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As I write this, my hands are shaking. News that we have been dreading for a few years now appears to have arrived in the form of this report from the well-respected Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
The Maloofs are finalizing an agreement to sell the Sacramento Kings to the Hansen-Ballmer led Seattle group, sources tell Yahoo! Sports.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) January 9, 2013
The deal will sell the Kings for approximately $500 million, with the Seattle group seeking relocation to Key Arena for the 2013-'14 season.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) January 9, 2013
No agreement signed, but one source describes deal as "1st and goal at 1." Maloofs history of changing course late still makes many uneasy.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) January 9, 2013
There was a rumor last night from Daina Falk, daughter of Sports Agent David Falk, that a deal was being done but sources refuted the claim. This latest news appears to be concrete though. Sam Amick had dropped that $500 million number in an article a couple weeks ago as one the Maloofs would be willing to sell at. This also comes on the heels of another failed relocation attempt, this time to Virginia Beach.
Unlike a relocation, a sale is much harder to block. The Board of Governors does have to approve any sale, but is very unlikely to disapprove of a deal that not only brings basketball back to Seattle but removes the Maloofs from the league.
This is not a good day to be a Sacramento Kings fan.