The public relations campaign to keep the Kings in town continued today with a blast from the franchise’s past.

Former Kings star Mitch Richmond greeted a few dozen fans at midtown’s Firestone Public House, signing posters and hats. Richmond has pledged $1 million to be part of a local ownership contingent seeking to block the Kings’ move to Seattle.

“It would be a sad day if the Kings leave this community,” Richmond said. “I know Seattle is a good place, I think Seattle’s team (the Sonics) should have never left. But we want our team here.”

– Reported by Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union says it intends to appeal a judge’s ruling that threw out their lawsuit aimed at undoing a deal to build a new professional basketball and hockey arena in Seattle - a key part of plans to bring the NBA back to town.

The ILWU says it will announce appeal plans during a news conference on Tuesday. The ILWU Local 19, representing workers at the Port of Seattle, says they believe the court failed to acknowledge that the memorandum of understanding between investor Chris Hansen, the city of Seattle and King County is in violation of the state environmental protection act.

– Reported by the Associated Press

For more than a year, Southern California grocery tycoon Ron Burkle and his business associates have pursued a plan to build a new arena in Downtown Plaza to cement the Kings’ future in Sacramento.

On Thursday, that interest finally burst into the open. Standing on a stage at the Memorial Auditorium in front of 3,000 cheering Sacramentans gathered for his State of the City address, Mayor Kevin Johnson announced that Burkle and 24 Hour Fitness founder Mark Mastrov were teaming up on a bid to buy the Kings and construct an arena at the site of downtown’s lagging open-air mall.

The bid for the team, which will be filed with the National Basketball Association today, will serve as Sacramento’s counteroffer should the NBA board of governors next month reject the Kings’ deal to move the franchise to Seattle.

While the amount of the Burkle and Mastrov bid was not revealed Thursday, the mayor said it would be “very strong and competitive.” Seattle hedge-fund manager Chris Hansen and Microsoft executive Steve Ballmer have a binding agreement with the Maloof family to buy the Kings in a deal that values the franchise at $525 million, or about $341 million for the 65 percent they control.

A source familiar with the Mastrov offer said it’s expected that the NBA will look over the proposal and forward it to the Maloofs, who have the right to “entertain” other offers as backups in case the NBA rejects the Seattle bid. Beyond that, the process isn’t quite clear.

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

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra summed up the efforts of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in three words: ”Video game numbers,” he said.

Both put up monster stat lines.

And the Miami Heat needed them.

James scored 40 points and added a career-high 16 assists, Wade had 39 points, and the Heat pushed their winning streak to 12 games by outlasting the Sacramento Kings 141-129 in double overtime on Tuesday night.

”Some great stat lines tonight,” James said. ”But I’m happy I was able to do what I did and help our team win.”

Great stat lines might be calling it an understatement. Consider:

- A season high in scoring for James, who capped off the best shooting month of his career.

- A season high in scoring for Wade, who tied a career best with 19 field goals.

- A 36-point night for the Kings’ Marcus Thornton, the most by any non-starter in the NBA this season.

- The 141 points tied a Heat franchise record, set in 1991.

- Add James’ assists to the mix, and he put up the NBA’s first night of at least 40 points and 16 assists since April 1994. The man who did it then? None other than Phoenix guard Kevin Johnson, now, ironically enough, the mayor of Sacramento. And for February, James finished 139 for 217 from the floor, that 64.1 percent clip the best of his career for any month.

”It was a great atmosphere,” said Thornton, who made 11 of 18 shots, including 8 of 12 from 3-point range.

– Reported by Tim Reyolds of the Associated Press

Sacramento’s new plan to finance a downtown sports arena may wind up being vastly different than the deal reached last year between the city and the owners of the Sacramento Kings.

City officials said Monday they aren’t starting from scratch in their quest to develop a financing plan for an arena, but acknowledged in a staff report to the City Council that last year’s plan “and all its detail will likely change in this scenario.”

The City Council will be asked tonight to give top city officials the go-ahead to begin formal arena negotiations with a private investment group interested in buying the Kings and keeping them in Sacramento. The council is also being asked to commit $150,000 to pay consultants and attorneys to represent the city.

At the moment, the council still hasn’t officially been briefed on whom the city will be negotiating with. It’s widely known, however, that Mayor Kevin Johnson has been talking to Southern California billionaire Ron Burkle and 24-Hour Fitness founder Mark Mastrov.

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

Anthony Davis had 20 points and eight rebounds, and Eric Gordon added 17 points and eight assists to lead the New Orleans Hornets to a 110-95 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday.

Ryan Anderson scored 17 points, Roger Mason had 13, and Robin Lopez and Greivis Vasquez 12 apiece for New Orleans, which won its first game since an 0-3 start following the All-Star break.

The Hornets also improved to 18-12 when holding opponents below 100 points.

John Salmons scored all 18 of his points in the second half for the Kings. Jason Thompson, DeMarcus Cousins and Isaiah Thomas each added 16 as Sacramento lost its fifth consecutive overall and eight straight on the road.

Tyreke Evans and Marcus Thornton had 12 points each for Sacramento…

Newly acquired C Cole Aldrich was not with the Kings on Sunday, Sacramento coach Keith Smart said before the game. Smart said Aldrich was in Sacramento for additional medical tests. Aldrich, along with Toney Douglas and Patrick Patterson were acquired in a trade with the Houston Rockets this past week in exchange for Thomas Robinson. Douglas and Patterson were with the team and Patterson scored 2 points. Douglas did not play.

– Reported by the Associated Press

A judge tossed out a lawsuit that could have seriously disrupted Seattle’s plan for a new NBA-ready arena.

Sacramento officials weren’t putting much stock in the lawsuit and are relying instead on their own proposal to secure the Kings.

Hours after the judge’s decision, Sacramento City Manager John Shirey said he was encouraged by preliminary talks last week on arena financing with a group of wealthy investors who want to keep the Kings in town.

In a potential stumbling block for Sacramento, the investors at first asked if the city could contribute more than the $255 million it pledged to an arena deal last spring, Shirey said. City officials didn’t present a counteroffer but, at a second meeting two days later, explained the details of the arena package approved by the City Council in March.

That second meeting “went well,” Shirey said. “They had a greater appreciation for what had been offered last year.”

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

When Josh Smith took the challenge of defending DeMarcus Cousins, the Atlanta Hawks finally took control against the Sacramento Kings.

Smith, who remained in Atlanta after being discussed in talks leading up to Thursday’s trade deadline, came through with his defense one day later.

Al Horford led Atlanta’s balanced scoring with 24 points and the Hawks overcame a slow start to beat Sacramento 122-108 on Friday night.

Jeff Teague had 20 points and 12 assists, Smith added 18 points and DeShawn Stevenson had 17 for Atlanta, which had six players in double figures.

Smith also had six rebounds and four assists, but coach Larry Drew talked the most about the decision made by the 6-foot-9 power forward to defend the 6-foot-11, 270-pound Cousins, the Kings’ high-scoring center…

Smith said Thursday he didn’t sleep well Wednesday night as the trade deadline neared. He said he ‘’slept too good, actually” on Thursday night and had the energy to hold Cousins, who had 26 points and 13 rebounds, to only four points in the final quarter…

Isaiah Thomas scored 30 points with nine assists to lead the Kings, who have lost four straight and eight of 10.

– Reported by Charles Odum of the Associated Press

The Houston Rockets have reached separate agreements on trades that will send Patrick Patterson, Cole Aldrich and Toney Douglas to Sacramento and Marcus Morris to Phoenix, a person familiar with the situation said Wednesday.

The Rockets will receive Thomas Robinson, the No. 5 pick in last year’s draft, Francisco Garcia and Tyler Honeycutt from the Kings, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been announced and was still pending league approval.

In the other deal, the person said the Rockets will receive a future second-round pick from the Suns in exchange for Morris, who will join his twin older brother, Markieff, on the Phoenix roster.

“If I was to be traded, that’s where I would want to go,” Marcus Morris said outside the Rockets’ locker room. “I think Houston knew that. That’s all I did was talk about my brother and how happy I was to play with him. I’m excited. That’s all I can say.”

Patterson, Aldrich and Douglas walked out of the Toyota Center just as Houston was starting its game against Oklahoma City, on the eve of the trading deadline.

– Reported by the Associated Press

Move over, Larry Legend. Vinsanity still has a few special moments in him.

Vince Carter scored 26 points to pass Larry Bird on the NBA’s career scoring list, and the Dallas Mavericks headed into the All-Star break with a 123-100 victory against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night.

Carter earned his nickname with circus dunks but can’t quite rattle the rim like he used to. He’s more dangerous these days from one of the places where Bird did plenty of damage: the 3-point line.

The 14-year veteran turned aside a Sacramento rally in the third quarter by going 5 of 7 from long range and scoring 17 of Dallas’ last 21 points in the period. He ended the night with 21,796 career points for 29th on the all-time list, five ahead of Bird.

”There were open shots and I was shooting them to make them. I wasn’t shooting to get attention,” said Carter, who also became the 11th NBA player with at least 1,600 3-pointers. ”I’ve talked to Larry before. He is a legend and one of the greatest to play the game.”

Tyreke Evans scored 23 for the Kings, who lost their 18th straight regular season game in Dallas dating back almost 10 years.

The 3-pointer that pushed Carter past Bird came from a couple of feet behind the line with 2.9 seconds left in the third quarter and gave Dallas a 92-77 lead.

– Reported by Schuyler Dixon of the Associated Press

As he prepares to head to Houston this weekend to lobby the NBA’s team owners to keep pro basketball in Sacramento, Mayor Kevin Johnson said he is getting “very close” to revealing the deep-pocketed investors he has recruited to make a pitch to buy the franchise.

Those investors - along with a plan for a new downtown arena - would be the foundation of Johnson’s argument to the NBA to block a deal the Kings’ owners have to sell the franchise to a group that would move the team to Seattle in time for the 2013/14 season.

Johnson said he is working against a March 1 deadline to secure those investors and an arena plan. That date is the deadline for a team to file for relocation, which the Kings did last week.

The mayor is expected to make his pitch to the league’s Board of Governors - made up of team owners - in New York in mid-April.

– Reported by Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee

Known for his stellar defensive play, Tony Allen has been coming through offensively for the Memphis Grizzlies the past few games.

Allen scored a season-high 19 points and led a key late third-quarter run in the Grizzlies’ 108-101 victory over Sacramento on Tuesday night, helping Memphis beat the Kings at home for the seventh straight time.

An 8.4-point scorer on the season, Allen has averaged 14.7 points in his last three games - all Memphis wins.

”The last few games he’s been scoring a few points and he’s made shots,” said Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins. ”He’s gotten to the basket, he’s made good decisions.”

Allen had seven points during a 13-8 run that gave the Grizzlies a 10-point lead in the closing seconds of the third quarter. He could have had two more points during the run, but his reverse layup was tipped in by Darrell Arthur.

”Tony is everywhere, he’s all over the place,” Grizzlies center Marc Gasol. ”We need Tony to do what he did. He’s a great player.”

Gasol led the Grizzlies with 24 points and 12 rebounds and Mike Conley scored 22 points. But it was Allen’s accuracy (8-of-12 shooting) and energy that helped Memphis enter the All-Star break on a three-game winning streak…

DeMarcus Cousins scored 23 points and Tyreke Evans had 20 for the Kings, who were attempting to win three straight for the first time in more than two months.

– Reported by the Associated Press

Isaiah Thomas scored 17 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter and John Salmons also had 23 points to help rally the Sacramento Kings to a 117-111 victory over the Houston Rockets on Sunday.

The Kings were trailing by 10 points early in the fourth quarter, but Thomas led an offense that was difficult for the Rockets to match in the fourth quarter.

Houston was outscored 17-7 over a four-minute stretch when the Kings took control of the game.

Kings center DeMarcus Cousins had 20 points despite sitting out much of the second half with foul trouble. Jason Thompson scored 12 points, and Francisco Garcia came off the bench and had 11, including six points in the fourth quarter when the Kings outscored Houston 33-25.

James Harden had 30 points, six rebounds and four assists for Houston, which lost for the fourth time in five games. Patrick Patterson scored 18 points and Omer Asik had 17 points and 12 rebounds. Carlos Delfino added 15 points and Jeremy Lin finished with 12 points and six assists.

The Rockets pulled within a basket, but Salmons, who had 10 fourth-quarter points, was quickly fouled and made both free throws for a 115-111 lead with nine seconds remaining…

Evans picked up two fouls in the game’s first six minutes while guarding Harden.

– Reported by the Associated Press

With one more procedural move, the Sacramento Kings took another step toward Seattle.

NBA Commissioner David Stern said Wednesday night that the Seattle group led by Chris Hansen and Steve Ballmer, which recently reached an agreement to purchase the Kings, has formally filed for relocation with the league.

Stern spoke in Minneapolis before the Timberwolves hosted San Antonio. He called the Seattle group ”very strong,” and said the appropriate committees have been convened to look over the proposed sale of the Kings and the prospective move.

Stern said the relocation proposal calls for the team to play in KeyArena for ”two years, possibly three,” while a new arena in Seattle is being built.

”We have had submitted a signed agreement to have the team sold to a very strong group from Seattle,” Stern said. ”We have received an application to have the team moved from Sacramento to Seattle.”

The deadline for teams to file for relocation is March 1. It’s been expected that the Hansen/Ballmer group would file to move the team, but Stern’s comments were the first time that decision had been verified. The filing for relocation is just another step, but big in the efforts to bring professional basketball back to Seattle for the 2013-14 season.

– Reported by Tim Booth of the Associated Press

Amare Stoudemire sat through the sluggish start, and had one thought in mind when it was his turn to change it.

”Dominate,” he said. ”Dominate is the main objective. That’s the only thought that I think when I go in the game.”

That’s exactly what Knicks did. Really, really dominate.

Stoudemire was 10 for 10 from the field for 21 points, and New York unleashed a 38-4 run on Sacramento in the first half and clobbered the Kings 120-81 on Saturday night for its fourth straight victory.

The Knicks actually trailed by 10 when Stoudemire entered in the first quarter, then went on to challenge the franchise-record victory margin of 48 points and kept alive Mike Woodson’s chances of coaching the Eastern Conference All-Star team.

It was an awesome display by New York in front of some special guests: 150 children, their families and teachers from Sandy Hook Elementary School. The Knicks didn’t even need much from leading scorer Carmelo Anthony, who tied a season low with nine points and had his run of 20-point games snapped at 31, the longest single-season streak in franchise history…

J.R. Smith scored 25 points and Steve Novak added 15 as the Knicks made 19 3-pointers. Tyson Chandler had 11 points and 20 rebounds, becoming the first Knicks player with consecutive 20-board games since Marcus Camby on Dec. 8 and 11, 2001…

DeMarcus Cousins had 25 points and nine rebounds for the Kings, who were horrible from all areas of the court, missing shots right at the rim on offense and often not even getting anywhere near the Knicks’ 3-point shooters on defense.

– Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

If the Oklahoma City Thunder never play in Sacramento again, they sure left quite a lasting memory.

Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Martin overcame a slow start, and Oklahoma City overwhelmed the Kings 105-95 on Friday night behind its star trio.

Durant had 24 points and 11 rebounds, Martin scored 24 and Westbrook added 18 points and a season-high 14 assists to anchor a 28-10 run to start the third quarter. The spurt helped the Thunder go ahead by 25 points and improve to 3-2 on their season-long six-game road trip, which ends Sunday at the Los Angeles Lakers.

”Maybe one of our better quarters of the year,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said.

With the Kings’ pending purchase agreement to a group that wants to relocate the team to Seattle, there’s no guarantee the Thunder - coincidentally the former SuperSonics, who moved from Seattle to Oklahoma City in 2008 - will be back in California’s capital city next season…

Oklahoma City outshot Sacramento 48 to 41 percent, won the rebounding battle 47-39 and dished out 27 assists. The Kings had only one more assist than Westbrook, who had what Brooks called ”one of his best overall games,” especially considering the point guard shot 3 of 16 from the floor in a loss at Golden State on Wednesday night…

Tyreke Evans scored 16 points and DeMarcus Cousins had 14 points and eight rebounds on a difficult shooting night for the Kings, who have lost three straight and four of five. Cousins finished 6 of 16 from the floor and had seven of Sacramento’s 18 turnovers.

– Reported by Antonio Gonzalez of the Associated Press

The Maloofs’ plan to sell the Sacramento Kings to a Seattle group ran into a pair of hurdles Thursday – a possible counteroffer from America’s third richest man and a potential legal challenge from at least one of the Maloofs’ own limited partners.

Larry Ellison, one of the titans of Silicon Valley, is expected to meet soon with Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson about the Kings situation, according to Kings minority owner Bob Cook.

With Cook complaining the Maloofs have improperly shut limited partners out of the bidding, Ellison’s potential interest in the team ramps up the drama even higher. The software tycoon is worth $41 billion and was an unsuccessful bidder for the Golden State Warriors in 2010.

Cook said he asked a Bay Area sports attorney to broker the meeting between Ellison and Johnson, and he expects it will occur soon. The mayor has been recruiting deep-pocketed “whales” to present a competing bid to the NBA that he hopes would derail the Maloofs’ pending sale to an investor group that would move the team to Seattle.

A spokeswoman for Ellison declined comment. The mayor’s office issued this statement: “Out of respect for the private nature of these conversations, we are not commenting on any of the ongoing discussions with potential equity partners, real or imagined.”

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

Billionaire Ron Burkle and Bay Area investor Mark Mastrov are in serious discussions to team up on a bid to buy the Sacramento Kings and partner with the city of Sacramento on a plan to help finance a new downtown sports arena, The Bee has learned.

A source familiar with the negotiations told The Bee that Burkle and Mastrov are both committed to keeping the team in Sacramento and building the Kings into a contender. The teaming of Burkle and Mastrov is seen by city officials as a “dream team” counter offer to the group that this week agreed to buy the Kings and move the franchise to Seattle, the source said.

Burkle, who owns the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, has been mentioned by both Mayor Kevin Johnson and NBA Commissioner David Stern as a potential suitor of the Kings. Mastrov, the founder of the 24 Hour Fitness chain, made an unsuccessful bid to buy the Golden State Warriors in 2010 and until now had been the only person to publicly express interest in buying the Kings and keeping them here.

– Reported by Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee (Blog)

The only thing stopping the Sacramento Kings from a sale and move to Seattle is approval by NBA owners.

The Maloof family has agreed to sell the Kings to a Seattle group led by investor Chris Hansen, the league confirmed in a statement Monday morning. The deal is still pending a vote by the NBA Board of Governors.

A person familiar with the decision said that Hansen’s group will buy 65 percent of the franchise for $525 million, move the team to Seattle and restore the SuperSonics name. The Maloofs will have no stake in the team.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal was waiting approval.

The sale figure is a total valuation of the franchise, which includes relocation fees. Hansen’s group also is hoping to buy out other minority investors.

The Maloofs will get a $30 million non-refundable down payment by Feb. 1, according to the deal, the person said. They will still be allowed to receive other offers until the league approves the sale.

The plan by Hansen’s group is to have the team play at least the next two seasons in KeyArena before moving into a new facility in downtown Seattle. The deadline for teams to apply for a move for next season is March 1.

– Reported by Antonio Gonzalez of the Associated Press

The Sacramento Kings were determined Saturday night to make amends after one of their most embarrassing defeats of the season just 24 hours earlier.

Mission accomplished.

Marcus Thornton scored 18 points off the bench, Tyreke Evans came up big down the stretch, and the Kings held on to beat the Charlotte Bobcats 97-93 for their third win in four games.

After scoring just 69 points in a 16-point loss to Memphis, the Kings made sure there would not be another offensive letdown.

They led most of the way but needed a late burst from Evans, who scored six of the team’s last nine points in the final four minutes. He finished with 16 for the game.

DeMarcus Cousins added 17 points and 10 rebounds, and James Johnson chipped in with nine points and a season-high nine rebounds for the Kings (16-25)…

Kemba Walker had a chance to tie the game but shot an airball on a 3-point attempt with 3 seconds left as Charlotte lost its 14th straight game at home. Walker had 14 points and 10 assists.

Ramon Sessions scored 16 points for Charlotte (10-30) while Gerald Henderson chipped in with 15.

Brendan Haywood had a season-high five blocked shots for the Bobcats. … Thomas tied a season-high seven assists for the Kings and tied a season-high with five rebounds.

– Reported by Steve Reed of the Associated Press