Sacramento Mayor and Former NBA All Star Kevin Johnson (L) and the Anaheim Honda Center - the Kings new potential home (R)
The strongest glimpse of what’s happening behind the scenes came Thursday, when the National Basketball Association revealed that the Maloof family, which owns the Kings, has requested an extension of the league’s Tuesday deadline for asking permission to move to a new city this year.
Team owners who make up the league’s governing board will be asked in the next few days to OK a temporary extension to April 14, when the board can meet to discuss the Kings’ situation. That date happens to fall right after the Kings’ season ends.
In a hastily called news conference Thursday, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson expressed disappointment.
“This means one thing,” he said. “They are trying to cut a deal to leave.”
Johnson said he also was upset that he had to hear the news via Google alert, rather than from the Kings themselves.
“I would have preferred a phone call in advance,” said the mayor, a former NBA All-Star. “Sacramento deserves better than this.”
Team officials declined Thursday to discuss the potential move. The Kings have refused to speak about their future since rumors surfaced last month of negotiations between the team and managers of the Honda Center in Anaheim, home to the Anaheim Ducks hockey team.
Anaheim officials, who have long said they want to lure an NBA team, also declined comment.
In his press conference, Johnson alternated between disappointment and defiance, saying he believes the Kings and the Sacramento community can still work something out. “They haven’t cut a deal yet, or they wouldn’t need an extension,” he said.
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