NBA returning to Seattle?

Big Chris from SonicsRising pretty much summed the day up perfectly:

So glad that as a writer for Sonics Rising...
I’m so glad my day today didn’t look like this:

Brian: “We’re losing one of our key investors.”
Me: “So how are they announcing this?”
Brian: “The mayor will be making an announce of a new shoe just after word leaks to the press. We’re hoping that is enough of a distraction.”
Me: Dumbfounded look. Brainlock. “Wha?!?”

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The NBA might be onboard with it because they know it's bringing the Sonics back.

My question is, if the team stays in Sacramento and the city continues to go under because they now are helping to fund a team that cant be supported by that city, how long until KJ gets kicked out of office? His job is to be the leader of the city, not to be a blind sports fan with no interest in the financial well-being of the city. :141847_bnono:

Looks like April 18th/19th will be the big day for us or Sacramento.

Chris Daniels ‏@ChrisDaniels5 20m
On #NBAKings, one thing appears clearer: Sac Mayor Johnson, and sources close to Seattle deal both think vote is coming April 18/19.

Gahh, April 19th is approaching SOOOOOOOOOOOOO slowly.

Interesting note from the KJ press conference
At least this bit:

When a reporter asked KJ if the other investors were going to make up the difference, he did not say yes. He said the owners are committed and that they were aware this might be an issue, which implies that things will be fine, but he never comes out and states an unequivocal yes. Might mean nothing, might mean something when it comes from a politician whose job is to parse words.

Maybe it’s not an issue, but I am skeptical that you can take out the biggest investor in the group and have people ready to pony up a huge amount of cash.

So there was no confirmation that the Sac group would match, and the answer was just as political and dodgy about whether or not the amount Burkle was going to contribute is being completely replaced by the other investors.

http://www.king5.com/news/Sacramentos-w ... 55251.html

Also interesting
“A high level NBA league source says Burkle “wasn’t all that fired up about this deal.”"

Even more interesting?
“NBA Commissioner David Stern said last week, when prompted about whether the Sacramento offer needed to be improved, “That’s not one of the issues we’re currently researching for the Owners.””

Uh what? I kept seeing that quote as simply “That’s not one of the issues,” but that additional bit sure feels like it changes the connotation. Basically going from “it’s not an issue” to “it’s not an issue we are looking into any further”, which would fit the idea thrown out there that the Sac offer is in, it is what it is, and the NBA is moving on, not that the NBA is necessarily fine with the Sac offer or that the Sac group has matched give or take $30m.

Man, pinksheets, you should really have a Sonics blog. Good research and posts.

Haha, I actually copy and pasted posts I made on SonicsRising.

If you aren't already, I highly recommending being a member and following that blog. News is posted there almost immediately by members and is immediately disseminated and discussed. Lots of smart people analyzing the situation, etc.

pinksheets":wf4ium9q said:

Haha, I actually copy and pasted posts I made on SonicsRising.

If you aren't already, I highly recommending being a member and following that blog. News is posted there almost immediately by members and is immediately disseminated and discussed. Lots of smart people analyzing the situation, etc.

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I was reading through Brian McCann's twitter account and he had a conversation between himself and a Kings fan and the fan stated that they KJ/Mastrov/Renediv offer is/was rumored to be around 30 mil less than the Hasen/Ballmer/Nord offer. Do you have any info on that Pink?

Blitzer88":2jc8lz12 said:

pinksheets":2jc8lz12 said:

Haha, I actually copy and pasted posts I made on SonicsRising.

If you aren't already, I highly recommending being a member and following that blog. News is posted there almost immediately by members and is immediately disseminated and discussed. Lots of smart people analyzing the situation, etc.

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I was reading through Brian McCann's twitter account and he had a conversation between himself and a Kings fan and the fan stated that they KJ/Mastrov/Renediv offer is/was rumored to be around 30 mil less than the Hasen/Ballmer/Nord offer. Do you have any info on that Pink?

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That's just speculation.

I mean, I can't say for certain it isn't true, but from all I can tell that rumor sprung up in speculative conversation between Kings fans when talking about Stern's comments that the Sac offer was "not an issue" (which btw, if you look at the full quote from the Chris Daniels article, may not be a fair way to sum up waht he said). They assumed that it "not being an issue" meant they had either matched or had offered all but the $30m deposit basically saying Hansen had already paid it so the Maloofs had it no matter what (meaning they were basically counting Hansen's payment as part of their bid since it was non-refundable). I haven't seen that linked to any source, just talked about in back and forth convos. I don't believe it's true, and if it were, I think it'd be an awful play for them to make.

And when you look at Stern's quote, again, you can take a lot from that. It's "not an issue" that they are "researching for owners". Meaning, I think the offer portion of it is simply final for Sac, they've made their pitch for what has been commonly referred to as a "backup offer".

Also funny to note that in KJ's press conference today, he probably said, at least four times, that Sacramento should be the "final resting place for the Sacramento Kings".

I agree.

Lol you're one evil muhhh

Throwdown":14j8hj8a said:

pinksheets":14j8hj8a said:

When Sacramento fans play this off as no big deal, that Burkle is not that important....

ask them or just yourself this...

who is KJ on the phone with celebrating an agreement on the arena?

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Totally misconstrued, he's excited for the pizza he just ordered.

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Can you blame the guy? Pizza is delicious!!!!

#herewebuy...dominoes

Anyone else on Sonicsrising?

Hawken-Dazs":1kyim1qb said:

Anyone else on Sonicsrising?

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Just went over there for the first time, and I see this as the first thread... lol

http://www.sonicsrising.com/2013/4/9/42 ... -classless

Sacramento developer Mark Friedman joins the Sacramento effort
http://blogs.seattletimes.com/today/201 ... acramento/

There is just so much instability on Sacramento's side and yet almost a week until the owner's meeting.

twisted_steel2":jawnyvv4 said:

Hawken-Dazs":jawnyvv4 said:

Anyone else on Sonicsrising?

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Just went over there for the first time, and I see this as the first thread... lol

http://www.sonicsrising.com/2013/4/9/42 ... -classless

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One word.

Umadbro?

KJ long ago established himself as almost a flat-out liar - a total politician. Any celebrating he is doing or claims he is making are %90 BS. The Hanson group is the opposite - pragmatic, straightforward, phlegmatic with the press. It's real, real hard to translate anything KJ says into any kind of reality. He's the captain of the Titanic going down with the ship, grinning, nodding, giving the thumbs up: "We'll be just fine!"

When I look at this situation right now and try to pretend that I am neutral, I cannot see this going in Sacramento's favor. Seattle has a plan that is about as good as it gets while Sacramento is still trying to force pieces that don't quite fit. This is suppose to be a business decision after all...