Sacramento Kings Blog – Page 52 – NBA Blog

Opponents of public Sacramento arena subsidy want issue put to vote

Opponents of a public subsidy for a new downtown sports arena are seeking to put the issue before voters in a special election.

The campaign behind the initiative – called Sacramento Taxpayers Opposed to Pork – notified the city clerk’s office on Wednesday that it intends to gather signatures for the Voter Approval for Public Funding of Professional Sports Arena Act. The city attorney’s office now has two weeks to write a ballot summary before the campaign can begin collecting signatures.

City Clerk Shirley Concolino said the group will need valid signatures from 15 percent of registered voters in the city – about 33,000. The campaign will also need to collect a buffer of several thousand more to account for invalid signatures and duplicates.

Those signatures would need to be filed with county elections officials by mid-July, giving the campaign just a few weeks.

Reported by Ryan Lillis and Tony Bizjak of the Sacramento Bee

NBA approves sale of Sacramento Kings to Ranadive group

NBA approves sale of Kings to Ranadive group

The epic fight over the Sacramento Kings ended quietly Tuesday.

The NBA board of governors unanimously approved the franchise’s sale to the group led by Vivek Ranadive, essentially ending the Maloof family’s turbulent tenure as Kings owners. The league announced the vote in a simple, one-paragraph news release.

Experts said the peaceful conclusion to a battle that has lasted since January was a tribute to the NBA’s skillful navigation through the process – a result of lessons learned during previous, bloodier disputes over franchise control.

The NBA was able to snuff out the possibility of legal challenges, despite speculation that the Maloofs or their prospective business partners in Seattle were going to sue the league if they didn’t get their way.

“Thirty years ago, this wouldn’t have ended so calmly,” said Mike McCann, a sports law expert and contributor to NBA TV.

Reported by Dale Kasler and Tony Bizjak of the Sacramento Bee

New Sacramento Kings ownership group to buy Downtown Plaza arena site

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

Kings have not gotten lucky in NBA Draft Lottery lately

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

Sacramento Kings may want to shake up front office staff

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 says deal to sell Kings has been signed

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

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson says sale of Kings is close

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

Seattle group has backup offer in quest to buy Kings

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 waiting for decision on Kings sale

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

Miami Heat owner praises Sacramento effort to keep Kings

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