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SI.com: The Sacramento Bee had published a copy of the non-binding term sheet and it certainly seemed as if the family had agreed to pay that portion of the pre-development fees. What am I missing here? It certainly seemed as if this was something was agreed on before. Maloof: Absolutely not, and everybody knows it. And like I've told everybody today, if anybody says otherwise, then they're lying. From day one, that was an issue that we had. And there are other issues. That was one that we were vehemently against, for a couple of reasons. No. 1: As a developer -- and I've developed lots of properties -- you're used to paying those types of fees, those pre-development costs and consultants or architectural fees. I've never passed that fee onto my tenant, so it didn't make sense. I'm sure someplace in the world, a tenant has paid for a pre-development cost, but the customary way is that they don't pay for that. Not only that, but [the city] asked us to pay for AEG's cost if the deal didn't happen, and that's just not a fair deal. I just didn't believe that was fair from day one. SI.com

Sacramento Kings, George Maloof 

SI.com: The rumblings from your fans about you guys just not wanting to be in Sacramento and trying to get out started up pretty quickly again after the L.A. Times story broke. You feel like addressing that sentiment? Maloof: Not true. Absolutely not true. That's 100 percent not true. When we give our commitment to something, we're going to see it through. It doesn't mean that there's not going to be issues as we go along -- that's the normal course of business and that's the way it works. We're not secretly talking to anybody else nor would we do that. SI.com: No discussions in the background with Anaheim or anybody else? Maloof: No. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. SI.com

Sacramento Kings, George Maloof 

Building a new arena for the Sacramento Kings by the 2015 NBA season opener is fraught with challenges, the greatest of which may be the increasing skepticism of the team's owners that it can be accomplished. Documents reviewed by The Times this week show Kings owners Joe, Gavin and George Maloof dispute that they have a firm agreement to participate in a new entertainment and sports complex in the city. Additionally, in a Wednesday letter delivered to city leaders under the subject “ESC feasibility concerns,” the Maloofs’ attorney writes “unresolved issues regarding the … project remain … .” Los Angeles Times

Sacramento Kings, Joe Maloof, George Maloof 

The Sacramento City Council will be asked Tuesday to allocate $6.5 million in city funds to take another major step toward building a sports and entertainment arena in the downtown railyard. Five million dollars would come from profits the city made when it sold the Sheraton Grand Hotel several years ago. That money had been set aside to fund further downtown redevelopment. The remaining $1.5 million of the city's share would come from the city parking fund. The money will be used to finance predevelopment work for the facility, such as environmental studies and arena design. Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Kings, Joe Maloof, George Maloof 

The NBA today came to the rescue of Sacramento's arena deal, agreeing to advance about $200,000 in pre-development costs after the Kings' owners balked at paying the money. This money represents the first installment of the Kings' share of pre-development costs totalling $3.26 million. NBA Commissioner David Stern, in a statement to The Bee, said those pre- development expenses must be paid quickly. "Those discussions have stalled, but I have advised Mayor Johnson that the NBA will advance pre-development expenses on behalf of the Kings pending our report to the NBA Board of Governors at its meeting on April 12-13." Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Kings, Joe Maloof, David Stern, George Maloof 

Early Thursday afternoon, the Sacramento Bee reported that the Maloofs are resisting paying predevelopment costs associated with constructing the proposed downtown arena. NBA Commissioner David Stern then issued the following statement: Following the agreement in principle that was reached on Feb 27 among the City of Sacramento, AEG & the Kings for a new arena, the parties have been attempting to reach agreement on funding the pre-development expenses that must be incurred in order for the project to move forward in a timely fashion. Those discussions have stalled but I have advised Mayor Johnson that the NBA will advance pre-development expenses on behalf of the Kings pending out report to the NBA Board of Governors at its meeting on April 12-13. Cowbell Kingdom

Sacramento Kings, Joe Maloof, David Stern, George Maloof 

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson also issued a statement of his own late this evening: The success of the new entertainment and sports complex depends on complete trust and partnership among all parties. It was with that spirit that we all agreed to a deal in Orlando including the Maloof family, who looked an entire room in the eye and promised their commitment to Sacramento. In light of the Maloofs’ promise, we fully expect all parties to live up to their commitments. Cowbell Kingdom

Sacramento Kings, Joe Maloof, George Maloof, Kevin Johnson 

The city's decades-long fight for a new arena came down to a single question. It was Sunday afternoon, and Mayor Kevin Johnson sat across the negotiating table from the Maloof brothers, whose family has owned the Sacramento Kings since 1999. He looked them in the eye and asked, "Are you committed to Sacramento?" If they weren't, he said, there was no point continuing the talks. "Each of them, one after another, said, 'Yes, we want to be in Sacramento,' " the mayor recounted Monday, saying he hugged Joe, Gavin and George Maloof. "I knew at that point we had an excellent opportunity of making this deal happen." Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Kings, Joe Maloof, David Stern, George Maloof, Kevin Johnson 

There was some uncertainty leading up to that exchange. The Maloofs had met privately with NBA officials for hours on Sunday, as city officials huddled in a separate conference room or in the hallway. During those talks, the NBA laid out the proposed financing plan to the Kings owners – a plan the NBA and Sacramento officials had negotiated without the Maloofs' direct involvement. Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Kings, Joe Maloof, David Stern, George Maloof, Kevin Johnson 

The focus of those talks, according to interviews with multiple people briefed on the negotiations who were not authorized to speak publicly, was developing a plan to close a $35 million gap between what the city wanted from the Maloofs and what the family offered to put into the arena effort at the start of the weekend. That task got a bump from a phone call Monday morning. As negotiations stretched into a third day, Johnson called AEG, the giant arena operator the city is counting on to provide $50 million toward the project's cost in exchange for running the facility and collecting much of the revenue. The mayor asked AEG for more. The company agreed, pledging nearly $60 million. It's yet not clear what AEG got in exchange – city officials were reluctant to disclose all the details until legal wording is finalized for a "term sheet" to be released to the public Thursday. The AEG pledge was celebrated by high-fives handed out by Johnson, according to a source involved in the talks. Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Kings, Joe Maloof, David Stern, George Maloof, Kevin Johnson 

While Stern did not release details of that support, a source said he was indicating the league's willingness to provide a financial safety net to the Maloofs to help them come up with their share of upfront funding for an arena. With the phone call to AEG and the NBA's support in hand, it wasn't long into Monday's negotiating session – within the first hour, the mayor said – that "everyone in the room knew it was going to happen." "You want to celebrate," he said. "It's like you know you have more points than the other team, but there's still time on the clock and you can't celebrate quite yet." Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Kings, Joe Maloof, David Stern, George Maloof, Kevin Johnson 

The city and the Kings announced a tentative deal this morning to build a new arena in the downtown Sacramento railyard. More than half the money would come from leasing the city's parking to a private operator, but the team's owners say they've also agreed to pay $75 million upfront. George Maloof, the family member who pushed the hardest to move to Anaheim last year, said he believes the deal with Sacramento will allow the team to sustain itself financially for years in Sacramento, a small-market city. "We're going to have a new building, we'll be able to attract players. It will be much easier." "My family is making a major commitment. I think it is a fair deal. We gave a lot. Everybody had to give. Sometimes you have to take chances and we think this is worth taking." Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Kings, Joe Maloof, George Maloof, Kevin Johnson 

The Maloofs and mayor Kevin Johnson’s team return to the bargaining table Monday morning in Orlando after a deal wasn’t struck between the two sides in the push for a new Sacramento arena. “We are not there yet,” Gavin Maloof told me as the three brothers walked alone once the meetings were called for the night. Cowbell Kingdom

Sacramento Kings, Joe Maloof, David Stern, George Maloof, Gavin Maloof, Kevin Johnson 

Despite the talks going for more than seven hours Sunday, the Maloofs appeared a bit relieved. Even George cracked a smile when I asked them if they were on a “brothers’ walk.” Mayor Johnson believed forward progress had been made inside the conference rooms at the Waldorf Astoria. “I am excited where we are,” he said. “It is a very productive day for Sacramento. We have taken one step closer.” Johnson said the city and the Maloofs are in problem-solving mode, but declined to further expand on what continues to prevent a deal from being struck. “We do not want to get in that. It would not be healthy for any of us to negotiate in the public.” Cowbell Kingdom

Sacramento Kings, Joe Maloof, David Stern, George Maloof, Gavin Maloof, Kevin Johnson 

Not long after Stern spoke, a surreal scene unfolded as the Maloof brothers -- from oldest brother Joe to the younger Gavin and George -- were followed into a gift shop and eventually relented for a short chat with media. But while Joe and Gavin took it all in stride, smiling for the cameras and promising to talk later, a glum-looking George floated by himself on the outside of the chaos. As the two sides attempt to resolve the portion of the $387 million pie that would be paid for by the Maloofs, a source close to the negotiations said it is abundantly clear that George remains an obstacle to a possible deal. After Johnson told reporters that both he and the Maloofs agreed that the "city has done its part" in this equation, George told SI.com that he didn't agree. "I'm not convinced yet," George said when told of Johnson's comment. "I'm not 100 percent convinced. I think they're trying. We just got their deal today. "It's a lot of different things [being discussed], a lot of different areas. You know, we just got it Sunday, so we're still trying to figure it out." SI.com

Sacramento Kings, Joe Maloof, David Stern, George Maloof, Gavin Maloof, Kevin Johnson 

Long before the talks broke up about 10 p.m. EST Sunday, set to reconvene this morning, two developments suggested all the participants are aggressively, emotionally and intensely engaged in the arena negotiations with Thursday's deadline looming. 1) NBA Commissioner David Stern, who left the hotel where the talks were being held to attend the All-Star Game at Amway Center, planned to rejoin the session into the wee hours, if necessary. 2) Joe, Gavin and George Maloof went hours without a meal. Stern's affinity for the Kings and Sacramento have been obvious for years. He likes the community, is protective of the market and has been expending tremendous energy and time to facilitate a deal. Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Kings, Joe Maloof, David Stern, George Maloof, Gavin Maloof, Kevin Johnson 

George had hoped for a short afternoon session and a flight back home to Las Vegas. Instead, he sat with his brothers through roughly seven hours of formal discussions, preceded by two to three hours of meetings with Kings officials, and is coming back for more. "We're encouraged," Stern said late Sunday night. "My guys (the Maloofs) think Sacramento wants them to stay and they want to be there. We're trying to find a way to make that happen. Everybody worked really hard today, and we're meeting again in the morning. That's a good thing." Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Kings, Joe Maloof, David Stern, George Maloof, Gavin Maloof, Kevin Johnson 

That railyard project is a two-way street. Sac wants them. Do they want Sac? "Yes, yes, absolutely," Joe told a television reporter. "We've been here 14 years. We love Sacramento. We really want this to work." And on and on it went. Sightings for bathroom breaks. The commissioner leaving for the game – contrary to rumors, not in a helicopter – and checking text updates from Litvin during timeouts. Johnson canceling his 6 a.m. flight today. The Maloofs booking another night of hotel rooms and taking a long, private stroll around the massive pool area before driving to dinner. "We're trying, we're trying," Joe said. "But I can't say anything … " Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Kings, Joe Maloof, David Stern, George Maloof, Gavin Maloof, Kevin Johnson 

One party that won't be included in today's talks is the Sacramento Kings, who would likely be tenants in the new facility. "We've decided to let the NBA take the lead on this, but we are in very close contact with the league and are briefed regularly when new updates are available," said team spokesman Chris Clark. Kings co-owner George Maloof, asked about the Dallas meeting, said, "We weren't invited." "They're going to meet and they're going to get back to us," he said. "That's been the process. It's a little strange, but we're anxiously awaiting what they have." Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Kings, George Maloof 

What are their roles in this? KJ: Joe and Gavin Maloof are going to focus on the basketball operations for the 2011-2012 season. They're going to get out there in the community, talk up the team, sell season tickets, become part of this community in a more intensified way than they've done in the past The other brother, George Maloof, he's the one going to be the point on the entertainment sports complex. He is working with the NBA. USA Today

Sacramento Kings, George Maloof, Gavin Maloof, Kevin Johnson, Anaheim