Two reporters from Sacramento and Seattle both disputed a report from SportsTalk Florida's David Baumann that the city of Sacramento was the frontrunner in the battle to acquire the Sacramento Kings from Joe and Gavin Maloof.
Kings sale: Sacramento, Seattle reporters expose false Orlando report
Was the non-refundable $30M down payment actually paid by the Chris Hansen-led Seattle group? A sports-talk station in Florida and a pair of West Coast reporters are at odds on the matter.
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The report by Baumann stated that the Seattle-based group led by Chris Hansen did not pay a non-refundable, $30 million down payment to the Maloofs. It implied that the Kings were likely to stay in Sacramento, and that the Northern California city would have to do something drastically wrong to lose out.
But two reporters, one from each of the primary cities of interest, exposed the report as false.
Chris Daniels of Seattle's KING TV reported on Wednesday that two sources confirmed that the Hansen group had in fact paid the $30 million in order to maintain their end of the purchase agreement. Earlier, Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee confirmed Daniels' story and called the report out of Orlando false.
Sacramento still has a shot, but a lot of what happens is in the NBA Board of Governors’ hands at this point. It seems the Seattle group has done everything it needs to to have the Kings franchise playing in the Pacific Northwest next season.
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