HoopsHype.com Rumors

David Aldridge: Asked if league is risking alienating Seattle it rejects sale, Stern says, "..there's going to be a disappointed city, one way or another." Twitter @daldridgetnt

Sacramento Kings, David Stern 

Jeff Zillgitt: David Stern on expansion: "I don’t want to say a complete non-starter. Was there any discussion of expansion? The answer is no." Twitter @JeffZillgitt

Sacramento Kings, David Stern 

Ken Berger: Stern, citing the unprecedented nature of decision, says, "This is the first time in 47 years that I haven't known the answer." Twitter @KBergCBS

Sacramento Kings, David Stern 

Scott Howard-Cooper: Stern: Future discussions with competition committee on expanded use of instant replay. Twitter @SHowardCooper

David Stern 

Jeff Zillgitt: NBA owners also discussed impact of three-point shot on the game. "When teams are hot, it's a thing of beauty. When they're not ..." Twitter @JeffZillgitt

David Stern 

Ken Berger: On HGH testing next season, Stern says, "I don't want to put words in the mouth of a union leader who hasn't been selected yet." Twitter @KBergCBS

David Stern 

The NBA confirmed Tuesday it will not vote this week when the league’s Board of Governors meets in New York to discuss a sale of the Sacramento Kings to a group that would relocate the team to Seattle for the 2013-14 season. Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn said Tuesday he had been told by NBA Commissioner David Stern in a phone conversation Monday that the league needed more time to sort things out. Seattle Times

New York Knicks, Sacramento Kings, Seattle SuperSonics, Joe Maloof, David Stern, Gavin Maloof, Kevin Johnson, Chris Hansen 

McGinn said the NBA was looking to “tee up” the decision with its discussion this week and that Stern was in the “same place” he was after a meeting with representatives of each city in New York two weeks ago. Stern had said after those meetings, when each city made 90-minute presentations to the league’s Relocation/Finance Committee, comprising eight team owners, that the league might not be ready to vote by the time of the Board of Governors (BOG) meetings. Those meetings are held each year at the conclusion of the regular season. Seattle Times

New York Knicks, Sacramento Kings, Seattle SuperSonics, Joe Maloof, David Stern, Gavin Maloof, Kevin Johnson, Chris Hansen 

A league source told The Seattle Times that it is thought the Sacramento offer did not include the increase, nor did it include a $30 million nonrefundable deposit made by the Hansen group to the current controlling owners, the Maloof family. Seattle Times

New York Knicks, Sacramento Kings, Seattle SuperSonics, Joe Maloof, David Stern, Gavin Maloof, Kevin Johnson, Chris Hansen 

League sources say the vote wasn’t delayed, because it was never placed on the agenda for the meetings this week. But that didn’t stop speculation that the league might use the extra time to at least consider adding an expansion team. Seattle Times

New York Knicks, Sacramento Kings, Seattle SuperSonics, Joe Maloof, David Stern, Gavin Maloof, Kevin Johnson, Chris Hansen 

One league source said it could be possible the league would consider allowing Hansen to buy and move the Kings (re-branding them as the Sonics) and give Sacramento an expansion team (allowing them to stay the Kings). Seattle Times

New York Knicks, Sacramento Kings, Seattle SuperSonics, Joe Maloof, David Stern, Gavin Maloof, Kevin Johnson, Chris Hansen 

On why more NBA players don’t interact with fans on Twitter: “It’s something that has been perpetrated by the front office of the NBA, telling us not to do that. So basically, [they’re] telling us that we need to be above other people in society because [we’re] better than that. Better than what? What am I better than?” Washington Post

Washington Wizards, Martell Webster, Twitter, David Stern 

A franchise in Seattle would pay into the NBA's new revenue-sharing plan, while Sacramento would be receiving bailouts from revenue-sharing. The economy of Seattle is growing, while Sacramento's is shrinking -- and media rights for an NBA franchise in Seattle would be almost double the rights fees earned by Sacramento. A new arena in Sacramento cannot be built within three years, as proposed by Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson. Based on an intrinsic set of checks-and-balances in California that have delayed local stadium projects by the Giants and 49ers, the Kings can expect to need at least six years to complete a new arena in Sacramento. The current site for a new arena in downtown Sacramento may not be viable. SI.com

Sacramento Kings, Seattle SuperSonics, David Stern, Kevin Johnson 

Hansen's group told NBA owners that Seattle has 13 companies rated in the Fortune 1000; Sacramento has none. The Seattle economy has been ranked among the top five in the U.S. for the last four years, according to the independent research firm POLICOM, while Sacramento has dropped from No. 19 in 2011 to No. 55 this year. The Seattle group told owners that Sacramento's fall has been structural rather than cyclical, based on Sacramento's emphasis on residential home construction leading up to the recent housing crisis. When the housing bubble burst, the Sacramento economy was hit hard. Seattle's 32,555 season-ticket requests at the time of the meeting last week was more than three times the number of pledges of Sacramento. SI.com

Sacramento Kings, Seattle SuperSonics, David Stern, Chris Hansen 

The 2008 departure of the Sonics has appeared to influence Stern's approach to the movement of franchises -- and therefore made it more difficult for Seattle to regain an NBA franchise. When the Hornets were in danger of being sold to an owner who might have moved the franchise out of New Orleans, Stern took the drastic step of using NBA money to buy the franchise. He was committed to keeping the team in New Orleans and sold the team for $338 million to Tom Benson, the local owner of the Saints, who next season will rebrand them as the Pelicans while entrenching the team in Louisiana. "He can't have a second incident of helping a team leave a market," said an NBA owner of Stern. "Seattle was bad enough. And I'm sure he feels that Seattle had a chance to keep the team the first time around. "The bottom line is that the incumbent always gets the last shot. You don't want teams moving around." SI.com

New Orleans Hornets, Sacramento Kings, Seattle SuperSonics, David Stern, Tom Benson 

But Stern may not have the power to influence owners to see things as he sees them. "I think their whole business plan is flawed -- that the real estate numbers don't work, that they don't have enough money to make any of it happen," the owner said of Sacramento group's proposal to buy the Kings and prevent them from moving to Seattle. "So from all I can tell right now, it fails. "But," the owner added, "that could change if they brought in someone with big dollars." SI.com

Sacramento Kings, Seattle SuperSonics, David Stern 

NBA commissioner David Stern said the sale of the Sacramento Kings would not become a bidding war. Chris Hansen and the group seeking to purchase the Kings and move them to Seattle is making moves that prove otherwise. The Seattle group led by Hansen and Microsoft chairman Steve Ballmer announced Friday night they had reached agreement with the Maloof family to raise the purchase price of the Kings by $25 million to an NBA-record $550 million. In a statement on his website, Sonicsarena.com, Hansen said the group has voluntarily raised the purchase price as a sign of commitment in bringing the NBA back to Seattle. ESPN.com

Sacramento Kings, Seattle SuperSonics, David Stern, Steve Ballmer, Chris Hansen 

On Thursday, sources close to the Maloofs said that if the Sacramento group submits a matching offer that satisfies the league's other owners, they will embrace an outcome that keeps the Kings in Sacramento. The league is expected to address the situation at the April 18-19 annual ownership meetings. Because of the complexity and unprecedented nature of the proceedings, however, with two legitimate groups bidding for one established team, league Commissioner David Stern has indicated the matter might not be resolved until later this month. Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Kings, Joe Maloof, David Stern, Gavin Maloof 

NBA Commissioner David Stern, widely thought to be a strong supporter of moving the Sacramento Kings to Seattle, has been working to bolster efforts to keep the Kings in place. Multiple sources suggested Wednesday that a split has emerged between Stern and team owners over the fate of the Kings. Those sources, spanning the league and governments in Sacramento and Seattle, said Stern has been quietly maneuvering behind the scenes to propel a Sacramento counter bid. They said he has been personally seeking investors to join a new Kings ownership group -- even after several NBA team owners last week indicated their willingness to move the franchise to Seattle. king5.com

Sacramento Kings, Seattle SuperSonics, David Stern 

Sam Amick: People started assuming that David Stern wanted to put a team back in Seattle as part of his legacy. I just don't agree with that and the evidence is starting to really showing that that's not the case. news10.net

Sacramento Kings, Seattle SuperSonics, David Stern, Kevin Johnson