Fourth whale spotted!!!

[Kings Faithful]

Ah, gotcha. One possibility tht is already in the work is an MLS team. Tell you what, if that happened, the first game against the Sounders would probably be intense.

Really hoping for this... I love Soccer and it would be awesome to watch it on tv but i just can't get into oversees teams as entertaining as they are. Its hard for me to follow the wacky time schedules for teams that I have no real emotional connection too. A Sacramento MLS team would be perfect. Bring back the Sacramento Knights!

 

[The_Jamal]

Holy cow.

It's getting to the point now where if the BoG still approves the sale to Seattle, then no team has a chance at ever keeping their team. Probably the last major hurdle is making sure everyone is on the same page and we get an offer on the table that blows everyone away

 

[Jordan Goins]

This is just getting beyond awesome. No way in hell Sacramento loses this team. No way.

 

[asakkings]

I was watching Grantland live couple days ago where Bill Simmons, Jalen Rose and couple other writers were talking about Sonics. They all agreed that Kings should stay in Sacramento because of the efforts of fans and the city. So we're finally starting to get some national momentum.

 

[mac]

Really good news for the city of Sacramento. As a non-sac fan of the team not really following this that closely though, can I ask if you guys have any worry of potential problems arising from having more and more parties involved in this? At least with regards to the future running of the team. Sort of a too many cooks spoil the broth, or if the different ownership parties want a say in team decisions etc.

 

[jalfa]

I was watching Grantland live couple days ago where Bill Simmons, Jalen Rose and couple other writers were talking about Sonics. They all agreed that Kings should stay in Sacramento because of the efforts of fans and the city. So we're finally starting to get some national momentum.

very important word! at the beginning of this whole ordeal all the attention was on Seattle and the media reported it as a practically done deal and now, the closer the BOG meeting gets, the more the focus is on Sacramento. it's been mentioned before, but mayor Johnson has been doing a hell of a job in that regard, with the help of Burkle and co. anybody remember how there was a press conference not long after the sale of the Kings was made public, where everybody thought the name of the whales would be released, but that for some reason didn't happen? pretty sure that was less about a hiccup in the negotiations between the city and the whales as was assumed back then and more about controlling the flow of information and building momentum for these last few weeks. it's also very good that the Seattle side has nothing new to offer at this point. they're through their ammo, whilst Sacramento keeps reloading.

 

[Section 101]

Really good news for the city of Sacramento. As a non-sac fan of the team not really following this that closely though, can I ask if you guys have any worry of potential problems arising from having more and more parties involved in this? At least with regards to the future running of the team. Sort of a too many cooks spoil the broth, or if the different ownership parties want a say in team decisions etc.

None. Vek is the lead on ownership and controls the team.

 

[lwc]

I am so happy about this. As a non-Californian, I want the Kings in Sacramento and it looks like it will happen.

 

[funkykingston]

Clearly the momentum and the public perception is swinging Sacramento's way. The hope for Sonics fans is hinges on their belief that

(1) the idea that Stern/the NBA screwed them and want to take this opportunity to make amends.
(2) Hansen has a signed deal and the BOG's self interest is to allow owners to sell to whomever they want
(3) if the Sacramento group matches Hansen/Ballmer will just up the ante and win a bidding war

More than slightly odd rationale on that first point. How does ripping the heart out of another loyal franchise, one that has done more to save it's team than Seattle did make things right? Especially when Sacramento is providing a golden opportunity to demonstrate how the NBA CAN work in smaller markets with public funding for arenas? From the PR/David Stern's conscience perspective, Sacramento is the clear choice. Stern himself called Sacramento a model franchise during the Webber years.

There is some merit to the second notion. Sure, the BOG has to see that at some point they may find themselves in a position of needing to sell the team and don't want to be handcuffed in their options. But anyone who actually cared about the team they owned and the fans that rooted for it would certainly attempt to pursue a local sale instead of agreeing to sell and relocate while signing a deal that precluded any other offers from local parties. Especially in the case where the team name would be changed and the history of the franchise erased. I'm sure the BOG don't want to be hamstrung in how they conduct their business. But I also doubt many of them would even consider the path the Maloofs took. Besides, there is precedent both in the NBA (see Minnesota) and other major sports (see SF Giants) of relocation efforts being denied because the league would prefer teams to stay put. No team has ever been relocated in the NBA where there was an arena deal in place and strong fan support.

The third notion was put to rest by Stern himself. There won't be a bidding war. The Seattle offer is in. The Sacramento offer will be revised. One will be chosen and that will be that. The Maloofs signed a deal and accepted a deposit. That's the offer. Besides which, while the record valuation of the Kings does help other owners financially, continuing to escalate that number creates an artificial inflation which is not good for the league. Not in terms of their negotiating power with cities and especially not in terms of negotiating with the players association. Saying your franchise is worth a certain amount is all well and good, but if the bottom line (in terms of year to year profits and revenue growth potential) doesn't justify that valuation then it is meaningless at best and detrimental at worst.

This has become a statewide effort to save the Kings and revitalize Sacramento. Certainly the momentum is on Sacramento's side. But more than that, the overall narrative favors us. Basketball back in Seattle is a good story. And I'm sure another arena would have additional benefit to that city. But the resurrection of Sacramento's downtown and a huge and demonstrable turnaround to downtown centered around a new NBA arena paid for in large part by public funding in a relatively small market? That's a tremendous story.

 

[Kingster]

So Vanadive runs the team and operations.
Burkle builds and runs the arena.
It would be interesting to know how Mastrov and the Jacobs family fit into the picture. Are they purely passive investors, or do they have some other function to contribute? I can't wait to hear the details about this stuff.

At this point it's hard to imagine a better team. Is there an ownership team with this much bank and this much cred in the NBA?

 

[Gary]

Wow, so who is joining me tomorrow to make KJ a statue of pure gold? Haha

Smelt some of your old gold down and take it to someone that could mold it

 

[matthew76]

Sonicsrising is the boat and I think you can figure out who the whale is.

1. Seattle is the boat.
2. The "whales" are the whale.
3. The guy who is videotaping has an Indian accent (hmmmmm)
4. He says "They didn't listen!" referring to the boat/Seattle hehehehe

 

[mac]

None. Vek is the lead on ownership and controls the team.

Good to hear. Why then did they make it seem like Mastrov was the one who would assume that role? Wasn't there all that talk about him wanting to own an NBA team, and now he's just not involved in that aspect at all and it's just going to be Vek?

 

[Section 101]

Good to hear. Why then did they make it seem like Mastrov was the one who would assume that role? Wasn't there all that talk about him wanting to own an NBA team, and now he's just not involved in that aspect at all and it's just going to be Vek?

The reports are that Vek was the guy all along. He was waiting for the right time to come forward which could be when he had the 8 votes.

 

[Warhawk]

Someone may have alluded to this before, but with two of the "whales" being "tech" giants, I wonder if they have a vision for the Natomas property that they are not sharing yet? Remember, possible re-uses mentioned for that site have varied from a hospital, to a college, to a high-tech campus/center.

 

[Jose]

What's amazing is that the Clowns, in typical fashion, #Maloofed themseleves by trying to screw Sacramento and sell the team behind everyone's back.

Sure, they are making a lot of money but they could have made A LOT more. All they had to do was announce the team was for sale, then watch the massive bidding war. Now they've basically locked themselves into selling for the agreed upon amount.

 

[kupman]

In this heavy weight fight, we have landed 4-5 consectutive punches. Seattle may be dazed and bleeding, but the fight is still on.

 

[upinsmoke]

In this heavy weight fight, we have landed 4-5 consectutive punches. Seattle may be dazed and bleeding, but the fight is still on.

Chavez vs taylor when it looked like chavez has had enough and was beat but finished soo strong and finished taylor with .2 secs left in the 12 round with a finish for the ages.

 

[Gary]

In this heavy weight fight, we have landed 4-5 consectutive punches. Seattle may be dazed and bleeding, but the fight is still on.

In my opinion they are already down and it's at an 8 count.

 

[whozit]

In my opinion they are already down and it's at an 8 count.

I wouldn't underestimate your opponent. Celebrate after the meet has been called, not before.

 

[Gary]

I wouldn't underestimate your opponent. Celebrate after the meet has been called, not before.

Arena deal (check)
Fan support (check)
matching or exceeding offer (we will hear about this late this week or next week when KJ pitches the BOG)

Once that last one is checked off only an idiot (ahem Seattle fans) would still think Seattle has any chance.

Try to do a checklist for every reason a team would be moved. I bet you would not be able to check very many. Everyone knows the Maloofs screwed Sac (or Stern wouldn't have allowed us to pitch a plan to them). It's over once KJ gives them the matching offer.

 

[John Galt]

In my opinion they are already down and it's at an 8 count.

"8 count" good one lol!!!

 

[Gary]

"8 count" good one lol!!!

I don't get it... lol

 

[Kingster]

Someone may have alluded to this before, but with two of the "whales" being "tech" giants, I wonder if they have a vision for the Natomas property that they are not sharing yet? Remember, possible re-uses mentioned for that site have varied from a hospital, to a college, to a high-tech campus/center.

This is something that interests me greatly. Burkle is the guy doing the arena. I'm assuming until I hear otherwise that he will have control of the Natomas site when this deal is executed. With his contacts (Qualcom family, Ravek, and others) and his imagination what is he going to do with it? This could greatly benefit the Natomas area and the Sacramento region. There could be economic development ramifications that we haven't considered to have these heavyweights involved in this deal.

 

[Darth Divac]

I just got the news about this.....


YAHOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[HndsmCelt]

What's amazing is that the Clowns, in typical fashion, #Maloofed themseleves by trying to screw Sacramento and sell the team behind everyone's back.

Sure, they are making a lot of money but they could have made A LOT more. All they had to do was announce the team was for sale, then watch the massive bidding war. Now they've basically locked themselves into selling for the agreed upon amount.

Not exactly. The value of the team was greatly exaggerated by MOVING them to Seattle. Had they simply announced the intent to sell the presumption would have been that the buyer would have to keep the team in Sacramento keeping the value at or around 400 million. The NBA would have expected new buyers to try to make an Arena deal BEFORE moving the team, just like they refused to let the Maloofs move the team to Anslime (yes I know they were planning on selling the team once it moved) and forced them to the table with the city to work out an Arena deal. THIS sale/move to Seattle is a more or less unprecedented attempt to get more for the the team than it is worth. In part you have to give the Maloofs props for figuring out this end run around the BOG, who were probably never going to allow them to move the team after walking away from the Arena deal. Now the threat of moving to Seattle is forcing legitimate local buyers to over-pay for the team, that is sad and I hate to see the Maloofs rewarded for bad behavior but I guess the BOG can/will not slap them down by preemptively telling them NO MOVE.

 

[The Hammer]

This is something that interests me greatly. Burkle is the guy doing the arena. I'm assuming until I hear otherwise that he will have control of the Natomas site when this deal is executed. With his contacts (Qualcom family, Ravek, and others) and his imagination what is he going to do with it? This could greatly benefit the Natomas area and the Sacramento region. There could be economic development ramifications that we haven't considered to have these heavyweights involved in this deal.

Very much so.

This is all part of the "bigger than basketball" concept. I think a lot of people have seen this kind of potential in Sac for a while now. We just needed the political conditions to make it happen. A mayor with a vision.

To me, it's kind of a no brainer that Sac is about to blow up. Everyone should listen to Vivek's interview with Nick Montacelli. There is CLEARLY a very huge vision for the Sac region that some of the wealthiest people in California are ganging up to create.

1. Making the Kings a global brand
2. Making Sac a global city
3. Major development projects that likely have yet to be announced.

The Natomas site being turned into a tech center or something like that seems like a no brainer with the team we have assembled.

I grew up in Sac and have since lived in several economically vibrant cities/areas. Once you start to see this kind of talk and activity, publicly, you know there are plans for many years ahead already in place (at least rough plans).

Real estate in California, always, has been a PREMIUM investment. It was just a matter of time before a boom came back to Sac.

 

[Darth Divac]

Very much so.

This is all part of the "bigger than basketball" concept. I think a lot of people have seen this kind of potential in Sac for a while now. We just needed the political conditions to make it happen. A mayor with a vision.

To me, it's kind of a no brainer that Sac is about to blow up. Everyone should listen to Vivek's interview with Nick Montacelli. There is CLEARLY a very huge vision for the Sac region that some of the wealthiest people in Sacramento are ganging up to create.

1. Making the Kings a global brand
2. Making Sac a global city
3. Major development projects that likely have yet to be announced.

The Natomas site being turned into a tech center or something like that seems like a no brainer with the team we have assembled.

I grew up in Sac and have since lived in several economically vibrant cities/areas. Once you start to see this kind of talk and activity, publicly, you know there are plans for many years ahead already in place (at least rough plans).

Real estate in California, always, has been a PREMIUM investment. It was just a matter of time before a boom came back to Sac.

Good god. We're going to be crushed if the board votes us down.

 

[Glenn]

Someone may have alluded to this before, but with two of the "whales" being "tech" giants, I wonder if they have a vision for the Natomas property that they are not sharing yet? Remember, possible re-uses mentioned for that site have varied from a hospital, to a college, to a high-tech campus/center.

Something of this sort would not surprise me. I can see Burkle staying in the background as that is what he is doing in Pittsburgh. Ranadivé is a perfect face of the group and is at the moment a vice president of the Warriors. Am I right? He seems to have the most real basketball management experience. He also seems to have a view of the world far beyond himself. The Jacobs family are very interesting. Their father is a philanthropist extreme. Some of that has no doubt spread to his kids. There seems to be an inquisitiveness in this family that would like to do something unique or at least noteworthy.

 

[Darth Divac]

If the new Arena isn't called Kevin Johnson Center, I'll be very surprised.