The prospective owners of the Sacramento Kings are buying not only the team but also Downtown Plaza, where they and the city plan to build a new arena.

Local developer Mark Friedman, a member of the group buying the Kings, said the consortium headed by Silicon Valley tech executive Vivek Ranadive is now under contract to buy the mall site from JMA Ventures.

Friedman declined to disclose the purchase price.

The sale involves much of the land between Fourth, Seventh, J and L streets. It doesn’t include the independently owned Macy’s store at the west end of the plaza, or a few other adjacent buildings that are not part of the arena project site, such as the Marshall Hotel at Seventh and L streets…

JMA, a San Francisco and Truckee developer and recreation site manager, bought the mall last fall for $21.7 million from Westfield Co. It will continue to operate the center.

Reported by Tony Bizjak, Dale Kasler and Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee

In the last six lotteries, the Kings never improved their selection.

They had the worst record in 2008-09 but ended up with the worst possible pick, No. 4.

“You certainly can’t say the gods of chance have been smiling on us in that regard,” Petrie said.

The Kings had the fifth-worst record in 2011-12 and stayed in the fifth spot. That pick was used on Kansas forward Thomas Robinson, who was traded to Houston in February.

This year’s draft is considered to be lacking in potential superstars.

– Reported by Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee

Once his purchase of the Kings is finalized, Vivek Ranadive should take a pick and a shovel, perhaps borrow a battering ram and a bulldozer, and obliterate the section of Sleep Train Arena that houses the team’s basketball operations.

While this is regarded as a weak draft class, there is no shortage of talent on the front-office or coaching markets.

Veteran coaches Jerry Sloan, Nate McMillan, Jeff and Stan Van Gundy are available, as are highly regarded assistants Mike Malone and Brian Shaw. Established front-office types eager to join or take over a staff include Larry Bird, Don Nelson and Chris Mullin. And while Warriors special assistant Jerry West undoubtedly would push Golden State’s Travis Schlenk, another famous former coach is itching to become involved in personnel.

Phil Jackson here, Jeanie Buss down there? Dare we be tempted to discuss?

Who knows? New bosses tend to hire people they know, so keep an eye on current Warriors. And Ranadive has yet to even reveal the extent of the anticipated overhaul. But his track record within the software industry suggests someone who moves swiftly.

– Reported by Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson announced to screaming throngs of Kings fans Friday that the deal to sell the NBA franchise to a group led by software tycoon Vivek Ranadive has been signed.

The announcement at a City Hall rally brings to an end nearly five months of maneuvering by Johnson to secure a new ownership group, convince the council to commit to building a new downtown arena, and to show the NBA that the capitol city of the most populous state in the nation has the fan base to make the venture successful.

”This was one heck of a comeback,” Johnson, a former NBA All-Star, said on a stage shared with two dozen investors, fans and politicians who had worked to keep the franchise in the city.

Earlier this week, NBA owners rejected a bid to move the franchise to Seattle.

– Reported by Tracie Cone of the Associated Press

Mayor Kevin Johnson arrived home today and said the group led by Silicon Valley executive Vivek Ranadive was close to finalizing a deal to buy the Sacramento Kings.

“It’s going to be close to being signed in the next day or two,” the mayor said at Sacramento International Airport. “I’ll be surprised if we get past the weekend. I feel very confident about that.”

Ranadive is in talks to buy the Kings from the Maloof family after the NBA on Wednesday rejected the franchise’s proposed move to Seattle. NBA Commissioner David Stern said the league was working to close the deal by the end of the week.

Speaking by phone, Kings co-owner George Maloof said negotiations with Ranadive are “going on fine.”

– Reported by Ryan Lillis, Dale Kasler and Tony Bizjak of the Sacramento Bee

If the NBA Board of Governors denies the pending sale and relocation of the Sacramento Kings, the Seattle group seeking to purchase the franchise has a backup deal with the Maloof family.

The backup agreement would have the Seattle group, led by investor Chris Hansen and Microsoft Chairman Steve Ballmer, purchase a limited ownership of the Maloofs stake in the Kings, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Saturday. The limited partnership would be a purchase of at least 20 percent of the Maloofs stake in the franchise at a valuation of $600 million.

The person spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publically discuss the details of the offer. ESPN.com first reported the backup deal. If the backup plan is used, the Maloofs would retain majority ownership of the franchise and continue to run the team in Sacramento. But Hansen’s group would hold a two-year right to purchase a majority interest of the franchise at a later date.

– Reported by the Associated Press

Phil Jackson’s decision to return to the NBA is contingent on the resolution of the Sacramento Kings sale, ESPN.com reported Saturday.

Jackson, winner of 11 NBA titles as coach of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, has expressed interest in taking a front office job for a team.

Jackson reportedly wants to wait to see if the Kings get sold to the Seattle group that is looking to buy the team. ESPN.com recently reported that Jackson “hit it off” with Chris Hansen, who is leading the Seattle group.

– Reported by the Sports Xchange

Explaining why the NBA’s relocation committee recommended against moving the Kings to Seattle, one of the league’s most influential owners says Sacramento did everything necessary to keep the team.

Miami Heat owner Micky Arison, in a Twitter exchange with a Seattle fan, suggested the committee’s 7-0 vote amounted to a referendum on Sacramento, not a rejection of Seattle. The private tweets became public Thursday, less than a week before the NBA board of governors is expected to settle the Kings’ situation once and for all.

Arison, a member of the committee, said the April 29 vote boiled down to whether Sacramento has “done all it should to keep the team. The answer is yes.”

He said Seattle never would have lost the SuperSonics to Oklahoma City in 2008 if city officials had responded the way Sacramento’s did to the threatened loss of the Kings.

– Reported by Dale Kasler, Tony Bizjak and Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee

The NBA announced today that the league’s Relocation Committee has unanimously recommended that the NBA Board of Governors deny the application of the Sacramento Kings to relocate to Seattle.

The Board will convene during the week of May 13 to vote on this matter.

Anything can happen in the full vote, but unless something drastically changes it’s expected to that the full board will follow suit and vote to keep the Kings in Sacramento.

Microsoft Chairman Steve Ballmer, part of the group attempting to purchase the Sacramento Kings and move them to Seattle, said Thursday he believes ”there will never be a better opportunity” than now to bring back professional basketball to the Puget Sound.

Ballmer, who has been mostly quiet about his basketball pursuit, spoke briefly Thursday before a fundraising luncheon for the A PLUS youth program in Seattle. His brief comment came hours after an NBA spokesman confirmed that the NBA committee deciding whether the Sacramento Kings should be sold and relocated to Seattle will hold a meeting via conference call Monday.

”Today is about A PLUS. I will say that we’ve got our fingers crossed. Chris Hansen has worked really, really hard, really intelligently,” Ballmer said. ”Seattle has got a great bid. We’ve got a great arena plan. I think we’ve got the better arena plan. We’ve got a good offer, it’s been accepted by current owners. We’ve got a great market. It seems like there will never be a better opportunity. But it will be up to the NBA owners.”

– Reported by Tim Booth of the Associated Press

The Seattle group attempting to buy the Sacramento Kings says it has reached agreement to raise the purchase price by $25 million.

Chris Hansen, teaming with Steve Ballmer to lead the group, Hansen announced the decision to raise the valuation late Friday night. In a statement on his website, Sonicsarena.com, Hansen says the group has voluntarily raised the purchase price as a “sign of our commitment to bring basketball back to our city.”

Hansen’s group entered into a binding agreement with the Maloof family in January to purchase the controlling interest of the franchise based on a $525 million value.

– Reported by the Associated Press

Sacramento developer Mark Friedman said today he’s joining the bid to buy the Kings and build the team a new arena at Downtown Plaza.

Friedman said today he’ll also participate in the non-arena development that’s being proposed for the Downtown Plaza site.

Friedman’s emergence comes one day after Mayor Kevin Johnson revealed that Southern California billionaire Ron Burkle had to reduce his role in the project because of a conflict of interest. Johnson hinted at a press conference Monday that there might be additional changes in the ownership structure.

– Reported by Dale Kasler and Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee

The end of this season is beginning to feel a lot like the end of the Paul Westphal coaching era in Sacramento.

There are obvious issues between center DeMarcus Cousins and coach Keith Smart, like there were with Cousins and Westphal.

And just like the end of Westphal’s time before he was fired early in the 2011-12 season, Cousins found himself in an unusual spot Friday night – coming off the bench.

Cousins played just nine minutes – all in the second quarter – of the Kings’ 117-108 loss to the Dallas Mavericks at Sleep Train Arena.

Cousins was benched for the first time this season when healthy and dressed for a game. In December, Smart left Cousins in Sacramento for a road game in Portland as part of a disciplinary action for a verbal altercation in Los Angeles.

– Reported by Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee

Dueling teams of billionaires and mayors are heading to New York for a pivotal Wednesday showdown over the future of the Sacramento Kings.

Before an elite committee of NBA owners, delegations from Sacramento and Seattle will present their arguments on the issue that’s been making headlines for weeks: Should the Kings stay put or be allowed to move to the Pacific Northwest?

The meeting, to be held at a Manhattan hotel, comes a week after the Sacramento City Council approved a non-binding term sheet for a new $448 million arena at Downtown Plaza - a crucial piece in the city’s attempt to keep the team.

The committee is likely to make a recommendation sometime this month. A final decision is expected April 18 or 19, when the league’s Board of Governors, consisting of all the team owners, convenes in New York.

NBA Commissioner David Stern has said deciding between Sacramento and Seattle will be tough. Seattle offers a larger and wealthier population, but Sacramento has had a strong track record of supporting the league. Both cities are offering to build new arenas.

– Reported by Dale Kasler and Tony Bizjak of the Sacramento Bee

With the clock clicking down, the Sacramento City Council took its last shot at keeping the NBA Kings in California’s capital by approving a public-private deal Tuesday to build a new 18,500-seat arena and retail center downtown.

Approval of the arena was the last step in what has been a full court press by Mayor Kevin Johnson to keep the city’s only major league sports team from bolting to Seattle, where a new ownership group and arena deal awaits. He now must convince NBA owners to block the Maloof family from initiating the move, a deal made public in January.

Since then, the mayor, himself a former NBA All-Star, has scrambled to assemble a group to buy the team, convince Commissioner David Stern to consider a counter offer, and get approval for the financial deal that would build a $448 million arena on the site of a shopping mall - a development many say will revitalize a problem area in its bustling city core.

Next week, Johnson will present the arena plan and purchase offer to an NBA committee. The following week, the NBA Board of Governors will vote on whether the team can be sold, and whether it will stay or move.

– Reported by the Associated Press

There were no surprises at the City Council meetings that ended a few hours. Council members voted 7-2 to approve a term sheet detailing the public’s contribution to the proposed $448 million downtown sports and entertainment complex, with Kevin McCarty and Darrell Fong - both of whom expressed concern about the city’s risk and the lack of time to more closely vet the agreement - voting against the agreement.

Tuesday’s vote was the latest development in Mayor Kevin Johnson’s campaign to keep the Kings in Sacramento. The Maloofs already sold their majority interest in the team to the Seattle-based group headed by Chris Hansen and Steve Ballmer, but the league’s other owners (as stated in the NBA by-laws) have to approve all sales and relocations. Within the past several weeks, Johnson, attempting to come up with a counter bid, has put together a potential Kings ownership group that includes billionaire Ron Burkle, 24 Hour Fitness founder Mark Mastrov, Golden State Warriors minority owner Vivek Ranadive and Steve Jacobs, founder of San Diego-based-Qualcomm.

– Reported by the Sacramento Bee

City officials reached a preliminary agreement Saturday night for a new downtown arena with an investment group that hopes to keep the Kings from moving to Seattle.

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson first announced the deal on his Twitter account. A few hours later, the city released the details of the non-binding term sheet.

The group includes Silicon Valley software tycoon Vivek Ranadive, 24 Hour Fitness founder Mark Mastrov and billionaire Ron Burkle. The City Council is planning to vote on the agreement Tuesday.

“Once again, we’re proving the strength of our market — both as host to an NBA team, but as an emerging region with global potential,” Johnson said.

The city of Sacramento plans to contribute $258 million to the $447 million project, mostly by leasing out parking garages and land. The other $189 million will come from the investment group.

– Reported by the Orange County Register

The effort to keep the Sacramento Kings from moving to Seattle got a boost from a Silicon Valley software tycoon who stepped forward as lead investor.

The Sacramento Bee reports that Vivek Ranadive will lead Sacramento’s bid to keep the team, joining health-club financier Mark Mastrov and billionaire Ron Burkle.

Ranadive’s involvement comes after NBA Commissioner David Stern said earlier this month that the Sacramento group’s offer needed to be increased before league owners would consider it.

– Reported by the Associated Press

Once again, the Kings had only 11 players available for a game.

Center DeMarcus Cousins missed his second consecutive game because of a left quadriceps contusion when the Kings faced the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center on Sunday night.

Cousins, who did not travel to Los Angeles, will test his quad today at practice to see if he might play Tuesday against the visiting Los Angeles Clippers.

“He did some things on the floor (Saturday) but more treatment than anything else,” coach Keith Smart said. “He won’t do anything until (today).”

– Reported by Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee

The prospective owner of the Sacramento Kings is calling on fans in Seattle to sign up for a “priority ticket waitlist” as a way to show the NBA how much interest there is in bringing pro basketball back to the area.

Chris Hansen made the announcement on his SonicsArena.com website on Monday. It was his first statement since the announcement of the sale of the Kings from the Maloof family to Hansen and Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer on Jan. 21. Hansen and Ballmer have a signed agreement to acquire a 65 percent stake in the Kings for $341 million from the Maloofs. That sale is pending league approval.

“In addition to helping us understand and prioritize the demand for tickets, registering your interest will be a critical step in demonstrating to the NBA and basketball fans around the country the unbelievable passion that exists in the Emerald City to BRING BACK OUR SONICS!” Hansen wrote.

– Reported by the Associated Press

Last week, a triumphant Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson announced a potential Kings purchase group had submitted a fair and competitive offer to keep the team in town. Friday night, NBA Commissioner David Stern said no, not quite.

Speaking to the news media before a Golden State Warriors game in Oakland, the commissioner delivered a bombshell, saying a Sacramento group’s counteroffer to buy the team does not measure up in dollars to a tentative deal the Kings recently signed with a group that hopes to move the team to Seattle.

“The counter bid has got very strong financial people behind it, but it is not quite there in comparison to the Seattle bid,” Stern said. “There is a substantial variance.”

The commissioner declined to say how far short the Sacramento bid fell of the reported $341 million Seattle offer for a 65 percent share of the team.

– Reported by Tony Bizjak, Dale Kasler and Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee