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Shawn Kemp said he thought the NBA used the weight of the Seattle group led by Chris Hansen and Steve Ballmer to rally investors in Sacramento. "It seems like we were used a little bit as leverage here in Seattle," Kemp said, "and it feels that way, too." Seattle Times

Sacramento Kings, Seattle SuperSonics, Shawn Kemp, Steve Ballmer, Chris Hansen 

Kemp said, as a player, he never had a problem with Stern but that statement raised his eyebrows. "I felt like David kind of stuck it to us today," he said. "I thought that was disrespectful for the city of Seattle to see, and for a commissioner that runs the NBA that was very disrespectful. In my eyes, it just told me what we're dealing with." Seattle Times

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

Sam Amick: Seattle contingent enters BOG meeting, with Chris Hansen, Gavin Maloof, Bob Hernreich. No Steve Ballmer, which is odd. Twitter @sam_amick

Sacramento Kings, Gavin Maloof, Owners, Steve Ballmer, Chris Hansen, Bob Hernreich 

George Maloof, one of the members of the family that owns the Sacramento Kings, said again today their desire is to sell the team to a Seattle group led by Chris Hansen and Steve Ballmer. Maloof is in Dallas in advance of the NBA Board of Governors meetings tomorrow, and in a brief interview as he walked through the lobby, reiterated the family’s long stance about selling the team to the Seattle group. “We have a binding agreement,” he said. “That’s our commitment, to Chris and Steve. We want to see it through.” Seattle Times

Sacramento Kings, George Maloof, Owners, Steve Ballmer, Chris Hansen 

But now that Seattle’s advances have been rebuffed by the NBA, sources say it’s Ballmer that has taken on a larger role in decision-making for the Seattle ownership group. The polar opposite of the soft-spoken hedge fund manager in Hansen – Ballmer is known for being loud and outrageous. Vanity Fair ran a seething piece (Microsoft’s Lost Decade) last August detailing a violent incident and more. NBCSports.com

Sacramento Kings, Seattle SuperSonics, Steve Ballmer 

Now that Ballmer has taken on a larger role with the Seattle group, league sources tell PBT that the same bravado he has employed with Microsoft is turning heads at the league office – and not in a good way. It’s no secret that Ballmer is a handful — but a well-connected and filthy rich handful that the NBA would love to have in its stable. At least that was the case. According to league sources speaking to PBT under condition of anonymity, the recent power plays made by Seattle and the Maloof family have “started to weigh on the NBA to the point where any Ballmer-led proposal now or in the future could fall on deaf ears if he doesn’t change course.” NBCSports.com

Sacramento Kings, Seattle SuperSonics, Steve Ballmer 

When asked to clarify, the source said that should the Seattle group continue to pursue a scorched earth policy with the Sacramento marketplace, they would jeopardize the city’s ability to secure an NBA team down the road should an opportunity present itself. When asked how Seattle got to that point, several sources with knowledge of the situation have told PBT that once they recognized the Sacramento bid was likely to meet league requirements, and ultimately secure the Kings, then decision-making for Seattle’s strategy and PR effort slowly shifted into Ballmer’s hands. That strategy has been at odds with the due process the NBA has been following, and recently it has been at odds with the NBA itself. NBCSports.com

Sacramento Kings, Seattle SuperSonics, Steve Ballmer 

“He’s on a rampage,” said one source. “He assumed he could backdoor Sacramento with a willing partner in the Maloofs, but he underestimated Sacramento and now he thinks he can twist enough arms around the league to force his way into the association.” NBCSports.com

Sacramento Kings, Seattle SuperSonics, Steve Ballmer 

The Hansen-Ballmer agreement to purchase 65 percent of the team from the Maloofs would now be based on a valuation of $550 million, an increase of $25 million. Now, Hansen has sweetened the pot again -- increasing the franchise valuation by another $75 million as part of a backup plan to buy 20 percent of the team from the Maloofs if owners formally reject relocation on Wednesday in Dallas. CBSSports.com

Sacramento Kings, Seattle SuperSonics, Joe Maloof, Steve Ballmer, Chris Hansen 

Aaron Bruski: Source: “Ballmer is playing a game of Russian Roulette with SEA’s NBA future. He can’t throw money at the problem like this is Microsoft.” Twitter @aaronbruski

Sacramento Kings, Seattle SuperSonics, Joe Maloof, Gavin Maloof, Steve Ballmer, Vivek Ranadive, Chris Hansen 

Aaron Bruski: Source: The idea that Hansen/Ballmer would own any portion of the Kings while they play in Sacramento is a “non-starter.” Twitter @aaronbruski

Sacramento Kings, Seattle SuperSonics, Joe Maloof, Gavin Maloof, Steve Ballmer, Vivek Ranadive, Chris Hansen 

Mayor Kevin Johnson is so confident that the Kings are staying put, he's got some advice for the guys trying to buy the team and move it to Seattle: Back off. While saying he understands why they are putting up a fight, Johnson said Tuesday that hedge fund manager Chris Hansen and Microsoft executive Steve Ballmer should "take the high road and be gracious." Hansen and Ballmer have said they are still exploring their options after the NBA's relocation committee recommended by a 7-0 vote against their plan to move the Kings to the Emerald City. "Once the relocation committee spoke as loud and as clear as it did, I would probably take a step back and understand that I'm probably not going to get this team, so how can I put Seattle in the best possible position to get a team moving forward?" the mayor said. Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Kings, Seattle SuperSonics, Steve Ballmer, Kevin Johnson, Chris Hansen 

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson says if he were leading the Seattle group trying to move the Sacramento Kings, he’d give up. The mayor says Seattle should focus on the next opportunity to get an NBA franchise, "Once the relocation committee spoke as loud and as clear as it did, I would probably take a step back and understand that I'm probably not going to get this team so how can I put Seattle, Ballmer, Hansen, the Nordstrom family and anybody else from Seattle in the best possible position to get a team going forward. I would take the high road and I'd be gracious." Capital Public Radio

Sacramento Kings, Owners, Steve Ballmer, Kevin Johnson, Chris Hansen 

Sacramento's bid would be a backup to the deal the Maloofs struck to sell the Kings to a Seattle investor group. Seattle's investors were dealt a serious setback Monday, when the NBA relocation committee voted 7-0 to recommend blocking the team's proposed relocation to the Pacific Northwest. The league hasn't yet ruled on the Seattle group's actual purchase, so the $357 million deal remains in place between the Maloofs and Seattle investors Chris Hansen and Steve Ballmer. Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Kings, Owners, Steve Ballmer, Chris Hansen 

In a unanimous vote of the league's combined Relocation and Finance committees Monday afternoon, 12 NBA owners recommended that the league's Board of Governors vote to deny the relocation of the Kings to Seattle — and, in doing so, deny the sale of the team from the Maloof Family to a Seattle-based group led by hedge fund manager Chris Hansen and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. The recommendation will be taken up by the full Board for a formal vote the week of May 13. But it is almost certain that the full Board will go along with the recommendation and vote to keep the Kings in Sacramento, at least for another year. NBA.com

Sacramento Kings, Seattle SuperSonics, Steve Ballmer, Chris Hansen 

One league executive Tuesday described the commissioner as "anguishing" over the process that consists of competing offers for one team, proposals for new arenas in Sacramento and Seattle, and questions pertaining to the prudence and practicality of relocating an established incumbent franchise that sold out 19 of 28 seasons. It's unclear whether the Sacramento group, led by software tycoon Vivek Ranadive, satisfied Stern's request for more "details" regarding the counteroffer to the record-setting agreement the Maloofs signed with the Seattle-based group headed by Chris Hansen and Steve Ballmer. Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Kings, Seattle SuperSonics, David Stern, Steve Ballmer, Adam Silver, Vivek Ranadive, Chris Hansen 

The Sacramento contingent seeking to buy the Kings held back Saturday from delivering a counter to an increased bid for the franchise from Seattle, instead portraying the new offer as a move of desperation that is unlikely to sway the NBA's decision on which city will get the franchise. It remained unclear Saturday when the Sacramento group would file its own formal and written offer for the team - or whether that bid would match the new offer on the table from a Seattle contingent led by hedge fund manager Chris Hansen and Microsoft executive Steve Ballmer. A legal expert told The Bee that the NBA has the right to accept a lower offer. Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Kings, Seattle SuperSonics, Steve Ballmer, Chris Hansen 

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 

Conversely, if the Seattle bid for majority ownership (a league-record $525 million valuation headed by Hansen and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer) is approved by the Board of Governors, then the minority stake surely would be approved as well. In essence, Johnson and his people have decided this subplot is not a factor at the moment and that they would prefer to react to the NBA's processes rather than follow through on their initial approach. It is a don't-sweat-the-small-stuff move that comes at a time when it seems increasingly possible that they might pull off the biggest of upsets. USA Today Sports

Sacramento Kings, Seattle SuperSonics, Steve Ballmer, Kevin Johnson, Chris Hansen 

The Maloofs had been unwilling to make any deal with local investors who wanted to keep the team in Sacramento. But the family is now willing to sign a deal with the Sacramento group that would be an acceptable backup plan if the NBA rejects the sale of the team to the Seattle group, led by hedge fund manager Chris Hansen and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. The match, the source said, would have to include the same $30 million non-refundable deposit that Hansen's group made as part of its offer to buy 65 percent of the Kings from the Maloofs. That would mean a franchise valuation of $525 million. NBA.com

Sacramento Kings, Seattle SuperSonics, Joe Maloof, Gavin Maloof, Steve Ballmer, Chris Hansen