I think the relocation vote going first is a good thing for us and a nice little strategic move by Stern to ensure that technically, Hansen/Ballmer never get rejected as owners.
NBA is selling this as a relocation issue. The NBA is reluctant to move the team if it has the fan/sponsor/political support and a new arena or a plan to build a new arena. So if the relocation gets rejected, Hansen/Ballmer will pull out so this technically never gets to a sale vote because they will not want to buy the team that they cannot move.
This way NBA keeps the team in Sacramento with a great ownership geoup BUT they never technically reject Hansen/Ballmer, keeping the door open for them to get another team or an expansion team down the track!
As for Maloofs and their letters, I think they are doing this to cover their ***. They need a written trail to prove that they have never back-tracked on their binding agreement with Hansen/Ballmer otherwise, they would be open to legal action from Seattle group if they are found to be neutral or opposed to their binding agreement. I think they sense that the relocation to Seattle is probably a no goer and as such, they need to be seen as doing everything they can to complete the binding offer that they have signed.
I might be reading too much into this, but everything that came out today is a good thing for Sacramento!
Oh and Stern schooling Daniels again is priceless!