Dale Kasler was just on KFBK for a minute.
He basically said that the idea that the Maloofs are entertaining backup offers is not news, that's been known for awhile. This is a request for an official, binding offer. This move could be the Maloofs trying to influence the league decision by saying that only Seattle has a final, binding offer. Or this could be the Maloofs realizing that the Seattle bid might be denied and wanting a binding offer so they aren't left with no deal.
My interpretation: I think he's basically right and this is a combination of those things. I think it's #1 about the Maloofs wanting a binding backup offer in writing so they can't get left holding the team or having to negotiate with Sacramento investors which could potentially reduce what they get. They are also trying to get as much out of the Sac investors as possible, hence all the stuff about the bid having to be equivalent to Seattle or they won't consider it. They want to make sure that if they're forced to take the Sac bid, that they get as much as they can get and at least as much as they would have gotten in Seattle.
Of course, there's a question about how much say they have in all this, but as someone else mentions if the NBA tells Sac to make the bid in writing, they should try to make it. That might be hard because they haven't identified who will have what portion of the team or arena yet and those negotiations amongst the investors themselves take a lot of time. So if the NBA does want a formal, binding offer, that could be a bit of a stumbling block. Still, I don't expect the NBA would ask for anything they don't think can be delivered, because they've been helping Sac all along the way.