The Sacramento Kings have been staying their execution for quite some time. Will their sentence be commuted to keep them in the capital city? The Seattle Times reports.
In a joint statement released Wednesday, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and NBA Commissioner David Stern said they have agreed to a "work plan" in hopes of reaching a deal to finance a new Sacramento arena by a March 1 deadline.
Johnson, Stern and the Maloof family, which owns the Kings, will meet this weekend in Orlando, Fla.
If a plan can been hammered out in time, a term sheet will be announced March 1 and the Sacramento City Council will vote on the plan at a March 6 meeting.
Two big points to interpret.
1) The Mayor's office is confident he has the votes, but needs to put the full plan in place wants to make sure the city council doesn't rush, and make sure that they come to a proper decision and a correct vote. As long as David Stern delays the deadline to move the team (which is March 1st), it only means both sides need more time to iron out the financial issues.
2) The delays seem to be a result of disagreement between AEG (the people putting the plan together to keep Sacramento) and the Kings about how much money they need to put up to keep the team in Sacramento. The Kings owners are expected to put up a certain amount of money to keep the team here, and they may not agree on how much AEG is asking them.
To talk about the Kings and the relocation efforts, head on over to Sactown Royalty.