Deal announced - latest rumors, etc.

[Circa_1985_Fan]

Do u know who some of the people are? Not asking u to tell us who they are, cause I know u wont, but do u personally know exactly who it is?

My boss does(sorry for being vague)...I will say he will be at City Hall in 20 minutes with the Mayor, though.

 

[HereWeBoogie]

My boss does(sorry for being vague)...I will say he will be at City Hall in 20 minutes with the Mayor, though.

Your Boss will be there? Thats pretty cool

 

[KingsFanSince85]

The NBA claimed that the New Orleans group was not financially sound. What are they going to claim about the Hansen group? I agree that this is the place to kill the deal - at the point of sale. As mentioned above, the Maloofs are not per se entitled to do the sale. It would be easier for them to move the franchise themselves rather than sell it and see it moved. But the NBA will likely not be able to claim that the Hansen group isn't financially viable. Also instructive is that the NBA made no overtures to the failed potential owners in New Orleans to get a team. Stern ran the joint then.

You're missing the point. They can deny the current deal, for any number of reasons, and tell the Maloof family to look for other owners. It doesn't have to be for the same exact reason. In the case cited above, you're right. They cited financial issues. But they could cite any number of reasons for denying this Seattle group, most notably "best interests of the league".

The point is, the NBA can and have forced teams to look elsewhere to sell their franchise. In this case, if there is a local buyer offering the seller the exact same deal, could it not be argued that it is in the best interest of the league to keep the Kings in Sacramento? Allowing the Kings to move, despite all the factors we are well aware of -- coming up with public $$ for an Arena, consistent support of the team, etc. -- could cause damage to the league and it's future going forward. They have the right to make unilateral decisions based upon the good of the league.

 

[Section 101]

Thanks. Unless they haven't found the big investor yet or they asked to remain out of the story for now, I wonder if today is more about demonstrating activity than anything else. Which is ok but with this short timeline and the need to start pressuring public and BOG opinion now, he needs to get the big offer lined up fast.

They have investors. They are most likely working on actually financials to show the BoG that the money is there. It's not like they can write a check, well Ellison probably can, they need everything organized.

 

[Circa_1985_Fan]

Ellison made an offer to buy the team and move it to San Jose. They rejected the offer and bought the team with the hopes a local buyer would emerge in the future. The current owner was going bankrupt and wanted to sell.

Yup...and lest we not forget that Ellison owns a gigantic house up in the foothills in the Sacramento area, which is like a 2nd home to him...so owning the Kings in Sacramento would still float his boat, as far as NBA ownership goes.

 

[Circa_1985_Fan]

Your Boss will be there? Thats pretty cool

Yup...actually, my immediate boss and my big boss will both be there.

 

[KingsFanSince85]

Ellison made an offer to buy the team and move it to San Jose. They rejected the offer and bought the team with the hopes a local buyer would emerge in the future. The current owner was going bankrupt and wanted to sell.

You're referring to a different team and different situation. A group from New Orleans attempted to purchase and move the Minnesota Timberwolves to New Orleans in 1994. You're referring to Larry Ellison attempting to purchase the New Orleans Hornets.

Regardless, there is an underlying point in that situation too. The NBA rejected a deep pocketed owner from buying and moving one of their franchises to a larger market.They should so the exact same thing in this case, especially if there is a willing local ownership group on board.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

not really... unless there is something somewhere that dictates the NBA assumes ownership they can't force anything. (my understanding from what i've read)

the only thing "forcing" the maloofs to sell is their perilous finances, that said they could turn around once it's rejected and sell to a group from KC.

As Brick mentioned above, the Kings are a franchise, and the NBA, like any other franchiser is able to dictate who can and can't buy a franchise. I believe somebody elsewhere came up with the scenario as follows: Imagine a known foreign druglord billionaire executed a purchase agreement to buy an NBA franchise. Do you honestly think the NBA has no protection and no ability to block the sale to such an undesirable owner? Of course they do.

It may well be true that they can't force the Maloofs to sell, though I'd expect that one could rather say that they have not seen fit to execute their power to force the Maloofs to sell. (Again, imagine that the Maloofs were accused and convicted of being druglords. Do you think the NBA at that point couldn't seize the franchise?) The NBA almost certainly has the power to unilaterally seize the franchise, but use of such power must be extremely judicious. Maloofery just doesn't cut it. So will the NBA use whatever power they have in them to force them to sell, assuming they reject the Hansen deal? No. But the NBA won't have to, as the Maloof financials are clearly bad enough that they have to sell, and they will quickly turn to a buyer that the NBA will approve (read: a local buyer) in no time.

 

[Circa_1985_Fan]

You're referring to a different team and different situation. A group from New Orleans attempted to purchase and move the Minnesota Timberwolves to New Orleans in 1994. You're referring to Larry Ellison attempting to purchase the New Orleans Hornets.

Regardless, there is an underlying point in that situation too. The NBA rejected a deep pocketed owner from buying and moving one of their franchises to a larger market.They should so the exact same thing in this case, especially if there is a willing local ownership group on board.

Yup, and with TWO arena plans...one Stern helped author, and the other a private financing plan from a venture capitalist.

 

[RaY Z]

Anyone have a link to Mayor Johnson's announcement?

 

[Section 101]

You're referring to a different team and different situation. A group from New Orleans attempted to purchase and move the Minnesota Timberwolves to New Orleans in 1994. You're referring to Larry Ellison attempting to purchase the New Orleans Hornets.

Regardless, there is an underlying point in that situation too. The NBA rejected a deep pocketed owner from buying and moving one of their franchises to a larger market.They should so the exact same thing in this case, especially if there is a willing local ownership group on board.

Ya, I was referring to the recent Hornet sale.

 

[VF21]

Thread closed to open next chapter. Carry on.