So I want to give everybody here a little bit of an idea what I am expecting and what I am looking for out of potential news next week.For starters it has been confirmed that Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson will be rolling out his new potential ownership group next week. When this announcement comes I think the relevant points will be what names are on the list and to what degree they indicate commitment.
Larry Ellison is the name to watch. If his name is on the list it certainly becomes a game changer because he brings the wealth dynamics to a whole new level. Ellison has made no secret of his desire to own an NBA franchise and tried to buy the Warriors. Maybe he will see this as his only real chance and decide he is going to go toe to toe with Ballmer in a bidding war.
Some rumblings of Ellison’s involvement have been going on but none of them have been substantiated beyond message board gossip in any way. It is most likely that he will not be involved in this group.
Assuming he is not part of the group and it is some “lesser billionaire” then I think the next step indicator becomes who takes the leadership mantel and how clearly they state their willingness to go the distance. Are they cautious about offering results? Do they hedge their bets on franchise value?
Probably the worst case scenario for Sacramento would be a group that is led by a lesser money investor (say the Sleep Train Founder) indicating their willingness to “participate” in the city’s efforts and work with higher net worth billionaires who would prefer to stay unnamed at this time. If that is the case then it indicates that everybody is hedging their bets and nobody wants to go on the record.
It was also reported by KJR’s Mitch in the morning that there could be news out of Seattle next week also. If this proves to be the case I would expect there to be some type of measured indication of process more than any big announcement of victory. There I would listen closely to any specific references to contract status, etc. and keep in mind that these guys have nothing to win by engaging in a PR game. Listen with the understanding that they are going to tell you as little as possible, likely in a carefully prepared statement that has been heavily vetted by lawyers. Caution will be the name of the game.
The big challenge here is that it is that all three sides have a vested interest in making it look like they are in control of the situation. The plan they would implement to make it look that way is pretty much exactly the same as it would be if they really were. For example it is STRONGLY in Kevin Johnson’s best interest to telegraph a rock solid ownership group ready to buy this team. In doing so he increases his odds that the league gives him attention and also establishes more firmly his position that he was ready to go and the Maloofs are the bad guys.
The NBA learned a lot from the last go-around. They will be just as comfortable as Kevin Johnson is making sure that the Maloofs look like the bad guys. That potentially allows them to get this behind them in a way that sets Sacramento up for future franchise bidding without the animosity that built up during the poorly executed Seattle situation.
He would be doing the exact same thing publicly whether he has a rock solid ownership group or a tentative one. He has no choice but to roll out in confidence and has his own media people working to support that image.
So it is going to be really difficult to read much into the things they say. I would advise you to follow any news closely and really make an early effort to react to what is said, not what commentators speculate about what is said or about what other fans read into the comments. That applies to both sides.
Sacramento has great fans and a great mayor. I fully expect both of them to fight and respect them for doing so. Lets trust Chris.
Still having a hard time trying to figure out what kind of positive news that could come out at this point other than an announcement of a conditional sales agreement.
Brian,
What is your gut feeling? Are the Kings moving to Seattle?
Another question we should ask about Larry Ellison is, does he want to keep the team in Sacramento? Or move them to San Jose where he’s from? And does the Bay Area need another team when they got the Warriors already? Last of all will the league approve the sale with him being owner? Interesting thought on Ellison, Brian!
That’s just it, isn’t it. Does Ellison introduce uncertainty in Sacramento, and does that hurt KJ’s position?
If the owners think the Maloofs have muscle, and could threaten antitrust to go to Anaheim, then how would they view Ellison?
I was wondering the same thing. Ellison has always been rejected because he planned on moving the team. Maybe he has changed his thinking and knows the only way he can own a team is if it is kept in its current city? I think he is only an hour and a half away from Sacramento. When you’re a guy who is as filthy rich as him, take the private jet that will allow you to get back and forth in no time!
I’m pretty nervous about what next week may bring. It could all either make or break us, depending on what group KJ announces.
Like Brian said, all we can do is trust in Chris…and try not to get sucked into all the hype this time. Be cognizant of who is giving out the info.
I think with the Warriors moving to San Francisco it wouldn’t make much sense to move the Kings to San Jose. I also think that part of the agreement of moving from Oakland to San Francisco is that the Warriors hold first right of refusal for sharing their media market, which I believe goes from Napa down each side of the bay to Santa Maria. It’s been a while since I looked that up, but I do remember something along those lines of sticking in my head after the sale of the Warriors.
Yes, busy week of news, and speculation.
Writing a column for Tuesday will be fun.
I think people should make an effort to remember what Brian has here. There is a spectrum of communication that you need to be aware of, in that the volume and specificity is directly related to the maturity and completeness of your plan.
Its going to definitely be an interesting week, next week. I’m curious what Mitch’s news could be. I’m not expecting anything earth shattering but I’m just not sure what it the news could be. I mean if its a prepared statement from Hansen or his people then that’s cool.
I think that with all this noise, there is likely an agreement, probably one with the potential for an “out” on both sides. Both sides are under non-disclosure, but the Maloofs leaked the agreement to attempt to drive up the price. It will be impossible to prove who leaked this, so Hansen’s group won’t even try. Moreover it is not in their interest to prove anything, as their main goal is to just acquire a team without too much cost. If they push too hard on the dishonesty piece, the Maloofs could take their ball and go elsewhere.
All of this public attention and speculation on a deal does nothing good for Hansen’s group. If the agreement is not in stone, which it very likely is not, then ongoing price negotiations can still be in the mix. Which sucks for Hansen’s group. Especially if you bring Ellison into the game. A bidding war with those kind of dollars is really, really bad business. Except for the Maloofs.
At some point, if the money involved becomes too huge, then Hansen’s group might actually have some reason to pursue the Maloofs for breach of contract regarding the non-disclosure agreement. Then things get even messier. How do you prove they leaked it? What do you ask for in court, and what could you get? Is the team on the line, or just monetary compensation? How do you collect anything from a deadbeat / toxic waste ownership group?
Meanwhile I agree that the NBA doesn’t have anything to gain by encouraging an announcement anytime soon. NBA needs it’s news cycles focused on something more marketable and less controversial right now.
Another thing about Ellison I remember was, I read somewhere that he’s no longer interested in buying in NBA team and invested in an island somewhere in Hawaii. I just can’t see him buying an NBA team again and I don’t think he will! Hope I’m right!
I guess one benefit we get, after we get over the rollercoaster sickness, is that it is fun to speculate!
Makes me wonder how they structured the agreement. You know there are killer lawyers on both sides of this. Did they set it up with some kind of earnest money on both sides, so that anyone who kills the deal has to pay something to get out of it? That would have been smart on Hansen’s side, if indeed they could get the Maloofs to agree to it.
I think the primary nature of this agreement is it’s slipperiness. Such comes directly from dealing with these most slippery owners. It was written all over this before anyone got started. So you would think that a smart negotiator would have set up something to protect Hansen’s group’s interests, more than just the standard non-disclosure agreement.
It begs the question, what is the value of a non-disclosure agreement if the untrusted side of an agreement has no easily forecloseable property? If there isn’t cash on the barrel, then what was the compensation for breach of non-disclosure?
Speedcat, I feel like you’re getting ahead of yourself here buddy. We don’t even know if there is an agreement that exists in the first place.
One of the things tweeted out the previous week claimed an agreement was in place in a handshake rather there was any truth to that yet to remains seen
I know that. Unfortunately, I don’t rely on twitter to break any news for me unless its moving from Chris Hansen himself via the SonicsArena page.
I am speculating. That said, it is hard to imagine that with all this noise, there is nothing in place.
Agreed, I think they must have gotten some feedback by now on the “discussion points” from the BOG.
It’s about time.
@ $525 million, right now, that’s the peak sales point for the Maloofs.
If the goof around and push this too much further out then I think you have Hansen’s folks becoming popular among other franchise owners that could sell after this year.
Do they have an exclusive negotiation agreement?
They must, or KJ wouldn’t be asking to present to the BOG, but just lay out a competing offer directly.
If the Maloofs choke this year like they did last year then the value drops with other potential options in the near future competing for Hansen’s money.
Hansen can’t burn too much time with flaky owners, the clock is ticking on his 5 year window outlined in the MOU.
Time is on his side right now, in three years, not so much.
If Hansen has to move on to another franchise then what is the offer like coming from local Sacramento owners?
It isn’t more, and in the mean time the Maloofs lose money operating in this environment.
By far, the most logical summary of the current situation I’ve read/heard thus far. With the MaGoof’s you never know for sure. Let’s just hope the Sac group doesn’t have some magic angel in their pocket willing to make a comparable offer. Doesn’t Bennett group have to pay Sea another 30mill if we don’t get a team this year? Conflict of interest ?
That was only if Olympia approved the Ballmer group’s deal to renovate Key Arena and Seattle didn’t get a team within 5 years.
Got it - - Thanks for the clarification.
The five year time frame on the MOU does not start until final final final (how many final approvals are there?) approval of the proposal, and the signing of the MOU referred contracts. At least that is how I read the MOU.
So, I do not think that the five year time frame has started yet. If I am incorrect on this, please let me know.
That process is not frozen in time, it is not going to take years, but months, and the 5 year period starting time is approaching, as would the end date.
Ellison tried a few times to buy the Warriors from Chris Cohan, but there was always some sort of bizarre circumstance that stopped any sort of deal from taking place. Here’s a quick little article on what happened on his last attempt, before the Warriors were sold to their current group.
One has to wonder if that last experience may have left him bitter. Either way, considering his track record, I don’t really consider him a threat.
In other news, yesterday was a sports nightmare. Peyton Siva’s late game turnover all but cost his #1 ranked Louisville the game against Syracuse. The Huskies totally crapped the bed and turned in their worst performance of the year against a bad Utah team. Seattle U continues to just be a mess, although it’s nice to see Clarence Trent is continuing to enjoy individual success there.
Definitely could use some good news trickling in this week.
If you click on my block of text, it’ll take you to the article I was talking about. I’ll pay more attention to what I’m doing next time.
Great Article BR but I really think it just add more to the crazy speculation regarding this whole saga. I think it is a wait and see situation.
Hopefully this week we really get a good idea of how this situation is gonna go. The drama and back and forth is killer…..
My “speculation” guess for Mitch’s reference is maybe an additional Seattle investor is named to Hansen’s group.
That would be very anti-climatic for me at this point. I’m hoping we hear something about an agreement of some sort. That said, I’m not expecting it to be mind-blowing news, but I think at this point hearing about another name in the mix of our group would just be like a “so?” reaction from me.
There isn’t much tactical value in announcing another name.
My uninformed opinion is that we get actual and direct status. That’s not mind blowing, no, but after a couple weeks of “sources” I think their hand is forced to some point where they are compelled to say where things are at in the negotiation.
The Sacramento fans might be taken for a ride here, with unreasonable expectations of what a speech from a mayor to the BOG can really do. A little communication of where the Maloof/Hansen discussions are at might temper everybody’s expectations.
Agreed.
Less than $525?
http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2013/01/20/report-cites-nbpa-billy-hunter-for-improprieties-though-nothing-criminal/jlTkV8IVnKxkmUzO2KgOZK/story.html
Not much new in that article.
I would just like to see it be as much as possible, to make a matching offer more difficult to meet.
But then again I am not the one writing the check..
Hey - - - I’ve ten bucks to throw in.
Though NBA sources say such a deal to relocate the Kings there is nearly done, the league maintains the stance that if Sacramento has local buyers that are willing to keep the club there and would help construct a new arena, it will comply.
The NBA never said that it will comply.
That line about complying struck me as a pretty blatant inaccuracy as well.
I’m not buying the article. To me it’s not really accurate.
To me its essentially saying local buyer and and arena the NBA will force the kings to stay in Sac.
Need to be mindful of the source of course, but this article has some historic perspective.
“NBA rarely blocks teams from moving, but Timberwolves case gives Sacramento Kings fans hope”
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/01/20/5126810/nba-rarely-blocks-teams-from-moving.html#storylink=cpy
Isn’t the whole timberwolves thing a little misleading. Wasn’t that relocation the one that was put on hold do to money issues?
Yep. Issues the Seattle buyers don’t have.
One thing to keep in mind is that the NBA didn’t really block a RELOCATION attempt. They blocked the SALE that would’ve led to a relocation.
It’ s very hard for the NBA to block relocations but sales are easier to block. It happens all the time, especially if the league doesn’t like where they think the owner will take the team. That was the case for the group that would’ve taken the Wolves to New Orleans as well as Bill Lurie, who was ready to take the Grizzlies to St. Louis. The NBA blocked the sale.
Socal Sonics,
NBA only blocked the sale cause of financial plan had too many question marks?
@soundersfan84
Also the NBA was hosting the all star game in Minnesota that year. And the TWolves were only like a 5 year old expansion team and the Target Center was also just built.
Although I don’t think that had anything to do with Stern blocking the sale. It was probably the money issues.
Yes, very true and that’s not the case here.
“NBA officials said the $152 million deal was riddled with shaky financing, resting largely on bank loans that hadn’t been secured.”
“No one is questioning the financial pedigree of the Seattle group bidding for the Kings. The group includes Microsoft executive Steve Ballmer and the Nordstrom family.”
“Sacramento’s circumstance is different. But as was the case in Minnesota, Johnson’s strategy relies on persuading the NBA to take the unusual step of vetoing a team’s relocation petition.”
“Still, there’s no predicting which city will win.”
“Former NBA executive Andy Dolich said the owners will weigh Sacramento’s past success and loyalty to the NBA against Seattle’s ample wealth. The board of governors will insist on seeing revenue projections for the team in its proposed new home.”
“You have to be pretty specific,” said Dolich, who was president of the Vancouver Grizzlies when they moved to Memphis in 2001. “The building, demographics of the marketplace, broadcasting.”
“Dolich said NBA owners want the Kings located in whatever market enhances the overall prosperity of the league – and their own franchises.”
“The blood of this is green – it’s money,” he said.”
I do not see that being an issue regarding revenue projections for seattle.
Agreed
that shouldn’t be a contest then. we have a lot more wealth, and our market and broadcasting have much more potential to make $. plus our arena is $500 mil, more revenue for the league. I just don’t see how the league can look at SAC and say they will make more money there, new arena or not. Market size, potential for broadcasting $, and market wealth are all in our favor. if you ask any city in any sport who loses their team, they’ll tell you fan support and success means nothing. it’s all about $.
I am confused on that too. did Hansen’s 5 year window to get a team start last October, or will it start AFTER the arena is re-approved after EIS?
Carmichael Dave @CarmichaelDave
Hearing very persistent rumors that one of the prospective “whales” could also give his new team a heck of a Hawaiian vacation discount.
Fuk, sounds like ellison. Hopefully he comes up short again…..
Yea that’s what he was implying. Bleh i wish this stupid rollercoaster would end. Hansen better be willing to increase his offer.
I still think we end up with the team, but if this is true about Ellison, it does makes me a tad nervous.
Yeah ellison makes me very nervous. Just gotta hang in there and have faith in chris to get this done
I wonder how high Hansen is willing to go if Ellison were to join that group and match Seattle’s offer.
btw did you guys see Carmichael Dave’s twitter war with Softy?
They would be seriously over paying the market.
I sure hope that news trickle Mitch mentioned starts happening soon. Could use some good news.
Another thing to consider is that Ellison is also trying to buy AEG. That would make him owner of the LA Kings, LA Galaxy MLS team, some other MLS team, a European soccer team and 25% owner of the Lakers along with several arenas worldwide.
It’s possible that he may not want to overbid for either AEG or the Kings if he thinks the price is getting out of hand, knowing that there is a 2nd option out there.
If Ellison is trying to buy AEG, he can’t be involved in buying the sac Kings.
Oh and i believe the Houston Dynamo aren’t part of the sale.
That might be were Ellison comes in because AEG were a key part of the orginal Sacramento arena deal and they have signaled that are willing to be part of a new one
The bottom line. The NBA wants to be in Seattle. It doesn’t matter if Sac comes up with an ownership group. The ship has already sailed.
Question is rather or not the deal is already done and we are just waiting till the BOG meeting.
I really think thats whats goin on
But nontheless a plan B (the local group) would still be good for league to have if the deal between Hansen and maloofs go south for some reason.
I’ve already said this, but it is interesting to note that Glen Taylor is currently trying to sell the Timberwolves. Or he announced back in like may of 2012 he was looking for someone to be the new majority owner. Wonder how much they will sell for whenever he sells them?
Makes me wondering if he is paying attention to the Kings potential sale,
Just trying to make conversation since it’s slow around here :)
Always open for a good conversation to spend the time while we wait for resolution one way or another.
Aaron Bruski @aaronbruski
BREAKING: Deal between Maloof family, Seattle’s Chris Hansen for Sacramento Kings imminent. Story coming soon.
Heard that one before.
so this was the KJR mitch news he was talking about?
should say could this be
I’m not hanging my hat on it, but I am cautiously optimistic. If we believe the deal is going to happen then one of these tweets will come to fruition. I have faith in Chris.
It’s Bruski, so this “story” is coming out now in an effort to help sactown. Perhaps to lead the media spin or frame the issues in a pro-sactown light.
SonicsDawg,
Good point never considered the sactown spec
It was “1st and goal from the one” two weeks ago. Don’t see how this changes anything, unless Bruski has seen a draft of a press release.
http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/01/20/breaking-deal-between-maloof-family-seattles-chris-hansen-for-sacramento-kings-imminent/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
I am not buying it yet but the fact that he got it on a national website is sort of big and the fact Bruski has been Pro sac this entire time make me wonder if a deal is really imminent and he is just trying to warn the Sacramento people
So he could try to get KJ to get a counter offer to the Maloof fast
Problem is due to the exclusive window that Chrisdaniels implied that exists they can’t talk to the maloofs.
And there is the sactown aspect of the article “its not a done deal” cause its subject to approval of the BOG spinning it as if they can still reject the deal.
Right, it only means, what we already expected, that there is an offer. Now, we have to wait to see who Kevin Johson lines up and then what the BOG decides.
LJG,
Here’s the thing they can’t reject Hansen’s offer and force Maloofs to sell though.
KJ as per sac bee is hoping the BOG rejects it just to reject it. Since they don’t reject a sale unless there is money issues.
They can’t force the Maloofs to sell but the Maloofs are going to sell to somebody. If the BoG boxes them in a corner, they certianly could.
They would take a HUGE PR nightmare “stating that they shafted seattle AGAIN” if they reject Hansen and make Maloofs sell locally.
Chris Daniels @ChrisDaniels5
BREAKING: Source tells me deal on Kings-to-#Seattle to be announced soon, perhaps as early as Monday/Tuesday. #NBA
Now i think its legit
Not bein negative guys but im not ridin the rollercoaster no more. BOG passes the sale and relocation then i’ll celebrate…..
Chris Daniels @ChrisDaniels5 6m
This…is about to go down
I agree. The only thing this does for me is make a virtual guarantee that we will have a team within 2-3 years. If Hansen announces a deal, we will either get a team next year or Sacramento will match the offer and Stern will wiggle a back-room deal to keep the team in Sacramento and give Hansen an expansion team.
Expansion is not going to happen.
I don’t think expansion is off the table. If the BOG rejects the offer to keep Sacramento local then I think expansion will likely happen.
Just a weird gut feeling.
Completely agree. $500m expansion fee could change some minds about having to share the revenue pie with 30 teams rather than 29.
This is the first report that claims Hansen is preparing to announce. No one said that in any of the previous reports.
IF IF IF this is true, then this is great news for Seattle. Could BOG reject it? Yes they could, but if they do reject a SIGNED SALES AGREEMENT with a group as high calibur as Hansen’s, they are setting themselves up as villains in Seattle once again.
IF IF IF this is true and BOG rejects it, this could and should cause them to rapidly rethink their position on expansion and offer a franchise to Seattle. IF IF IF this is true and BOG approves it, they set themselves up as villains in Sacramento and then could and should offer expansion to Sacramento.
NBA is dealing with two cities that have stepped up to the plate. One of them is going to be ecstatic at the end. The other will be justifiably vitriolic toward the NBA UNLESS expansion is offered.
That doesn’t mean they WILL offer expansion. But they are in for a PR nightmare if they don’t. This all assumes that Sacramento comes through with the rumored heavy hitting ownership groups this week.
Paul,
a thought wouldn’t it be better financially for the league if the NBA approves sale/relocation of the Kings to Seattle then give Sacramento time to get their arena situation taken off.
$$$ wise the franchise could do better at 2 years in the key while new arena is being built compared to playing at Sac’s arena for who knows how many years while they get their arena deal figured out.
Dave Softy Mahler@Softykjr
BOOM!! RT @ChrisDaniels5: BREAKING: Source tells me deal on Kings-to-#Seattle to be announced soon, perhaps as early as Monday/Tuesday. #NBA
This means you can etch this in stone. Chris Daniels is money and he wouldn’t report it if it weren’t true.
Ball will be firmly in the NBA’s court.
Anyone know more about an NBA timeline for this thing?
If they’ve made a deal, when would the BOG take up review of the sale?
BOG meeting in February.
Yet Kevin Johnson won’t be speaking in front of them until April?
It’ll be interesting to see how this all goes down. A Hansen/Maloof announcement will undoubtedly be followed by the perfunctory statement from the NBA: “We have received the Sale agreement of the Sacramento Kings to the investment group led by Chris Hansen with intent to move the team to Seattle. All franchise sale agreements must be approved by the NBA board of governors. This agreement will be reviewed by the BOG at the appropriate time. Until then, the NBA has no further comment”
What will be interesting is if Stern elaborates on how KJ will have the opportunity to speak at the BOG meeting. Until a Hansen announcement, we have been dealing with hypothetical situations. This would make Stern make a definitive statement about what Sacramento theoretically has to do to keep a team (if anything is possible).
Stern has no control over what the BOG does.
Mike Salk@BrockandSalk
RT @espnsteinline: Just going online now: Maloofs have struck deal to sell 65 % of Kings to Hansen group in Seattle for $525m, sources say
If the $525 million is really only for 65%, good luck matching that Sacramento
Good lord. I hope that’s not a typo by ESPN.
Can’t imagine he is paying 525 mil for 65%. It must be the pro-rated estimate.
I think the $525 million is the overall team value and hansen will pay 65% of that for the 65% of the team control he is buying
It’s hard not to get excited because it feels like is actually happening. Fingers crossed.
It would make sense that the Hansen group already has the BOG votes to move. I can’t imagine them getting this far to get turned away. Business people of this caliber don’t get this far without a known end result. Ellison group is posturing for the next franchise. Certainly, a new Sac ownership group could strike a better deal with the city if they had time to negotiate with city officials.
God i hope youre right.
Tony Bizjak @TonyBizjak
Breaking: Kings sale, likely to be announced tomorrow. Seattle group is expected to try to move team to Seattle after this season.
And can we make it a rule to refer to them exclusively as the Notorious B.O.G.?
lol
LOL.
nice
mitch levy@kjrmitch
I stand by what I said at the end of Friday morning’s show. Very encouraging news is on the way for Sonics fans.
lol encouraging is understatement
Wow Awesome news! To think I was just watching the UW game on my DVR with my dad just a little bit ago and my dad said he started talking about the Sonics. Next thing I know I’m checking out what’s going on here and wow!
Good news, still a long ways to go literally the BOG for moving is not until April.
Also, is it me or is Brock way out of the loop on the Sonics sale? He has no clue that the 525 mil is the valuation and Hanson is paying 65% of that number. Plus he did not know that the Maloofs have minority owners. I hope the Sonics go to KJR
Correction - I mean Salk
Umm BOG meeting is in February not apirl. Unless they are meeting again in April.
February would be for the sale.
April would be for the move
But there’s zero chance the NBA approves a sale to this group then refuses to let them move. They want these owners, they aren’t going to royally screw them as a welcoming gift.
I believe the vote for relocation would be in april
So the whole meeting with BOG with KJ is just a bunch of nothing since he is supposedly to meet with the NBA in Apirl.
Daniels tweet + Levy tweet = 100%
Ball in NBA’s court.
From Mitch -
RT @kjrmitch: I suggest that everyone keep an eye on http://t.co/knwhGLit over the next several hours and next couple of days.
Link is to Sonicsarena.com
Nice I was about to post that here.
quick on the draw aren’t i? hehe.
mitch levy@kjrmitch
I suggest that everyone keep an eye on http://SonicsArena.com over the next several hours and next couple of days.
new thread posted