From Tony Bizjak, Dale Kasler and Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee: “The Maloofs have made their deal to sell the Sacramento Kings to a group that would move them to Seattle – setting up a climactic showdown over the team’s future that might not get settled by the NBA until the spring. A source close to the situation said Sunday that the Maloof family and the Seattle group, led by hedge-fund manager Chris Hansen and Microsoft billionaire Steve Ballmer, could announce a deal as early as today. If the sale is approved by the NBA’s board of governors, consisting of league owners, the team would move to Seattle next season and would be renamed the SuperSonics, after the franchise that left Seattle for Oklahoma City in 2008. A sale price wasn’t released, but Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson has said he believes the Maloofs were working on a deal that would value the entire franchise at $525 million. The Maloofs and a partner in Oklahoma control 65 percent of the team. The Maloof family declined to comment through a spokesman Sunday night, and Hansen’s representative couldn’t be reached for comment. The price would be a record for an NBA team.”
And that price did not go unnoticed by NBA players:
So the Kings getting sold for 525M!! And the owners ain’t making no money huh? What the hell we have a lookout for. Get the hell out of here
— LeBron James (@KingJames) January 21, 2013
And from what I hear the 525M isn’t even the whole % of the team! Smh. One thing is I can’t hate on their hustle though. Crazy
— LeBron James (@KingJames) January 21, 2013
I do know Mayor Johnson and the city/fans of Sacramento will do whatever it takes to keep the team put. We’ll see what happens #NBAFiles
— LeBron James (@KingJames) January 21, 2013
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Buried the hatchet, then?