In the NBA you rarely hear of sabotage.
Sure, there was the Tim Donaghy betting scandal. That was a rare occurrence not to be confused as the norm.
Today reports have surfaced that Seattle investor, Chris Hansen, who tried to buy the Sacramento Kings earlier this year, was outed as the mystery donor behind the petition campaign trying to force a vote on the Kings’ proposed new arena downtown.
Excuse me?
More from Dale Kasler of the Sacramento Bee:
At an afternoon press conference, FPPC enforcement chief Gary Winuk said Hansen should have known state law required him to report his $100,000 contribution. “It’s not like a local school board candidate running for the first time,” Winuk said.
On June 21, Hansen donated $100,000 to a group gathering signatures in Sacramento. His contribution came just weeks after the National Basketball Association owners vetoed his deal to buy the team and move it to Seattle.
The shocking revelation came in campaign documents filed this afternoon with the Secretary of State by an Orange County political action committee.
While concerning, this news will likely fly under the radar of most NBA fans, but doesn’t mean it won’t hurt Hansen’s chances for luring an NBA franchise back to Seattle in the future.
“It kind of made me sick to my stomach,” Hansen said. He added that he would go after another city’s team again only if he was convinced the team was going to leave.
Hansen has also held out hope that the NBA will grant his group an expansion team. The NBA left Seattle for Oklahoma City in 2008.
Onto more news from around the NBA
Speaking of buying NBA teams, a venture capitalist has purchased a minority stake in the Golden State Warriors: “Silicon Valley venture capitalist Mark Stevens has purchased the minority stake in the Golden State Warriors previously held by new Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive. The agreement announced Friday makes Stevens an executive board member, joining the ownership group led by Joe Lacob and Peter Guber. Terms of the purchase were not released. Stevens is the managing partner of the investment company S-Cubed Capital in Menlo Park, Calif. He also is a special limited partner and former managing partner at Sequoia Capital, a global venture capital firm.”
The Milwaukee Bucks are nearing a $44 million extension with budding forward Larry Sanders: “Sanders, 24, emerged as a breakout talent for the Bucks in his third NBA season, averaging 9.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game. He’s become one of the league’s best rim protectors and the anchor of the franchise’s frontline. The Bucks have undergone a significant makeover in the offseason under general manager John Hammond, who hired Larry Drew as coach and signed free agents O.J. Mayo, Carlos Delfino and Zaza Pachulia. The Bucks also acquired guard Luke Ridnour as part of a three-team deal. Sanders is one of several class of 2010 players in line to receive contract extensions before the October 31 deadline to complete them. The Bucks drafted Sanders with the 15th overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft out of Virginia Commonwealth.”
