That is the best possible news for Sonics fans.
Remember, it's always the party with the weakest position that makes the most noise. The NBA knew it had no way to stop the sale and that's why they've done everything they can to scare off Hansen. But he hasn't been scared off and all he has to do is follow through, let the NBA hang itself with its own rope (which it is doing in shockingly public fashion).
And why would the other owners vote against the Hansen sale? If they vote against the sale, it devalues their own teams and makes it harder to sell in the future. There's no real benefit for the other owners to go with the Sac deal, but it does present a ton of risk. Generally, billionaires don't become billionaires by taking deals with high risk and low reward.
If I owned a team, I would vote for the sale to Hansen because it's the best offer and makes my own team worth even more. More as in... my team might be valued at $400m now, but the Kings sale puts me up around $700m minimum. It's a no-brainer. And further, I would vote for the sale simply because it actually increases my leverage if I ever want a new arena, or if I want to sell my team.
To reject the Hansen offer would kill any chance for years that any outside party would put an honest bid on an NBA team. All outside parties would know the NBA doesn't negotiate in good faith and wouldn't waste their time. Look at how much the Hansen group has already spent, time and money. Why would any serious interest ever waste that kind of time and money in the future only to be used as a pawn in some arena deal? That's real bad for business. And you can bet the other owners see that, or at least their attorneys will when they prep them for the vote.
Further, this news makes it clear the NBA doesn't plan to block the sale at the BOG meeting.
They know they can't. They understand the significance of the American Needle case. The legal team put together by Hansen will be looking for the biggest antitrust settlement in the history of professional sports. Now just imagine what that case will look like when the Maloofs are named as co-plaintiffs. That's major bad news for the NBA.
And let's think about this from the Maloofs perspective for a second. They've been mocked, humiliated, jerked around, and slandered for years in Sacramento. They're reeling from some business failures, and suddenly a deal is put in front of them that would accomplish 3 things:
1) It gives them the best offer ever in the history of the NBA for a team = business genius!!
2) It gives them a ton of cash = fat pockets!!
3) It allows them to flip the bird squarely at the NBA and Sacramento who have been jointly trying to screw them over for years = last laugh!!
It doesn't take a genius to see what's happening here.