Could the Sacramento Kings be on the move?
For years, the Maloof family, the team's owners, has tried to secure a new arena in Sacramento. In 2006, voters voted down a sales tax measure that would fund a new stadium. The Kings play at the recently renamed Power Balance Pavilion, a 22-year-old facility formerly known as ARCO Arena.
Since then, speculation has been constant on possible suitors for the Kings. The latest has the family in discussions to potentially move the franchise to Anaheim.
Sacramento radio station KFBK reported Wednesday that Henry Samueli, the owner of the Anaheim Ducks, met with the Maloofs and offered them a $100 million loan to facilitate the move of the NBA team to the Honda Center, according to the Orange County Register.
According to the newspaper, a Kings move could entail a heavy financial outlay.
Any relocation would have to be approved by the NBA Board of Governors, which "also has the right to attach a relocation fee at that time," Tim Frank, senior vice president of NBA basketball communications, told the Register on Friday.
To apply for relocation in time to play elsewhere next season, a team would have to notify commissioner David Stern in writing by March 1, Frank told the newspaper.
Frank said there is no standard relocation fee, according to the report, but it's possible the Maloofs would be on the hook for something in the neighborhood of $30 million -- the fee paid when the Seattle SuperSonics relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008.
It's also possible they would have to shell out an estimated $30 million-$50 million apiece to the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers franchises for territorial rights. However, Frank said there currently is no rule requiring this type of compensation, according to the report, and the absence of such a fee would obviously make the idea of a potential move more palatable to the Maloofs.
Anaheim is probably not alone in trying to attract the Kings. In recent months, San Jose, Las Vegas and Seattle also have been linked to the franchise as possible landing spots.