NBA relocation committee to make recommendation on Kings’ fate
Apr 29, 2013, 11:38 AM | Updated: 1:57 pm
In this file photo, the Maloof brothers, Phil, left, George, center and Gavin, co-owners of the Sacramento Kings, watch their team against the Los Angeles Lakers during an NBA basketball game in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/File)
(AP Photo/File)
The NBA relocation committee is holding a conference calll Monday to decide the future of the Sacramento Kings and whether professional basketball will return to Seattle.
The committee will give their recommendation and then the rest of the owners have one week to decide where the Kings will play this fall.
Commissioner David Stern told a meeting of AP sportswriters on Thursday a final vote would come “on or about” May 13.
The owners must choose whether to approve the sale of the team by the Maloof family to investor Chris Hansen and relocation to Seattle, or vote down the sale and instead side with a group seeking to keep the Kings in Sacramento.
Hansen and his group, which includes Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and members of the Nordstrom family, have a signed agreement with the Maloofs to purchase their 65 percent share of the team for $357 million. The rival Sacramento group, led by Silicon Valley software billionaire Vivek Ranadive, has reportedly matched the offer.
The Maloofs complained in a letter to the NBA two weeks ago that the Sacramento offer fell far short and urged the league to approve the sale to Hansen’s group. But Stern has told reporters the two bids are “in the same ballpark.”
KIRO Radio’s Josh Kerns contributed to this report.
