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Those close to the situation in Seattle are hanging their hopes on the signed agreement with the Maloofs, the enormous wealth of Ballmer, and the more advanced environmental review process, among other things. Nonetheless, Stern's announcement that the combined finance/relocation committee members would address relocation before delving into a sale of the franchise caused some alarm in Seattle because NBA bylaws list very specific criteria that must be applied to potential moves, including the degree of support within existing communities, the region's demographics, television market size, the overall impact on the league's marketing, etc. Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Kings, Seattle SuperSonics, David Stern, Adam Silver 

The Milwaukee Bucks have told NBA Commissioner David Stern that when the team's lease at the BMO Harris Bradley Center expires in 2017 the franchise will have a plan that includes a new arena. Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Milwaukee Bucks, David Stern, Herb Kohl 

Asked whether the NBA had imposed a hard deadline of 2017 to have a new arena in place in Milwaukee, Stern said: "The Bucks came to us and said we will have a plan that will have a new arena at the end of this extension of this lease. 'And will you please give us an extension and approve it?' And we did. That's the current state of the record." Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Milwaukee Bucks, David Stern, Herb Kohl 

Sean Cunningham: Stern expects to have a vote in 3 weeks by the Board of Govs on #NBAKings Twitter @News10Sean

Sacramento Kings, David Stern 

Ken Berger: On the Kings: Stern says the committees will meet again next week and will take a vote on their recommendation and issue a report. Twitter @KBergCBS

Sacramento Kings, David Stern 

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