City of Seattle Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacific Notes: Kings, Seattle, Warriors, Bazemore

May 18th, 2013 at 11:35am CST by Luke Adams

Of the four NBA divisions that sent three teams to the postseason this year, only the Pacific doesn't have a team still in the hunt, following the eliminations of the Lakers, Clippers, and Warriors. Here's the latest from out west:

While Vivek Ranadive and the Kings new ownership group haven't closed the door on bringing back GM Geoff Petrie and head coach Keith Smart, Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee says the team's basketball operations should and will be overhauled this summer.
Seattle's bidders for the Kings are expected to turn down the league's offer to repay their $30MM nonrefundable deposit, and if they do, they will have spent more than $100MM in their ill-fated effort to woo the team north, tweets Chris Daniels of KING-TV.
Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group thinks Mark Jackson will receive an extension sometime in the next month, predicts the Warriors will choose Jarrett Jack over Carl Landry in free agency, and doesn't foresee a major trade in the offseason.
Stephen Curry tells Marcus Thompson II of the San Jose Mercury News that he's been encouraging Jack to return to the Warriors next season. "This is the place for him," Curry said. "He's bounced around a lot. For him to have hopefully found a home here for the foreseeable future would be huge. I know he wants to be part of a winning team, and I think we have that here now."
Assuming he's not released today, Kent Bazemore should receive a modest bonus, per Mark Deeks of ShamSports. According to Deeks, Bazemore's nonguaranteed 2013/14 contract becomes partially guaranteed for $25K if he's not waived within two days of the Warriors' final game of the season.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Pacific Notes: Warriors, Jackson, Kings, Lakers

May 17th, 2013 at 4:16pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier today, we learned that if the Kings don't keep Keith Smart as their head coach, they're expected to target Warriors assistant Michael Malone. After months of conjecture on the coaching carousel about big names like Phil Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy, and Jerry Sloan, Malone now appears to be one of the most wanted men in the NBA. Here's more from the Pacific division..

Speaking of the Warriors, Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group checked in with co-owner Joe Lacob, who says that it's too early to comment on whether or when the team will pick up Mark Jackson’s option for 2014/15 and/or work out a longer-term deal beyond that. For his part, Kawakami sees the option as a virtual lock, possibly as a prelude to longer-term talks down the road.
If the Mavs have to look into Plan B options at the point guard position this summer, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas suggests that Warriors guard Jarrett Jack would be a solid fit.
Dale Kasler, Ryan Lillis, and Tony Bizjak of the Sacramento Bee provide the specifics on just how much the Maloof family will pocket from the sale of the Kings. Since the Maloofs will hang on to the $30MM non-refundable deposit paid by the Seattle group and will no longer have to contribute to the relocation fee, they ultimately won't earn much less in the Sacramento deal (about $230MM) than they would have in the Seattle deal (about $241MM).

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Kings Updates: Sale, Coach, GM, Hansen

May 17th, 2013 at 1:10pm CST by Luke Adams

A little more than 12 hours after we heard that Vivek Ranadive's Sacramento investment group and the Maloof family had struck an agreement to transfer ownership of the Kings, the city of Sacramento held a press conference today to formally announce the good news. Mayor Kevin Johnson praised the city for never giving up on the Kings, and also confirmed that Chris Hansen isn't involved in the deal, so he won't be a minority owner of the team (Twitter link via Chris Daniels of KING5). As the new ownership group prepares to officially take over the Kings, here's a number of other items related to the sale and to the team:

Assuming Keith Smart is not retained as the Kings' head coach by the new ownership group, Warriors assistant Michael Malone is expected to be a top candidate, writes Sam Amick of USA Today. Amick also points to Chris Mullin as a potential front office candidate, with Geoff Petrie likely on the way out.
The Sacramento Bee's initial story on the agreement between the new ownership group and the Maloofs has been updated with plenty of additional details, identifying a number of the investors in Ranadive's group.
Chris Mannix of SI.com reports (via Twitter) that the NBA's 30 owners offered to repay the $30MM non-refundable deposit Hansen's Seattle group made to the Maloofs, but Hansen declined. Mannix adds (via Twitter) that Hansen and Co. don't intend to file any lawsuits related to the Kings situation.
The 7% share of the Kings that Hansen bought in bankruptcy, pending NBA approval, will likely be auctioned off again, tweets Dale Kasler of the Sacramento Bee.
In an Insider-only piece for ESPN.com, Kevin Pelton examines the next steps for the Kings.

Sacramento Group Reaches Deal To Buy Kings

May 17th, 2013 at 9:47am CST by Luke Adams

FRIDAY, 9:47am: Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson tells the Sacramento Bee that the purchase agreement has been "signed on both ends" and that the "money has been wired." While the deal still has to close, Johnson doesn't anticipate any roadblocks.

"We're hoping to get it all done within the next week or so and the Board of Governors will vote and I don't anticipate any surprises," Johnson said.

THURSDAY, 11:29pm: The Sacramento investment group led by Vivek Ranadive has reached an agreement with the Maloof family to buy the Kings, according to Tony Bizjak of the Sacramento Bee. Bizjak reports that the deal is for an NBA-record valuation of $535MM, $10MM higher than the initial sale price on the Maloofs' agreement with Chris Hansen's Seattle group.

According to Bizjak, the agreement could be formally announced as soon as Friday, and will require approval by the NBA. Assuming the league approves the deal, which seems like a safe bet, escrow is expected to close at the end of May. The new group is expected to assume the Maloofs' entire 65% share of the club.

If the agreement between the current Kings owners and the prospective ownership group becomes official, it would be the end of a lengthy saga that pitted Sacramento and Seattle against one another in a fight for the Kings. Despite Hansen's Seattle group increasing their valuation of the franchise to $625MM, the league's owners voted 22-8 against relocating the Kings to Seattle on Wednesday, urging the Maloofs and Ranadive's group to try to negotiate a deal in the next 24 to 48 hours.

A source tells Bizjak that, after the league's owners voted down the Kings' relocation bid, the Maloofs were eager to "turn the page," and were happy to sell to an ownership group that would keep the team in Sacramento.

Odds & Ends: Stern, Michael Curry, Zarren

May 16th, 2013 at 8:23pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld (via Twitter) hears that David Stern was an active participant in yesterday's vote over Sacramento/Seattle at the Board of Governors meeting. It's worth noting that despite an offer north of $625MM as well as the $115MM relocation fee that would have been included by the Seattle group, Stern was able to sway the vote in Sacramento's direction, even though it appeared that more owners were in favor of Seattle's offer (All Twitter links). Here are a few more miscellaneous tidbits from around the Association tonight:

Ken Berger of CBS Sports tweets that the 76ers are expected to interview lead assistant coach Michael Curry for their head coaching job next week.
Steve Bulpett of BostonHerald.com hears that Celtics assistant GM Mike Zarren turned down Philadelphia's offer to make him their general manager before the Sixers turned to Sam Hinkie.
Although potential number one pick Nerlens Noel wouldn't be ready to start the regular season of his rookie campaign, the highly touted draft prospect is targeting a debut around Christmas, writes Jason Lloyd of Ohio.com.
Noel's injury is just one reason why teams might not be too high in landing the number one draft slot this year, writes Lloyd. In that same piece, Lloyd cites one league executive who thinks that a team might be better off drafting whoever falls to the third or fourth pick rather than handle the risk of drafting first overall.
Georgetown's Otto Porter spoke glowingly about being a potential fit for the Cavaliers, writes Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer.
Shabazz Muhammad opened up about the controversy surrounding his listed age and briefly told David Mayo of MLive.com about how he'd fare with the Pistons if they drafted him.
Warriors majority owner Joe Lacob says that he won't have a problem finding a replacement for Vivek Ranadive's current share with Golden State once the Sacramento situation is resolved, says Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News (via Twitter).
Jerry Stackhouse is in Chicago and plans to meet with possible draftees tomorrow to brief them on the NBPA, tweeted Hoopsworld's Steve Kyler.

Kings Notes: Ownership, Ranadive, Draft, Ellis

May 16th, 2013 at 12:27pm CST by Luke Adams

Kings fans received some great news yesterday, when the NBA's Board of Governors rejected a bid to relocate the franchise to Seattle. Even with the sale to Chris Hansen's Seattle group seemingly dead, the Kings aren't quite safe in Sacramento yet. The Maloofs still have the right to hang on to the team, though they're currently attempting to negotiate a sale to the Sacramento investment group led by Vivek Ranadive. Here's the latest on the Kings, on and off the court:

George Maloof believes a deal will be reached with Ranadive's group, as he tells David Bienick of KCRA in Sacramento (Twitter link). However, he's not sure it will happen in the 24-48 hour window David Stern is hoping for (Twitter link). Maloof also added that Hansen remains interested in buying a minority share of the Kings, so that's part of the current talks as well (Twitter link).
With Kings ownership still up in the air, front office and roster decisions remain on hold as well, writes Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. Head coach Keith Smart and GM Geoff Petrie are approaching this week's draft combine as if they'll continue in their current roles.
The team interviewed six draft prospects on Wednesday, according to Jones: Reggie Bullock , Alex Len, Tim Hardaway Jr., Richard Howell, Tony Snell, and Deshaun Thomas.
Expect Ranadive to "eviscerate" the Kings' business and basketball operations should he assume control of the team, says Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee. Voisin also hears that Ranadive's reps shot down a previous report that the Sacramento group was interested in Monta Ellis.
Dale Kasler, Tony Lillis, and Ryan Bizjak of the Sacramento Bee, who have done a terrific job of chronicling the entire saga, recap an eventful Wednesday and look ahead to the next step for the Kings.

Board Of Governors Votes Down Kings Relocation

May 15th, 2013 at 7:55pm CST by Luke Adams

6:55pm: According to a tweet from NBA.com's David Aldridge, Ranadive announced that two more parties will be joining his investment group.

5:41pm: Stern confirmed that Ranadive's group matched the initial $525MM valuation of the Kings, adding that Seattle's increased offers didn't offend the league, according to Chris Daniels of KING5 (Twitter links).

5:32pm: Commissioner David Stern has confirmed the vote against relocation, and shared a few more tidbits. Courtesy of Aaron Bruski of NBCSports.com (via Twitter)….

Stern confirmed that it was Seattle's $625MM offer that was voted down by the league.
The league intends to talk to the Maloof family in the next 24-48 hours to attempt to negotiate a sale to the Sacramento investment group led by Ranadive. Stern expects the Maloofs to be open to selling to the Sacramento group.
Seattle's presentation to the Board of Governors was "excellent" and reflects the efforts put into the bid by Hansen's group, according to Stern.
Stern says the league is looking forward to continued dialogue with potential team owners in Seattle, but that there's nothing concrete in the works for the city at the moment.
Stern acknowledged that it would be worthwhile to consider expansion eventually, but not until after the league negotiates its next TV deal.
Sacramento's arena term sheet is more than just a term sheet, according to Stern, who added that the land for the arena has been purchased.

5:12pm: ESPN.com's Marc Stein confirms that the Board of Governors also voted to reject the sale to Hansen's Seattle group. According to Mitch Levy of KJR in Seattle, the vote to keep the Kings in Sacramento was 22-8 (Twitter link). Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee adds (via Twitter) that the meeting was "very contentious."

4:56pm: The NBA's Board of Governors has voted against relocating the Kings to Seattle, according to Sam Amick of USA Today. The league's relocation committee, a smaller group of NBA owners, had previously recommended voting down the bid to move the franchise, so the decision doesn't come as a surprise.

The relocation of the Kings was one of two issues the Board of Governors was set to vote on today. With the move to Seattle having been vetoed, the sale of 65% of the franchise to Chris Hansen's Seattle group has also presumably been shot down. That means that for now the team remains in the hands of the Maloof family, though we don't yet know if the Maloof family will continue to pursue its backup plan with the Hansen group or if the NBA will aggressively push for a majority sale to Vivek Ranadive's Sacramento group.

While the sale of the franchise required approval from three-quarters of the league's owners, relocation simply required a majority vote. That means that at least 16 owners voted against the relocation bid, and it wouldn't surprise me if the final vote was much more one-sided than that, given the 7-0 vote by the relocation committee.

Sacramento/Seattle Updates: Wednesday

May 15th, 2013 at 4:47pm CST by Luke Adams

4:47pm: The NBA's Board of Governors meeting is ongoing, but Aaron Bruski of NBCSports.com hears from one source that there's "good news for Sacramento" (Twitter link).

10:43am: With the NBA's Board of Governors scheduled to meet today at 1:00pm central time in Dallas to discuss and vote on the future of the Kings, there are plenty of last-minute primers to catch up on, including a pair of pieces from the Sacramento Bee, a story from Chris Daniels of KING5 in Seattle, and a post by Sactown Royalty. As we wait to see what decisions the league's owners make today, we'll round up several of the notable items from these stories:

The Maloofs continue to dispute an earlier report saying that they'd be unwilling to sell to a Sacramento investment group, but the Kings current owners have been working pretty much exclusively with the Seattle group. The sale to Chris Hansen's group still has a "great shot" to get done, in George Maloof's view.
The relocation committee's recommendation not to allow the Kings to relocate to Seattle will likely be enough to sway today's vote in that direction, according to one top NBA executive.
If relocation is denied, the Maloofs still hope the NBA will approve their backup plan with the Seattle group, which would involve selling 20% of the franchise to the Hansen/Steve Ballmer collective. In that scenario, the Maloofs insist they would work in good faith to complete an arena deal in Sacramento.
Bryan May of KXTV News10 asked George Maloof whether the NBA would approve a 20% sale to the Seattle group if it had already shot down a 65% purchase. Maloof's reply: "I can sell to whoever I want to" (Twitter link).
"Nothing against the Sacramento group," Maloof said. "But they have a backup offer, and we have a binding agreement with Chris. That is just the way the deal progressed. We have a backup from Vivek [Ranadive], but we're being true to the deal with Chris."
Responding to a lawsuit that alleges the Sacramento arena plan is illegally using city funds, Sacramento city attorney Jim Sanchez said in a statement that "we are prepared to defend the council decision as necessary and do not believe this lawsuit has merit."

Latest On Kings, Sacramento, Seattle

May 14th, 2013 at 4:47pm CST by Luke Adams

We're one day from the NBA's Board of Governors meeting, which will go a long way toward deciding the future of the Kings. According to Bryan May of KXTV News10 (via Twitter), tomorrow's meetings will get underway at 1:00pm central time, and based on what we heard yesterday, it sounds as if the league is still leaning toward denying the team's relocation to Seattle. Here's the latest on the saga:

Two Sacramento attorneys have filed suit, alleging fraud and illegal use of public funds in the Sacramento arena project, says Chris Daniels of KING5 (via Twitter). According to Daniels, the suit alleges that the city's contribution to the arena will be closer to $338MM, and that city leaders, including Mayor Johnson, have concealed that info (Twitter link).

Earlier updates:

Current Kings owner George Maloof told May (Twitter link) that he's "ready for this to be over" but that he's not sure that will happen tomorrow.
As he prepared to head to Dallas, Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson confirmed to the Sacramento Bee that the Maloofs haven't closed the door on selling the Kings to a group that would keep the team in the city.
Chris Daniels of KING5 in Seattle tweets that a "Taxpayers for Safer Neighborhoods" group in Sacramento intends to start collecting signatures for a ballot initiative to reject the proposed Sacramento arena. According to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter links), two Sacramento taxpayer groups believe the arena plan, which calls for $258MM in public funds to be paid back by parking revenues, is "financially irresponsible."
A source tells Aaron Bruski of NBCSports.com (Twitter links) that the anti-arena groups shouldn't present a serious threat to the Sacramento proposal, calling it a non-issue. "It's all PR," the source said, referring to the timing of the announcement. "Once you do due diligence, you see that there's nothing there."

Western Notes: Conley, Kings, Adelman, Suns

May 14th, 2013 at 11:58am CST by Luke Adams

With Mike Conley playing a significant role in leading the Grizzlies to within one game of the Western Conference Finals, Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com looks back at Conley's history in Memphis. As Shelburne writes, Conley was almost dealt to the Bucks for Ramon Sessions before Lionel Hollins took over as the Grizzlies' coach and gave Conley a vote of confidence.

"It was more than a rumor," Conley said. "My dad's also my agent and he called me to say I wasn't playing this one game. When they tell you that, you know it's pretty serious."

Conley's place in Memphis is certainly safe these days, and after last night's win, his team has a 3-1 lead on the defending conference champs. As we look forward to seeing whether the Grizzlies can eliminate the Thunder, let's check in on a few other items from around the West….

Aaron Bruski of NBCSports.com and Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com (Sulia link) each provide updates on the Kings saga, with Bruski writing that the aggressive approach employed by the Seattle group in recent weeks isn't going over well with the league. Howard-Cooper, meanwhile, says Vivek Ranadive's influence in India isn't as big a factor in the NBA's decision as has been portrayed.
New Timberwolves president Flip Saunders tells Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities (Twitter link) he's still confident that Rick Adelman will return to coach the team next season.
Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic examines the Suns' search for a head coach, which will likely be completed within the next two weeks.
Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com attempts to debunk the myth that top free agents aren't interested in signing with the Mavericks