The Sacramento City Council has voted unanimously to allow the city to enter negotiations with 11 firms seeking to win the contract to operate Sacramento's downtown parking facilities in exchange for an upfront payment that would contribute half or more of the funding needed to build a new entertainment and sports complex at the arena.

A week ago, the council narrowly defeated a bid to have the entire parking plan put on the June ballot, which would have halted progress and likely sent the Kings to a new city, given that the NBA's deadline for an arena funding plan is March 1. The council will next take up the issue on February 28, when a term sheet between the city, the league and operator AEG could be up for approval. That vote is expected to be more narrow, depending on how high the parking revenue comes in.

Stay tuned. February 28 is going to be a huge night for the future of the Sacramento Kings.

Some discussion in Exhibit G's FanShot.

The Sacramento Kings' offense sure broke out alright against the Chicago Bulls and their No. 1 defense on Tuesday, but unfortunately the Bulls scored a few more against Sactown's porous resistance to pick up a 121-116. Even without Derrick Rose, Chicago scored at will, shooting 52.4 percent from the floor, hitting 9-19 threes and 24 free throws. Luol Deng was the high scorer with 23, but the real killers were in the frontcourt: Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer combined for 38 points on 14-25 shooting. Noah, in particular, was deadly (22 and 11 with four blocks).

Of course, his counterpart DeMarcus Cousins had a big night, too. Boogie finished with 28 points on 10-20 shooting (7-9 line) and 17 rebounds (seven offensive). That's a mammoth game for the young monster, but having given almost all of it back to Noah isn't great. Noah's a fine player, though.

Tyreke Evans had a strong game, too, with 27 points on 9-18 shooting, eight assists and eight rebounds. He thoroughly whipped up C.J. Watson, Rose's replacement, and was especially powerful in the second half, where he tallied 20 on 7-11 shooting with six of his assists. He sat for a total of about 45 seconds in the second half, so keep an eye on his energy as the road trip wears on.

Deng won his matchup with John Salmons so thoroughly as to be almost comical. While Deng had 23, a ridiculous 11 assists and seven rebounds, Salmons managed three points on 1-8 shooting, two assists and one rebound. Salmons played most of the third, shooting 0-5 in the period. He didn't get off the bench in the fourth as Keith Smart went almost exclusively with Evans at small forward and Isaiah Thomas and Marcus Thornton in the backcourt. (Jimmer Fredette was a late scratch due to a stomach bug.) That three-guard lineup was a +16 in the fourth quarter.

Donte Greene scored 10 on 4-4 shooting and held Deng scoreless in the second quarter. Woo! Then he missed a couple of buckets in the late third/early fourth and sat for the triple-guard attack. C'est la vie.

The Kings play the Knicks on Wednesday.