Sacramento Kings moving franchise to the OC, CA.

Billionaire Ron Burkle expresses interest in buying Kings and keeping them in Sacto...

http://www.laobserved.com/biz/2011/04/ron_burkle_expresses.php

 

If the Maloofs refuse to sell, he might buy the Hornets from the NBA and move them to Sacramento.

If the Maloofs have a legitimate buyer, the NBA will likely be less likely to let them move.

 

Would the other owners accept Burkle? Or is this a Jim Balsille-like situation, where the owners want no part of Burkle joining their "club?"

 

Isn't Burkle a close friend of Bill Clinton?

 

But, from what I'm seeing on the wires after the Board of Governors' meeting, the Maloofs ain't selling.

 

Not now and maybe they don't want to sell ever, but the $75M cash they get from Anaheim is the driving force on that deal because they desperately need it for the rest of their business. And in six months to a year they're going to need more cash to feed that beast, so unless Vegas turns around in that short span, they're going to be up against the same cash shortage then, and they're going to have no other option but to sell.

 

That has to be Sacramento's only hope. I think it was mentioned uptopic, but a bill was introduced into the legislature earlier this week that would require the Kings to pay the city back about $77M for arena work. I expect it to sail through even California's cocamaimie statehouse.

If that happens, I'm sure Stern will come down from Olympus and say the arena formerly known as Arco will make do for a few years until they can get something else built, much like Bill White had the Giants come up with a plan to get out of Candlestick when he blocked a move to Tampa Bay. But that was 1992, and this is now.

 

Get off it. No "major league" is ever going to allow contraction.

Period.

 

Why not? Let's say the Hornets are worth 300M. So other 29 owners get about 10 M apiece if they sell. I read that the NBA television contracts are worth about 900M a year. Split 30 ways that is 30M a year. Split 29 ways that is 31M. So each team receives an extra 1M a year a team on a 10M investment. And also an increased in other shared revenues such as internatonal rights, etc. So a guaranteed 10+% return on investment, not bad.

 

I agree. It's just a threat they use to try to get the players' union in line.

 

I don't necessarily disagree. But you basically telling people to get real is funny coming from someone who is so absurdly hyperbolic about the various leagues crushing the players' unions. Your stance looks especially ridiculous when it comes to the MLBPA.