The Maloof family and a group seeking to keep the NBA Kings in Sacramento have been negotiating a purchase agreement since the weekend, sources said. The Maloofs already have an agreement in place to sell to a group that would take the team to Seattle, but that is contingent on NBA approval. The significance of the Maloofs negotiating with the Sacramento group is uncertain – it may just be to have a backup plan in the event the NBA turns down the relocation effort.
The NBA’s relocation and finance committees meet jointly tomorrow in N.Y. and may make a formal recommendation on which bid to accept when the league’s owners gather the following day. However, the owners are not expected to vote on the matter this week. The Kings group, led by Warriors Vice Chair Vivek Ranadivé, quickly assembled in the last month to try to keep the team from moving to Seattle, whose group is led by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and hedge fund manager Chris Hansen. Hansen recently upped the valuation he was willing to place on the team to $550M from $525M, the amount the Sacramento group has matched. The Maloofs own 65% of the team.
