Update, 4 p.m.: Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson said in a press conference Wednesday afternoon that if the Maloof brothers were planning to sell the Sacramento Kings, they should sell to someone locally to avoid moving the team.
"It appears to me for the first time they have publicly shown a desire to sell the team, and that's what's significant," Johnson said. "We need to put ourselves in a position to find an ownership group and buyers to keep the team in Sacramento."
Johnson said NBA fans in Sacramento have shown 27 years of loyal support, adding that the city is "a proven market" where the Kings get 100 percent of professional sports marketshare.
Johnson said investors have spoken to him in the past about a desire to buy the team.
—Justin Cox and Cody Kitaura
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Update, 3:10 p.m.: Citing anonymous sources, The Sacramento Bee has confirmed that owners of the Sacramento Kings are in talks with Chris Hansen's investment group. But the newspaper says the discussion has been "conceptual" so far and that no official offer has been made.
The Maloof family, which owns the Kings, has previously said it would not sell the team, the Bee reported.
"If someone was to put a crazy number on the table, their perspective could change," an anonymous source told the paper. "If somebody like a (Chris) Hansen (the head of the Seattle group) were to actually make an offer, which hasn't happened yet, and that offer was ridiculous, things could change."
—Caitlin Moran
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Facebook and Twitter are buzzing this morning with rumors that the investors behind the new Seattle arena are about to purchase the Sacramento Kings for $500 million.
Do you believe the rumors are true? If they are, what's your reaction? Tell us in the comments section.
Many media outlets are citing tweets from Yahoo! Sports reporter Adrian Wojnarowski claiming that Chris Hansen and Steve Ballmer are about to close a $500-million deal that would bring the team to Seattle.
But a Sacramento Kings official has called the report inaccurate, according to the Sacramento Bee.
Lead investor Chris Hansen reached a deal with the city of Seattle in September to build a $490-million basketball and hockey arena in the SoDo area. The agreement paved the way for an NBA team to return to Seattle.
—Caitlin Moran
