Sacramento Kings moving to Seattle

[vyomguy]

The Maloof brothers are "finalizing an agreement" to sell the Kings to the Hansen-Balmer led Seattle group, sources told Yahoo! Sports.

The Maloof family appears ready to rip the hearts out of Sacramento Kings fans on their way out the door. This isn't the last we've heard of this story, and it will be interesting to see the details of the agreement when they're released. The deal is reportedly worth $500 million.

[hawley]

Two more seasons then off to Seattle I read.

Bittersweet news.

[nomeansno]

This will be the last actually

[JoshB]

no!!!! don't take my kings!!

[altieriflyers]

Seattle and Sacramento, both deserve a team.

[UntilTheNDofTimE]

So 499 of the 500 million will go to loans the maloofs owe. Not to mention the millions they owe TGP capitol.

[hawley]

So 499 of the 500 million will go to loans the maloofs owe. Not to mention the millions they owe TGP capitol.

They are so bad

[Killer_Demo]

Maloofs are sellout punks....hope that stadium burns in Seattle

[Bostongambler]

Starbucks for everyone!!!

[lamanax]

does Seattle get the Supersonic name? Gotta keep the name!

[Killer_Demo]

The Magoof Bro's biggest douche owners in sports...dont show your face in nor-cal again

[Speedy88]

As a Sonics fan, i'm cautiously optimistic. This deal isn't done until they sign on the dotted line. If there is one thing to know about the Maloofs, it is never assume anything. Remember last year when they settled on the new arena deal, and then they pulled out at the last minute? These guys are unpredictable. But they should take the deal, from what I've heard is that they are close to broke. Latest I heard, was Forbes valued the Kings at about $300 million, Hansen's group just offered them somewhere in the ballpark of $500 million for that sorry franchise.

[8ArIvd5]

It will be a bitter-sweet moment when the team is sold. Hate to see the Kings go, but love to be rid of Maloofs.

[mcaulay777]

i read when they were trying to get a new arena past with public funds the measure was winning slightly then they ran a carls jr commercial with the maloofs sitting around drinking champaign and eating there burgers with the voice over saying see even the rich eat 5 doller burgers from carls jr and people got real annoyed and offended from the ad that it may have led to the bill not passing.good get rid of these 2 clown more people that were made rich from the early days of the net and still living off it.

[TheDane]

Kick off the season vs Thunder bby

[Speedy88]

If this sale goes down, it will be the highest sale for an NBA team in the history of the league.

I also believe that the Seattle ownership group would become the richest NBA ownership group. We got our own Mark Cuban!

[8ArIvd5]

i read when they were trying to get a new arena past with public funds the measure was winning slightly then they ran a carls jr commercial with the maloofs sitting around drinking champaign and eating there burgers with the voice over saying see even the rich eat 5 doller burgers from carls jr and people got real annoyed and offended from the ad that it may have led to the bill not passing.good get rid of these 2 clown more people that were made rich from the early days of the net and still living off it.

The bill passed and everything was in motion until the Maloofs reneged.

[Untied]

Starbucks for everyone!!!

Howard Schultz, should be perma-banned from the arena.

[Speedy88]

Howard Schultz, should be perma-banned from the arena.

That coward would never step foot inside that arena. He barely shows his face in Seattle anymore.

[Killa Cam]

Lol sucks for sacramento cuz the kings are pretty much that sorry city has.

[KingJD31]

Good short term move for yhe owners but whose to say ten years from now they won't move to Kansas city?

[Brock Landers]

Good Move

Sacramento doesn't deserve a team

[Speedy88]

Just listened to the Kevin Johnson's press conference a few moments ago. I love his optimism, but he is giving blind optimism. He is talking about how he wants to find a local investor who can compete with Hansen's offer. How are you going to find someone willing to spend $500 million (or more) on a team that doesn't even have a building to play in. It's over. Move the team to Seattle.

[8ArIvd5]

I forget the name, but there was an investor who wanted to purchase, keep the Kings in Sacramento, and get a new arena funded. I don't know if $500mil changes that, but probably does.

[Speedy88]

I forget the name, but there was an investor who wanted to purchase, keep the Kings in Sacramento, and get a new arena funded. I don't know if $500mil changes that, but probably does.

I'll say this.....If the sale did go down for the $500 million, it would be the largest sale in the history of the NBA. So $500 million is a lot for a potential local investor to come up with. The Kings were last valued in Forbes to be worth $300 million, so this new investor would have to be okay with vastly overpaying for a team that already has no building to play in.

This Seattle ownership group would become the richest NBA ownership group once they became owners. It's made up of Steve Balmer (Microsoft CEO), Nordstrom brothers (owners of Nordstrom's department store), and Chris Hansen.

[Killer_Demo]

I forget the name, but there was an investor who wanted to purchase, keep the Kings in Sacramento, and get a new arena funded. I don't know if $500mil changes that, but probably does.

your correct city had everything in play then maloofs pulled out like some bitches

[Killer_Demo]

Latest word is the Magoofs want minor ownership even with new buyers, also want a say on how the new owners run the team...there goes that Seattle lol

[lunchbawks]

kings say theyre staying in sacramento...

[InTheDrink]

Latest word is the Magoofs want minor ownership even with new buyers, also want a say on how the new owners run the team...there goes that Seattle lol

what douchebags

[pronk]

This team hopped from one town to another like a hobo. From Rochester to Cincinnati to Kansas City, Sacramento and now Seattle. How many more hearts this whore will break?

[Killer_Demo]

Damn shame for all the loyal fans of Sacramento...Will be my last season watching the NBA...very sad day for Sacramento and their fans

A source familiar with the negotiations between the Sacramento Kings and an ownership group led by Seattle investor Chris Hansen said Friday that a deal between the sides has been struck.
The source said that Hansen will buy the team from the Maloofs, the Kings’ owners, for approximately $525 million, which would be the highest amount ever paid for an NBA team.

[REWIND: Report -- Maloofs finalizing deal to send Kings to Seattle]
The Maloofs have owned the Kings since 1998, and oversaw the greatest era in Sacramento basketball history. The Kings made the playoffs for eight consecutive seasons, beginning in 1998, including one trip to the Western Conference finals and three trips to the Western Conference semifinals.
The deal will almost assuredly usher in a new era of basketball in Seattle. The Sonics moved from Seattle to Oklahoma City in 2008 after playing in Seattle for 40 years.
Conventional wisdom is that NBA commissioner David Stern, who is retiring in 2014, wanted to find a team for Seattle before his commissionership was through.
The $525 million price-tag for the Kings dwarfs what the Warriors sold for a little more than two years ago. The reported sale price of the Warriors to Joe Lacob was $450 million. But numerous sources have put the actual sales price of the Warriors in 2010 at $428 million.

[Killer_Demo]

oh damn news by the second right now

<article> <header> Potential Kings buyer emerges, would keep team in Sacramento

By Ken Berger | NBA Insider
<time class="storyDate" pubdate="" datetime="2013-01-11T22:03:44Z">January 11, 2013 5:03 pm ET</time>

• 
  

</header> Even as the Maloof family negotiates with a Seattle group that would move the Kings there, another potential buyer who would keep the team in Sacramento has emerged, CBSSports.com has learned.
Mark Mastrov, the founder of 24-Hour Fitness who finished second to Joe Lacob and Peter Guber in bidding for the Warriors, told CBSSports.com Friday that he has interest in buying the Kings and keeping the franchise in Sacramento.
"Definitely, there've been conversations," Mastrov said from his northern California office. "Definitely, there's interest in acquiring the team and keeping it in Sacramento."
Mastrov met with the Maloofs recently, and two league sources speaking on condition of anonymity said he has made a formal offer.
Supermarket magnate Ron Burkle has long been interested in buying the Kings and keeping them in Sacramento, and is well known to NBA owners who would approve any sale. But having made it to the final round of the process with the Warriors sale, Mastrov is familiar with the NBA process and league executives are familiar with him.A Seattle group led by hedge-fund manager Chris Hansen and Microsoft's Steve Ballmer is deep in negotiations to buy the team for upwards of $500 million and move it to Seattle. Those discussions are ongoing, and league sources indicate a formal deal has not been struck.
One person briefed on the negotiations said the Maloofs' intentions remained difficult to read, except in one area: "They are pushing for a bidding war."
A fitness industry maven whose net worth is estimated at $350 million, Mastrov likely would not have to match the Seattle price dollar-for-dollar because of the complicated finances of breaking the arena lease and repaying a city loan of about $77 million. If the team stayed in Sacramento, the new owner would be able to assume the loan terms. A new owner who relocated the team would have to pay back the loan.
One person familiar with the lease and loan terms characterized that as "a fairly expensive and Herculean feat."
The NBA office declined comment on the Maloofs' private negotiations, though it is widely known that commissioner David Stern's strong preference is for the Kings to remain in Sacramento.
Mastrov has other investors involved in his group, but declined to identify them.



<footer>Tags: Sacramento Kings, NBA</footer> </article>

[Yinz Hooligan]

I live in seattle, the deal is pretty much done, from what i hear, sonics {kings** will play at the key arena for two years starting next season {2013-14** the arena will take 2 years to build. Maybe the kings turning into the sonics will fire them up! I know one thing..the games will be sold out.


Welcome back SuperSonics!!

[Killer_Demo]

I live in seattle, the deal is pretty much done, from what i hear, sonics {kings** will play at the key arena for two years starting next season {2013-14** the arena will take 2 years to build. Maybe the kings turning into the sonics will fire them up! I know one thing..the games will be sold out.


Welcome back SuperSonics!!

wrong, isnt over till the papers are signed

[Speedy88]

oh damn news by the second right now

<article> <header> Potential Kings buyer emerges, would keep team in Sacramento

By Ken Berger | NBA Insider
<time class="storyDate" pubdate="" datetime="2013-01-11T22:03:44Z">January 11, 2013 5:03 pm ET</time>

</header> Even as the Maloof family negotiates with a Seattle group that would move the Kings there, another potential buyer who would keep the team in Sacramento has emerged, CBSSports.com has learned.
Mark Mastrov, the founder of 24-Hour Fitness who finished second to Joe Lacob and Peter Guber in bidding for the Warriors, told CBSSports.com Friday that he has interest in buying the Kings and keeping the franchise in Sacramento.
"Definitely, there've been conversations," Mastrov said from his northern California office. "Definitely, there's interest in acquiring the team and keeping it in Sacramento."
Mastrov met with the Maloofs recently, and two league sources speaking on condition of anonymity said he has made a formal offer.
Supermarket magnate Ron Burkle has long been interested in buying the Kings and keeping them in Sacramento, and is well known to NBA owners who would approve any sale. But having made it to the final round of the process with the Warriors sale, Mastrov is familiar with the NBA process and league executives are familiar with him.A Seattle group led by hedge-fund manager Chris Hansen and Microsoft's Steve Ballmer is deep in negotiations to buy the team for upwards of $500 million and move it to Seattle. Those discussions are ongoing, and league sources indicate a formal deal has not been struck.
One person briefed on the negotiations said the Maloofs' intentions remained difficult to read, except in one area: "They are pushing for a bidding war."
A fitness industry maven whose net worth is estimated at $350 million, Mastrov likely would not have to match the Seattle price dollar-for-dollar because of the complicated finances of breaking the arena lease and repaying a city loan of about $77 million. If the team stayed in Sacramento, the new owner would be able to assume the loan terms. A new owner who relocated the team would have to pay back the loan.
One person familiar with the lease and loan terms characterized that as "a fairly expensive and Herculean feat."
The NBA office declined comment on the Maloofs' private negotiations, though it is widely known that commissioner David Stern's strong preference is for the Kings to remain in Sacramento.
Mastrov has other investors involved in his group, but declined to identify them.



<footer>Tags: Sacramento Kings, NBA</footer> </article>

Interesting.....

I just don't see how this new investor could come close to matching Seattle's offer, if he is only worth about 350 million himself. Am I missing something here?