DJ COMMUNITY

Sacramento Kings on verge of becoming Sonics

Sam Amick, USA TODAY Sports9:12p.m. EST January 21, 2013

(Photo: Ted S. Warren AP)

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

The Sonics left five years ago and moved to Oklahoma City to become the Thunder
It appears the Kings are valued at $525 million, a record price for an NBA team
Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson still thinks the city has a chance to keep the team

The Emerald City is on the verge of going green again.

Nearly five years after the Seattle SuperSonics became the Oklahoma City Thunder and the jewel of a city in the Northwest lost the NBA franchise that had been there since 1967, it appears the Sacramento Kings will be recycled there.

Yet after a deal was finalized over the weekend between the Maloof family that owns the Kings and the Seattle group led by hedge fund manager Chris Hansen, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and the Nordstrom family, the next question is whether anything can stand in the way of the Sonics' return.

A quick look at the process from here.

• Three people with knowledge of the situation confirmed that the Hansen-Ballmer group agreed to buy 65 percent of the team based on a league-record valuation of $525 million, meaning their price paid is approximately $341 million. While the Seattle group is expected to file for relocation by the NBA's March 1 deadline so that the Sonics would return for the 2013-14 campaign, the deal must still be considered by the NBA's relocation committee and approved by the NBA's Board of Governors.

It's unclear what the sequence of events will be, as relocation is unlikely to be approved before the sale is formalized. Stern could grant an extension on the relocation deadline if necessary as a way of allowing more time to have the Board review the proposed sale. It's unknown at this time whether the review and likely approval would be at the Board's annual mid-April meeting or at another earlier time.

Considering the deep pockets of the Hansen-Ballmer group and the fact that Seattle is, according to Arbitron, the 13th largest media market in the country and Sacramento is 27th, the overwhelming sentiment around the league is that the move would be approved. Kings co-owner Gavin Maloof, on behalf of the Maloof family, said in a statement: "We have always appreciated and treasured our ownership of the Kings and have had a great admiration for the fans and our team members. We would also like thank Chris Hansen for his professionalism during our negotiation. Chris will be a great steward for the franchise."

As part of the deal, the Maloofs - who will retain a small percentage of ownership in the Sonics but will have no say in personnel or business matters - will also receive a non-refundable $30 million deposit on Feb. 1 from the Hansen-Ballmer group that is seen as an insurance policy of sorts.

• While Hansen deemed the deal "binding" in his statement on Monday, Stern has already made it clear to Sacramento mayor and former NBA point guard Kevin Johnson will have a chance to present a counter-offer to the Board of Governors, though the timing is not yet known. What's more, a person with knowledge of the Maloofs' situation told USA TODAY Sports that it remains possible – depending on how the NBA handles the process going forward – they could sell to a Sacramento-based group if a competitive offer materialized. The person requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the situation.

Sacramento supporters are holding out hope that NBA Commissioner David Stern is so averse to the prospect of having yet another team relocate that he would advise the Board of Governors to keep the team in California's Capitol if Johnson's group came through on an offer. Stern has consistently cited the movement of franchises in the past as the biggest black eye on his tenure as commissioner.

Sacramento must also have an arena plan in place that is seen as a prerequisite to staying in this situation. Hansen has already finalized plans for a Seattle arena that would open in 2015, but the deal - which includes approximately $200 million in public financing - faces some legal hurdles relating to an environmental impact study that is ongoing. If the deal goes through, the Sonics would play at Key Arena for the first two seasons.

Johnson has been organizing his financing effort with potential owners like Mark Mastrov (a Northern California-based founder of 24-Hour fitness who lost in his bid to buy the Golden State Warriors in 2010) and Ron Burkle (a supermarket mogul and part owner of the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins). His associates continue to claim they're confident in their ability to match the Hansen-Ballmer offer and force the NBA into a tough decision that most outside of Sacramento don't see as tough at all.