendance to t.v. market revenue. Sponsors far out weigh sell outs from what I know.
Desert Princess. Get it right.
Ok, let’s just flip your hypothetical in Seattle’s favor then.
Why would Stern publicly embarrass the Sac ownership group by publicly belittling their offer unless he was preparing cover for the NBA to eventually deny the sale? Why not make suggestions privately?
I’m not saying that’s the case, I don’t purport to know the inner workings here, but just reading a situation the way you want to and trying to get people to rebut speculation with more speculation is cheap and meaningless.
Meh. The Kings will be in Seattle later this year. The NBA is making sure they slip out of Sac as delicately as possible.
it’s true Seattle is a bigger market. But there are also 2 other professional sports teams. In Sac, the Kings are everything and hold majority interest in all things sports related.
Dude. I was in Moscow the other day. You wouldn’t believe it. That city is plastered with Nets paraphernalia. Nets jerseys everywhere.
Now I’m hearing Bob Cook himself intends to match the offer?
Ive pointed this out numerous times…if the Sacramento guys thought the relocation fee was part of the deal they are dumb as rocks…no rational person would have considered the relocation fee as part of the price the Maloofs would pay…
Not to mention that considering the Relo Fee is a random number saying 30-50 million doesn’t make sense.
Actually…I hope Mastrov thought that…shows how dumb the group is and makes them even less worth worrying about.
Whoops. :)
Look at the income levels, corporate base, the unemployment rate, the retail spending per capita, the potential for a TV deal, etc. Sacramento is 20th in size, but lags behind in economic indicators compared to other media markets. Seattle does not. There is just a lot more money to be made here. That’s why the Sac bid is based on trying to combine sentimentality, fairness, and a huge public payoff to try to make up that variance.
why are we even here if we can’t speculate? lol
On another note- Phil Jackson got a twitter today! Excellent timing!
thats the best quote of the day.
To help force an Arena agreement to be made in Sacramento (for a future team)? To create a scenario where Hansen becomes willing to pay a higher Relocation cost?
Your thoughts are only logical if you think there is some predetermined decision to keep the team in Sacramento. Once you remove that from your premise everything falls apart like a house of cards.
Sucks you can’t admit that the Sac group tried to lowball the bid and were made to look like fools
Putin and Jay-Z are a match made in heaven.
Yes there is 2 other big time teams. There is also a HUGE hole in the sports market during the majority of the NBA season. Plus the real overlay is the Hawks who play once a week. So that will not be an issue in the leagues eyes. I think things like economic stability like much better employment rate, the job type demographic, the median average income, the fact that in King and Snohomish County has 70,000 millionaires, 8 Fortune 500 companies in the region with a nother playing a significant role in the region with Boeing. The fact that the footprint in terms of market size is exponentially greater (in area) than Sacramento.
Too the argument of 1 sports town, so you dont think that the Raiders, A’s, 49ers, Giants have no influence or dont claim Sacramento as their market. So your argument is null and void
Feel free to explain to me the question I asked yesterday. Why would Sacramento be the gateway to India? If the guy doesn’t get the Kings he is still the minority owner of the Warriors…why wouldn’t they just be this mythical India national team??
Again…think rational and logical…
The NBA benefits no matter where the kings end up. but don’t you now talk about Sac bid being based on sentiment and fairness when that’s pretty much what the whole Sonics fan base is feeling for the return of their emerald stars after they were ripped away from them. Both cities have a lot of emotion invested in this whole thing.
Sorry, I admire your … enthusiasm I guess is the word … but if that actually mattered at all, the Sonics would still be here and not in OKC.
Aaron Bruski @aaronbruski
League source to PBT, “Hansen knew that SAC would match, but momentum hard to come by for SEA these days so he’ll take it.”
i cant type how i actually feel about bruski and this BS tweet because it would send my post into moderation. the fact that he calls himself a journalist is an embarrassment to the craft. i seriously cant wait for this moron to have his world shattered.
also let them match, hansen wlll just up his bid. why do they think all they have to do is bid a dollar more and its theirs?
And they still have their arena rights sold to Fortune 500 companies like….Power Balance. Haha. Being the only game in town isn’t an argument when you don’t have any corporate sponsorship.
best quote of the WEEK.
Whoa…WTF…just to be clear…Stern didn’t want to be “obvious” about it…so he decided to make a public statement in front of the press saying the offer was too low?
How does this even make sense to you??
There is sentiment on both sides, but we’re not counting on ours to be a match for money.
If the NBA were making a decision about whether or not to expand to one of these two cities, it’d be a no brainer. Seattle is the easy, cold business decision every time. Sac just needs this to be something other than a cold business move.
At least your answers make sense lol. And I think I did admit that if you look up a bit.
Just read Rotoworld and he posted this little doozy.
“SAC @ GSW: Tyreke Evans is iffy for tonight due to the flu. Sacramento continues to be the favorite to keep their Kings, which is only a surprise to the rest of the nation not reading Rotoworld and PBT. The Warriors need a win tonight to keep their playoff hopes on a solid track.”
absolutely. the only reason the team stays in sac is emotion. seattle wins on every single economic level. sac cant even begin to compete in that regard.
KJ better hurry and get his bid approved by the NBA (which takes a minimum of three weeks) if he’s going to make that April 1st deadline*.
I don’t see how it’s possible, unless he has some magic calendar I’m under-aware of.
The only real possibility of the sale not becoming official is the other minority owners right-of-first-refusal. The risk of getting capitol-called to death makes that pretty risky.
* http://media.sacbee.com/smedia/2013/03/27/13/03/lRoTi.So.4.pdf
Exactly. I don’t think the NBA has grown leaps and bounds in Russia since the Nets new owner joined the NBA.
LOL….loved this comment….
Every time I see someone post a Bruski tweet I see this.
http://tinyurl.com/cshdulu
I can’t access the SacBee sites anymore. Do they have an International IP block or something?
right, and for the NBA to not allow what happened to you to happen again… ironically with you on the other end this time. (ya ya ya, i know not the same… but you know what i mean).
I had this discussion with someone on Twitter today…and it just goes to another one of those arguments where the Kings fans talk out of both sides of their mouth:
One side: This is a great market! Filled with some of the best fans ever and the NBA would stupid to leave here because it would have a negative impact!!
Other side: We have to do everything we can to keep the team because if the team leaves another NBA team is never coming back. This is our only chance!
So..to recap…the market is AWESOME!! but the NBA would never proactively choose to put a team in that market…
KCRA reporting that Bob Cook the minority owner who Hansen just bought out has the right to match that offer and will do so. Explain that to me?
If Bob Cook has the money to match that, why is he in bankruptcy?
They’re selling that 7% to recoup his debt.
What? Um wouldnt they seize that money since he owes 40 million or so
I have no idea, it makes no sense to me.
not if he used a shell company to make the purchase in the first place. This is why rich guys have some many LLC’s. Just default on them without letting the bank touch your personal assets.
One valid explanation is that report is bullshit.
@kcraRiva is who tweeted that.
Fixed.
Was it a shell company that is in bankruptcy? Even so the judge will determine whether or not its applicable and I doubt the judge is going to set that precedent
Agreed thats bullshit. He filed for bankrupcy he has no longer any rights to that 7%. How in the heck does he have 15m where he should be paying off the debt that he owes.
More from the report that cook is claiming to match it.
Chris Riva @kcraRiva 36m
Bob Cook, “I would never be in favor of anything that would increase the Seattle groups chances of buying the team.”
Umm since when does someone that filed for bankruptcy have any say in what happens to his share of the team?
If Cook buys it back we can use Sac town logic and disregard it, since the purchase of the 7% is just a PR stunt from Hansen because KJ is winning!
Bruski and Carmichael Dave seem to be what are referred to as “mouthpieces.” Mouthpieces are people who parrot lines, or information, given to them. I think it was reported that Carmichael Dave coordinated his city to city trip with Mayor Kevin Johnson’s team. So you can probably take a guess who his and Bruski’s sources might be.
When we did the haiku threads, I offered up this poem:
KJ faltering
Bruski “reports” from Dream World
Desperation now
Sometimes up is down and the Dream World becomes reality.
When powerful enough forces want that to be the case.
Don’t let Bruski get you down. There are times when a person is in the right place at the right time, and fortune shines on them. Bruski may be such a person in this situation.
If that is the case, then he will crow about it. As will CMD and Kevin Johnson and that entire gang.
I am not saying this is over or preaching pessimism, but as I said in a recent comment, I am starting to think that something along the lines of “the fix is in” may apply to this situation.
If the fix is indeed in, I hope that Seattle gets a team. Soon. And I think that Seattle will still get a team. I am just no longer sure it will get a team next year.
Bob Cook is in personal bankruptcy. This is all a part of that. He wouldn’t be able to set up an LLC to have borrow that amount of money without collateral, which he wouldn’t have.
IT’S NOT OVER FOR BOB COOK!!
This is too funny.
Didn’t know Cook could even afford to say that.
honestly i don’t know. KJ seems confident, but I have no idea how this works out.
He has nothing to lose so he’ll remain confident.
Nobody knows but Stern. But he also kept the hope alive for us Sonics fans right up until the very end. Its eerily similar.
Why didnt he tell Ballmer not to bother with the last minute arena proposal?
Then when it came apparent that the fight was going to be drawn out he did a switchstance and said “drop the suits or else we never come back”. And then the rug was pulled.
Cook can’t setup a shell corp and then buy his own share out of bankruptcy by asserting his ROFO (that is tied to the share in bankruptcy). Wow. Now I’ve seen it all in this saga.
Dude, that’s just not true at all. I go to Sacramento, somewhat frequently, and you know what I see mostly? SF Giants gear. Everywhere. Is that because the Kings are terrible and possibly leaving? Probably. But Sac loves the Giants, and the Niners, and sometimes the A’s and the Raiders and Sharks. It’s not a one team town, it’s a Bay Area sports town that also loves the Kings.
FYI . . . and I am sure some of you noticed this . . . Hansen did not announce the purchase of the bankrupt 7%. It was the trustees. Does anyone possibly think that they are making this announcement so the Hansen group gets some so-called “PR gain”? No, they wouldn’t.
Did I just Hansen and Ballmer at WeDay on King 5 news? Some mysterious man was with them pumping up the thousands of youth about getting an NBA team back in Seattle too. They said this mysterious mans name is Magic Johnson:-)
This is fantastic point. Hansen didnt announce this. The BK trustee did to attemot to garner more interest since it is so close to April 1st
If you read the court doc this is what matters.
“The Trustee believes that the Purchase Price represents an extremely attractive price for the LP Interests, including a premium for the “no shop” restrictions and for preempting the requirement of an Auction under the Bid Procedures”.
You don’t pre-empt an auction as a trustee unless you have a good reason and Hansen gave them a good reason (and paid for the no shop). And all of this talk of Hansen lowballing - read the doc … “extremely attractive price”. None of the remaining LP’s are going to match (and yes, that includes Bob Cook and his voodoo magic invocation of his ROFO share that is in bankruptcy).
How can he get more interest since there is the no shop clause.
I loled.
Wait… so somehow Excremento is 2 BILLION in debt, but is going to conjure up over THREE HUNDRED MILLION out of thin air for the Kings…
And the populace isn’t pissed? And they’re just going to GIVE land away? Jesus H. Christ, they’re basically pulling down their pants and asking these “whales” (read: vultures) to pillage and plunder their city’s collective colon. With this many “whales”, there’s no reason why the City should have to pay this much. That money could be better used to fund schools, healthcare, infrastructure, or really just get out of debt. If Excremento’s plebeian populace had any intelligence, if their City Council had any integrity, if their Mayor wasn’t a two-bit huckster for the vultures… they’d turn down this “DEAL OF A LIFETIME”… Maybe if the plebs in the city actually got to read the term sheet, they’d be angry… but that shill KJ has been fleecing the city in favor of his corporate overlords.
LOL Excremento. Even if you win (and you won’t), you lose.
None of the Sac “whales” even bothered to put in a bid. Don’t you think if they were truly serious and willing to put up actual cash to buy the Kings they would have put in a bid for the 7%? If nothing else show the NBA you are serious? Instead, Hansen was the only bidder and now the “whales” are locked out of the process.
They also wouldn’t announce it if there was potential of more offers. It is their job to get the most money for the asset. Closing the bidding early would mean forgoing potential larger bids. They just wouldn’t do that.
Wait… so somehow Excremento is 2 BILLION in debt, but is going to conjure up over THREE HUNDRED MILLION out of thin air for the Kings…
And the populace isn’t pissed? And they’re just going to GIVE land away? Jesus H. Chrimany, they’re basically pulling down their pants and asking these “whales” (read: vultures) to pillage and plunder their city’s collective colon. With this many “whales”, there’s no reason why the City should have to pay this much. That money could be better used to fund schools, healthcare, infrastructure, or really just get out of debt. If Excremento’s plebeian populace had any intelligence, if their City Council had any integrity, if their Mayor wasn’t a two-bit huckster for the vultures… they’d turn down this “DEAL OF A LIFETIME”… Maybe if the plebs in the city actually got to read the term sheet, they’d be angry… but that shill KJ has been fleecing the city in favor of his corporate overlords.
LOL Excremento. Even if you win (and you won’t), you lose.
I loled at this one.
Exactly - this is like the Maloof deal for the majority shares. Hansen put money up front for exclusive purchase rights essentially. In this case only the remaining LP’s can decide to match his offer and the chances of that happening are slim at best.
I really dont know too much about bankruptcy proceedings. I’ll check into it
They had to be assured that there would be no higher offers. They wouldn’t even go for the extra money for the “no shop”. They just wouldn’t do it.
The law is pretty logical, and if the trustees closed bids when there was potential of higher bids they could get sued by the creditors. It is their job to get the most money that they can get.
This bob cook guy is too precious.
I’m glad you liked it. :D
Did anyone hear the Sac reporter on 1090 a little bit ago? I only caught part of it, but he hinted that there are more than eight owners planning on voting against Hansen. He said he didn’t want to discuss it on the record, but has been told by some insiders from other teams in the league that they have the necessary votes to block a sale to Hansen/Balmer. Ugh.
What would you expect them to say especially if it was Napear since he is the voice of the Kings
It wasn’t Napear. I think it was Nick something. Was on with Sandmeyer. Sounded annoyingly confident about their chances.
This was the best writing I’ve read all week on this whole fiasco, by far. Hilarious.