Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson was hoping to be in Washington, D.C. on Monday to celebrate the inauguration of President Barack Obama's second term. Instead, Johnson will be working to save the Sacramento Kings.
Sacramento Kings sale: Kevin Johnson cancels inauguration trip to deal with Seattle
Following the news of the Kings’ sale to Seattle, Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson has canceled his inauguration trip to Washington, D.C. in order to focus on his attempts to save the team.
Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Judy Farrah of KFBK Radio in Sacramento reports that Johnson has canceled his inauguration trip after news broke late Sunday night that the Maloof family had reached a deal with the ownership group led by Chris Hansen to move the Sacramento Kings to Seattle.
Johnson had campaigned hard for Obama in the southeast and was looking forward to being in attendance for the inauguration, but the impending Kings sale takes precedence. The Mayor has been working hard in recent weeks to put together a Sacramento-based ownership group to counter the Seattle offer, and those efforts must be increased now that a deal is in place.
The Seattle deal will not be official until it is approved by the NBA’s Board of Governors, so Johnson and his group will have one last chance to present a viable offer to save the Kings. It’s believed that the Sacramento group would have to come forth with an offer in the $425-450 million range to have any chance of competing with the Seattle deal.
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