NBA returning to Seattle?

[SeaTown81]

2. If the Sale's rejected, then the real fireworks begin - because that's when both the Maloofs' & H/B/N can file their Anti-Trust cases. And then the true genius of the back-up offer comes into play. Maloofs still own them and are now flush with cash to operate a lame-duck franchise for 1-2 seasons, and Sacto's arena deal still evaporates. Then H/B/N just sit back and let the Maloofs do the dirtywork of Bennetting the team out of Sacto next season. (not to mention Hansen has ROFR as minority owner if the NBA is stupid enough to try and keep the local ownership group in play)

That's the Ace H/B/N slammed on the table - "Swallow your medicine, take a PR hit you can quickly recover from and give us the Kings now ... or sit through 1-2 years of Sacto getting the same scorched-earth treatment Seattle got while it also hits your bottom line in revenue sharing & TV negotiations - your choice."

But here's where I don't get too excited about this. HBN still would need league approval to become minority owners. If the NBA denies the primary sale agreement, I can't see how they'd just then go and say "OK, sure. No prob," to HBN becoming minority owners with a clear agenda. If the Maloofs and HBN can't force the NBA to let them become partners, I don't see how they hold any sort of leverage.

 

[Laloosh]

2. If the Sale's rejected, then the real fireworks begin - because that's when both the Maloofs' & H/B/N can file their Anti-Trust cases. And then the true genius of the back-up offer comes into play. Maloofs still own them and are now flush with cash to operate a lame-duck franchise for 1-2 seasons, and Sacto's arena deal still evaporates. Then H/B/N just sit back and let the Maloofs do the dirtywork of Bennetting the team out of Sacto next season. (not to mention Hansen has ROFR as minority owner if the NBA is stupid enough to try and keep the local ownership group in play)

That's the Ace H/B/N slammed on the table - "Swallow your medicine, take a PR hit you can quickly recover from and give us the Kings now ... or sit through 1-2 years of Sacto getting the same scorched-earth treatment Seattle got while it also hits your bottom line in revenue sharing & TV negotiations - your choice."

But here's where I don't get too excited about this. HBN still would need league approval to become minority owners. If the NBA denies the primary sale agreement, I can't see how they'd just then go and say "OK, sure. No prob," to HBN becoming minority owners with a clear agenda. If the Maloofs and HBN can't force the NBA to let them become partners, I don't see how they hold any sort of leverage.

I think denying the 20% is harder to say no to because it doesn't give them a controlling interest. Instead, they are simply propping up the existing owner(s).

The problem that I see, is that the NBA can argue that selling the 20% makes no sense when the Sac group can offer them the original $341M that they accepted from H/B/N originally.

But even then, they can just as easily say well, obviously $341M isn't the most that someone is willing to pay and we run a business. We see more $$$ at the end of the tunnel if we deal with H/B/N so get the **** off of my porch! We'll sue the league for denying us the opportunity to improve solvency of the team through an infusion from very wealthy partners/investors in H/B/N.

 

[Hawkfan77]

Denying Relocation is one thing but if the BOG actually rejects Hansen/Ballmer 3 separate times, oh man antitrust here we come. Stern will spend the last 8 months of his horrid tenure in a court room and I will love every second of it!! This means more than just a team here, NBA will have to open their books, all their dirty deep dark secrets will be exposed. It will be a nightmare end for Stern and I love it!

GO HANSEN! GO BALLMER! GO NORDSTROMS!

 

[Hawkfan77]

The problem that I see, is that the NBA can argue that selling the 20% makes no sense when the Sac group can offer them the original $341M that they accepted from H/B/N originally.

I keep seeing this 341 number thrown around. Last time I heard anything about the Sac group's bid was from Stern and he said it was "in the ball park" To me that means it's not even 341 million. Everyone has assumed that Sac matched Hansen's FIRST offer, and unless I missed something, I haven't see that said anywhere other than Stern's ball park comment. AND they haven't even put all of their bid in escrow yet and it's Monday May 13th, just pathetic.

Plus, even if it was 341 million, that's still less than the Maloofs stand to make with Hansen. Hansen offered what, 125 mil for 20%? Still a much better deal that 341 (which it isn't) for 65%. NBA is costing Maloofs at least 65 million and I believe it's even more because I doubt Sac's offer is actually 341.

 

[JOz56]

Denying Relocation is one thing but if the BOG actually rejects Hansen/Ballmer 3 separate times, oh man antitrust here we come. Stern will spend the last 8 months of his horrid tenure in a court room and I will love every second of it!! This means more than just a team here, NBA will have to open their books, all their dirty deep dark secrets will be exposed. It will be a nightmare end for Stern and I love it!

GO HANSEN! GO BALLMER! GO NORDSTROMS!

Yup, if we don't end up with a team in all of this, I am all for making this very very messy for the NBA in all future business dealings.

 

[Hawkfan77]

Yup, if we don't end up with a team in all of this, I am all for making this very very messy for the NBA in all future business dealings.

Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice, I'm taking you to court David Stern and will air out all your dirty laundry.

 

[Sports Hernia]

If I'm H/B/N I let the NBA know indirectly of course the MINUTE the result goes against Seattle, the Anti-trust lawsuits will be filed in federal court as the lawyers will be waiting for a phone call for the green light to file a lawsuit! ......and then if no team for Seattle, start dropping the NUKES on the NBA and watch Stern, Clay Clay and the rest of the turds fry!

 

[Hawkfan77]

Where's Slade Gorton at? Hopefully Hansen gives him a call.

 

[vedthree]

2. If the Sale's rejected, then the real fireworks begin - because that's when both the Maloofs' & H/B/N can file their Anti-Trust cases. And then the true genius of the back-up offer comes into play. Maloofs still own them and are now flush with cash to operate a lame-duck franchise for 1-2 seasons, and Sacto's arena deal still evaporates. Then H/B/N just sit back and let the Maloofs do the dirtywork of Bennetting the team out of Sacto next season. (not to mention Hansen has ROFR as minority owner if the NBA is stupid enough to try and keep the local ownership group in play)

That's the Ace H/B/N slammed on the table - "Swallow your medicine, take a PR hit you can quickly recover from and give us the Kings now ... or sit through 1-2 years of Sacto getting the same scorched-earth treatment Seattle got while it also hits your bottom line in revenue sharing & TV negotiations - your choice."

But here's where I don't get too excited about this. HBN still would need league approval to become minority owners. If the NBA denies the primary sale agreement, I can't see how they'd just then go and say "OK, sure. No prob," to HBN becoming minority owners with a clear agenda. If the Maloofs and HBN can't force the NBA to let them become partners, I don't see how they hold any sort of leverage.

Props to Laloosh & Hawkfan who pretty much covered it - but yeah, there's a lower burden in the Bylaws to pass for purchasing the minority share, and the NBA would have an even harder time rejecting it. (Remember, the HBN group was vetted & pre-approved by the NBA before they placed any offers on the table)

Most importantly, they'd be blatantly interfering with the Maloofs' ability to operate their own franchise. That's the one thing all the legal experts can agree on - the NBA can't force the Maloofs to sell, and trying to strong arm them is a clear cut Anti-Trust violation. To reject the minority sale, the NBA basically admits that they're attempting to steer the Maloofs to the Sacto bid .... and that hands the Maloofs & HBN their Anti-Trust case on a silver platter. (And forces the other Owners to vote for the precedent of having the NBA decide to whom and for what price they can sell off parts of their own teams to in the future)

Dammed if they do, Dammed if they don't - Hansen has them bent over a rail. And he used their own Bylaws and self-interest to do it .... Gawd DAMN, I love this guy.

We joke about the NBA making up the rules as they go along, and that's true to an extent - they play with deadlines, have "recommendation" votes, etc ... but eventually they have to enforce their rules as written. One of the main justifications for the NBA (NFL, NHL, etc.) being able to operate as de-facto monopolies is because they are supposedly capable of "fair" self-governance under strong sets of Bylaws & CBA's. So when push comes to shove, if the NBA doesn't ultimately follow those Bylaws in approving the Sale, it can blow up big-time in their face if/when it goes to Court.

 

[Yoonhawk]

2. If the Sale's rejected, then the real fireworks begin - because that's when both the Maloofs' & H/B/N can file their Anti-Trust cases. And then the true genius of the back-up offer comes into play. Maloofs still own them and are now flush with cash to operate a lame-duck franchise for 1-2 seasons, and Sacto's arena deal still evaporates. Then H/B/N just sit back and let the Maloofs do the dirtywork of Bennetting the team out of Sacto next season. (not to mention Hansen has ROFR as minority owner if the NBA is stupid enough to try and keep the local ownership group in play)

That's the Ace H/B/N slammed on the table - "Swallow your medicine, take a PR hit you can quickly recover from and give us the Kings now ... or sit through 1-2 years of Sacto getting the same scorched-earth treatment Seattle got while it also hits your bottom line in revenue sharing & TV negotiations - your choice."

But here's where I don't get too excited about this. HBN still would need league approval to become minority owners. If the NBA denies the primary sale agreement, I can't see how they'd just then go and say "OK, sure. No prob," to HBN becoming minority owners with a clear agenda. If the Maloofs and HBN can't force the NBA to let them become partners, I don't see how they hold any sort of leverage.

Props to Laloosh & Hawkfan who pretty much covered it - but yeah, there's a lower burden in the Bylaws to pass for purchasing the minority share, and the NBA would have an even harder time rejecting it. (Remember, the HBN group was vetted & pre-approved by the NBA before they placed any offers on the table)

Most importantly, they'd be blatantly interfering with the Maloofs' ability to operate their own franchise. That's the one thing all the legal experts can agree on - the NBA can't force the Maloofs to sell, and trying to strong arm them is a clear cut Anti-Trust violation. To reject the minority sale, the NBA basically admits that they're attempting to steer the Maloofs to the Sacto bid .... and that hands the Maloofs & HBN their Anti-Trust case on a silver platter. (And forces the other Owners to vote for the precedent of having the NBA decide to whom and for what price they can sell off parts of their own teams to in the future)

Dammed if they do, Dammed if they don't - Hansen has them bent over a rail. And he used their own Bylaws and self-interest to do it .... Gawd DAMN, I love this guy.

We joke about the NBA making up the rules as they go along, and that's true to an extent - they play with deadlines, have "recommendation" votes, etc ... but eventually they have to enforce their rules as written. One of the main justifications for the NBA (NFL, NHL, etc.) being able to operate as de-facto monopolies is because they are supposedly capable of "fair" self-governance under strong sets of Bylaws & CBA's. So when push comes to shove, if the NBA doesn't ultimately follow those Bylaws in approving the Sale, it can blow up big-time in their face if/when it goes to Court.

Very well said, Vedthree.

 

[Blitzer88]

Man.....I wish I could be as positive as you guys regarding this......but I just think that as long as Stern is involved in things we will not win this thing. Plus the fact the Clay Bennett is in the ears of the other owners and is Stern's puppet it all leads me to believe that we are in trouble. And I know we could fight things in court, but I ultimately believe it won't go that route.

 

[JOz56]

Man.....I wish I could be as positive as you guys regarding this......but I just think that as long as Stern is involved in things we will not win this thing. Plus the fact the Clay Bennett is in the ears of the other owners and is Stern's puppet it all leads me to believe that we are in trouble. And I know we could fight things in court, but I ultimately believe it won't go that route.

I'm not positive we get the Kings. I'm positive that we are headed for a lawsuit, which will severely screw Stern's retirement party. Which I am all for. I am past the point of a basketball team. If we force expansion or even somehow get the Kings, great. But I'm not counting on it. At this point I am all for messing up the NBA's future business (CBA's, potential owners wanting to buy in and seeing this bull that is going on, and you know that the players association is keeping a close and watchful eye on this.) It's funny, because ved was talking about how the NBA is looking at the extortion aspect of getting smaller markets to open their legs for the leg, but I can't help but think Sacramento will end up being the prime example as to why cities will start their own I-91's.

 

[HawKnPeppa]

Man.....I wish I could be as positive as you guys regarding this......but I just think that as long as Stern is involved in things we will not win this thing. Plus the fact the Clay Bennett is in the ears of the other owners and is Stern's puppet it all leads me to believe that we are in trouble. And I know we could fight things in court, but I ultimately believe it won't go that route.

Oh, I'd give HBG more than a fighting chance. Hansen has recently hinted that Balmer has his gloves off, and that 'No' is not an acceptable answer. Basically, the message is if they don't hear either 'expansion' or a 'go ahead' on the relocation, Balmer doesn't intend to back down.

 

[dunceface]

Blitz why do you think all the Sacto trolls disappeared? Even they can see the writing on the wall!
SACK UP BRUH!!!


pun intended

 

[Throwdown]

I don't know how it ends up, but I have a feeling that we will be turned down on Wednesday, and then we're going to war with the NBA. This fights been a long time coming, 5 years in the making. If you don't want the beef, then give us what we want and what Hansen and Ballmer have shown they're best suited for.

I see us going to war though, hope I'm wrong and can get my Victor Oladipo chant down for draft day.

 

[Sports Hernia]

Happy anti-trust lawsuit eve all! :th2thumbs:

 

[Throwdown]

Happy anti-trust lawsuit eve all! :th2thumbs:

Got my warpaint ready!!!



Someone should make that warpaint Green and Gold

 

[AbsolutNET]

I don't know how it ends up, but I have a feeling that we will be turned down on Wednesday, and then we're going to war with the NBA. This fights been a long time coming, 5 years in the making. If you don't want the beef, then give us what we want and what Hansen and Ballmer have shown they're best suited for.

I see us going to war though, hope I'm wrong and can get my Victor Oladipo chant down for draft day.

The only reason I think that MIGHT not happen (but I can't see anything positive coming out of a Stern-led pow-wow) is that the committee and Stern are saving face with Sac but won't have a problem with the move given the new money introduced last week. When you get 30 owners together instead of 7, and millions of brand new dollars in the deal, it wouldn't surprise me to see a change.

That said, I am expecting Hansen to push the red button after things don't go his way.

 

[seahawk2k]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzg9GbmA_a8

 

[TheRealDTM]

Well, we may be done with basketball for a while. http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/ ... ba-future/