Lakers’ TV Deal Shrinks If Sacramento Kings Relocate To Anaheim, According To Report

If the Sacramento Kings do indeed relocate to Anaheim before next season, the Los Angeles Lakers' TV deal -- reported to be worth $3 billion over 20 years -- will shrink by 10 percent, reports ESPNLosAngeles.com's Arash Markazi. The Lakers announced a long-term deal with Time Warner Cable earlier this season to create two new regional sports networks (one tailored to Spanish-language fans); Time Warner disputed the $3-billion figure, but it's certainly a huge moneymaker for the Lakers. But a move by the Kings to Anaheim would potentially scratch away some of the Lakers' Orange County fan base, and Markazi reports a clause in the Lakers' TV deal shrinks the pay-out by 10 percent.

That gives Lakers' franchise owner Jerry Buss extra incentive to oppose a Kings move. Buss, Clippers' franchisee and the Golden State Warriors' ownership are all reported to be opposed to an Anaheim relocation for the Kings. Warriors' franchise owner Joe Lacob is said to be worried a move to the L.A. area would give precedent for another team looking to move to San Jose, about an hour south of Golden State's Oakland home.

It remains to be seen whether those three will get any other support from league ownership; the Kings' eventual relocation application would need majority approval, and the NBA has confirmed to SBNation.com that the Kings and Hornets would each get a vote. The Hornets are owned collectively by the other 29 franchise owners, but Jac Sperling has been designated as the presiding officer of the team, and will cast his vote based on the interests of the New Orleans franchise.