The Seattle arena proposal, led by investor Chris Hansen, still requires the approval of Seattle City Council and King County Council, but the plan took a major step forward yesterday, as Lynn Thompson of the Seattle Times writes. It was announced that Hansen and the city council have reached an agreement on financial terms for the arena, with official approval expected later this month. At that point, Hansen can begin "shopping" for an NBA franchise. Let's round up the latest links on the Seattle situation and a few other topics from around the Pacific Division….
- Former SuperSonic Lenny Wilkens believes Seattle could land a team as early as next season, according to Percy Allen of the Seattle Times. Allen says that the Bucks, Bobcats, and Timberwolves are all realistic candidates for relocation, though the Kings remain the odds-on favorite to move.
- The cost of relocating an NBA franchise means Sacramento should still have a reasonable chance at keeping the Kings, writes Tom Ziller of SBNation.com.
- Marcos Breton of the Sacramento Bee wonders if the city of Seattle would want to bring the Kings to town even if the Maloofs were still a part of the package.
- The threat of a lawsuit may impact the future of the Santa Cruz Warriors, says J.M. Brown of the Santa Cruz Sentinel. The city of Santa Cruz had been expected to approve a plan to build a 30,000-square-foot facility to host Golden State's D-League team.
- Sean Deveney of the Sporting News believes the Lakers are still the most likely landing spot for unrestricted free agent Leandro Barbosa.