David Aldridge on NBATV: "I can tell you they are not going to sell the team around Burkle, and I'm not guessing on that one. I've got people pretty close that have told me that..." "If there are other people with that kind of money in the Sacramento area, that will pledge to keep them there they should step forward because it's getting late...." "Once that (March 1st deadline) is set in place, I don't see right now, anything that would stop that team from moving once they apply for relocation...I'm fairly certain the other owners would quickly approve that and the BOG would soon approve it in time for them to move by next season"
On plausible scenarios that could cause this deal to fall through (cliff notes):
- If the city of Seattle had second thoughts about how the arena deal was being financed....the other teams in Seattle have voiced concerns, etc. Mostly privately financed, so these concerns may not be an issue, much smaller city/state commitment.
- Maloof family are "passionate NBA people" (ha...) "they love the NBA, love BEING in the NBA, could have a change of heart and stick it out one more year." HOWEVER, NBA doesn't want a repeat of the disaster of last year, having a deal in place fall through...