Rather than going on and on, I'll just say that the announcement of Ranadive has come in place of an announced term sheet that the city was hoping to have by today.

However, let me state a few things that are important. One is that the term sheet doesn't need to be released, technically, until Tuesday at 6pm. Which, in case you're wondering, is when the council meeting takes place. 

That said, John Shirey, the Sacramento City Manager, also knows that Steve Cohn, resident financial guru on the city council, won't approve of the measure without having seen the term sheet and having the opportunity to go over the details with a fine tooth comb. That's how Cohn works. Shirey knows Cohn will say yes if the deal works, and no if it does not. But he won't blindly approve this deal, and that's the good news for the city of Sacramento. Steve Cohn is nothing if not vigilant. 

So if the term sheet comes out tomorrow, it's not a big deal. Does Vivek Ranadive announcement outweight that reality?

Not really, no. But, it doesn't have to either. What matters is that the city is able to vote on the term sheet next Tuesday, and what really matters is that the public portion of a new arena is still there. Everything else is details, and as David Stern said so infamously during the 2011 lockout: "Everything is negotiable." 

So, if you're looking for more to read about Ranadive, check out the Wiki profile where the references are. That will give you a ton of reading material. 

Until then, I want to see the term sheet. Expect a profile of the city council coming sometime over the weekend along with analysis of the term sheet if and when it ever gets released. (I'm betting it's tomorrow. Hopefully I'm right.)

Alrighty then, until next time then. 

Well, this is going to be what it's going to be. A lot of geeky numbers blah blah blah, so if you're bored skip it. Otherwise, stick around for what people might bother to tell you in April (assuming the Kings are in Sacramento by the end of the month that is).

So I'm going to address a few things, One is set-off, one is how the cap picture now looks after Brooks being waived and what it means moving forward, and what the summer outlook might be towards free agents.

After the jump.....

It's been too long since I last wrote so I thought I'd release some bits of info and thoughts on the various topics of recent days.

First, last night, Mayor Kevin Johnson reported his whales to be Mark Mastrov and Ron Burkle. He also reported that Mitch Richmond would be a minority investor among the 25 or so that eventually came forward. There was also a note of corporate support said to be 50 million for 5 seasons in a new arena under new ownership. (That was how KJ stipulated it.) Additionally, we learned that 3rd graders struggle with literacy in Sacramento. All in all, it was a pretty positive night.

One interesting note was that despite the other real important news KJ had to announce, the Kings were what drew (by a very large margin) the most noise and response from the State of the City crowd as a whole. There was talk of some serious things that are incredibly important to Sacramentans (Green jobs, Farm to Fork program, raising kids literacy rates at a young age) but none of that seemed to matter as much as the state of the Kings and where KJ was at with regards to the bid and the NBA. That seems unbalanced to me, even as I write a Kings centric blog admittedly, as all these things are important. Frankly, the idea of adding more jobs is far more important than a NBA team in the grand scheme of things. Yet, at the same time, it didn't seem to hold as much traction as a basketball team for most of the crowd.

I find that both disturbing and amazing in equal measures. Moving on.....

Aaron Bruski has released a picture through a Tweet that explains how Bob Cook's 7% share might work now through the bankruptcy court. The link I just linked to in the previous sentence will take you to the picture you see below. Much thanks, yet again, to Bruski for his fine reporting and willingness to share what he's hearing (as opposed to what he wants). 

What if I told you I had one handy picture to explain the Bob Cook bankruptcy sales process?twitpic.com/c7tyia

— Aaron Bruski (@aaronbruski) March 1, 2013

The other night in Orlando was a rare moment of clarity for a bad basketball team. They shared the basketball, played pretty hard (presumably because things were going the Kings way for a change) and, well, Orlando is a very bad basketball team. One of the few worse than the Kings right now. I do not take much solace in it despite knowing that it is possible bad teams can blow other teams out. But, at the same time, the Magic did not have Jameer Nelson or Al Harrington, and that the young players on the Magic who are getting big minutes had fairly poor games (or worse). I'm not expecting a repeat of that performance against the Spurs who do not have any of those problems. Oh, and if you do not read Orlando Magic Daily consistently, you are missing out. Philip is one of the best writers on any platform for any team and/or sport there is. 

In of itself, this is not big news. Aaron Brooks has been released (or waived; I'm not sure yet) and whichever one is what I suspect is the best thing for the Kings in the long term. After all, I've said it before and I'll say it again: This Kings team has way too many small G's and adding Toney Douglas did not help matters.  On the other hand, letting Brooks move on and find a way to get his NBA career back on track elsewhere is the wise and simplest thing for all parties.

Having said that, I still think it's very likely the Kings consider trading two of Isaiah Thomas, Marcus Thornton and Jimmer Fredette. Having way too many small G's is something this Kings team has a real problem with, and  unless the meshing of all 3 players gets more effective I'm not sure exactly why keeping all 3 makes sense. 

Okay that's pretty much all I have. 

Rather than pointing out the obvious and saying the Maloofs are cheap pieces of craptastic amphibious lowlife shit, I'll just leave them out of this. We know they are worthless. Yesterday proved it yet again. The NBA was thrilled to hear they "agree" to sell the team to Hansen because if nothing else it illustrates one thing: They will have to sell to whomever the NBA ultimately decides they think this Kings franchise should end up. That's the good news. Which, in layments terms, is that the Maloofs are more than broke enough that they have to sell no matter what. That's really good news.

Yesterday is perfect proof why.

On the other hand, there are other things to discuss here.

Tyler Honeycutt was a long term project that never really had an opportunity to pan out here. Now it will happen in Houston or somewhere else, but not in Sacramento. What were the reasons for passing on Kawhi Leonard again? Remind me. Oh, John Salmoons, Honeycutt and Jimmer. Yeah, I love this team.

Last summer, I spent a significant chunk arguing for Drummond in futility. I knew it was futile then; I know it's futile now. The Kings took Thomas Robinson, and traded him for Patrick Patterson. Nothing wrong with Patterson, but downgrading assets are stupid. It's bad policy in any shape or form. I'm not opposed to having traded Robinson for something tangible that improves the team; how does acquiring Patrick Patterson do that? It doesn't. It was a money grab.

Which, brings me to Francisco Garcia. His career with the Kings has ended, and to the Cisco kid, I say: Block the shit outta everybody in a Rockets uniform, sir. Also, let's ride. Thank you for the good memories (what memories there were). As a side note, that exercise ball accident was just ridiculously terrible on every front. The exercise ball has for all intents and purposes ruined Cisco's career, unless going to a real franchise (which the Kings are not at the moment) helps revive Cisco's career. I hope it does. 

Well, there are days, and then there are days.

This trade is probably stupid, but it might not be. It might make sense. Certainly, if you are a Maloof then it makes sense. For the rest of us? This is going to take some time.

This is Patrick Patterson. A quality inside/outside hybrid F who is much more offensively inclined than defensively inclined.

So, while I don't think Patrick Patterson is a terrible player, I wouldn't have traded Thomas Robinson to get Patterson in return either. Especially to save several million dollars. But this is life in the Maloof world, and well we got another whiff of it yet again.

I want to be outraged, but I'm not. I'm really not. So with that, have a good night and don't do anything you regret.

There are times, and places, and things, and all that goody goody bullshit, where having really wealthy people on your side matters. Keeping the Kings in Sacramento is obviously one of those times.

Sam Amick, of USA Today vintage, writes this:

According to a person with knowledge of the situation, 24-Hour Fitness Founder Mark Mastrov and billionaire Ron Burkle - who is part owner of the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins - are in serious talks to collaborate on a bid to buy the Kings. The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity because of the private nature of the talks. The fact that the two men are willing to join forces is seen as significant by Sacramento supporters. There are five potential owners currently in play, but Mastrov and Burkle are seen as the heaviest hitters among that group.

The Maloofs and the NBA have made their announcement. Whoopty fucking doo. Does it change anything? Not especially, no. 

First, are the Maloofs the Captain's of SS Lord Douchebag? You  bet. Today's announcement changes nothing. It's still in the hands of the BoG (the fact that the Maloofs never entertained outside buyers is not surprising to anyone) which is where it's been since last April. 

Do I think the Kings are gone to Seattle? I think the likelihood is higher because typically the BoG has owners that do not want to block the sale of someone else in case they themselves get in a hairy situation down the line. 

On the other hand, the league is stuck with a difficult case of two markets that have a strong history of support, one with a bit higher TV market (which is being somewhat exaggerated by some like JA Adande).  David Aldridge is saying the Maloof Family didn't have a vendetta but nobody stepped up to buy the team. ( Cough Cough Bullshit Cough Cough.) Matt Steinmetz reported that the Maloofs tried to shop the deal to Larry Ellison, but that Ellison said no. 

Here's the bottom line: The league would benefit from both cities. Sacramento benefits more, just as Seattle benefits  more in all honesty, from the Kings staying in Sac and Seattle getting an expansion team in 2014. But do the owners see that right now? Maybe, maybe not. 

My main takeaways today are: The Maloofs are going to sell. Which means if the NBA did want to screw them over here, much  like the Maloofs did to the NBA and Sacramento last April, now would be the time. If David Stern wanted to make sure expansion is very much on the table, is there a better way to do it than this? I'm guessing probably  not.

Sonics fans don't really benefit from stealing the Kings, and Kings fans don't benefit from having an expansion team to reboot their love affair. It just doesn't help either side as much, and expansion for Sacramento makes a lot less sense than expansion for Seattle. With Seattle, it makes sense because they are a larger market.

That's rationalizing. Whatever the owners think is best for their franchise values is how they will likely vote unless Stern and/or Kevin Johnson and/or unnamed person has something up their sleeve. If nothing else, I'd say it's a 100% guarantee Seattle has a team. The question is how at this juncture.

The Maloofs are done as NBA owners forever. That's the good news for all concerned. Their worthless asses are out. The question is does the BoG see what's really going on, and do they care? Or as I wrote on Twitter last night, #MalooferyBeGone.

That's been the 525 million question for going on a year, and nothing about today's dual announcement changes that.

Oh, and one other thing program wise: The games still matter to me which is what I will focus on from here on out. Including today's game against the New Orleans Hornets on MLK day which starts in 20 minutes as I type these very words.

Go Sacramento Kings!!!!

UPDATE: In case you have not read it, read this piece by Tom Ziller today up at the SBN NBA page. It explains a lot about how crummy and worthless the Maloofs are.

Numbers are deceptive. Sometimes numbers are not deceptive. Tonight, there are some really big deal type numbers, and well there are also some numbers that are probably not as big of a deal as they look like.

First, look at minutes. 83: The combined amount of minutes DeMarcus Cousins and Tyreke Evans were on the floor tonight (Cousins had 43 of those).

62: Points in the paint the Kings scored. 46: Points in the paint the Wizards scored.

68%: The Kings DRB% tonight, and on the season it's at 68.6% (which is dead last). The Kings are also dead last at DRtg at 111.4 points per 100 possessions (which is what O and D Rtg's are). 

15: The amount of shot attempts John Salmons took. Another number: 9. The amount of shots John Salmons hit tonight. 2: The amount of 3's Salmons hit.

21: The minutes Jimmer Fredette played in the 2nd half.

22: The amount of wins the Kings could have at home on the season. 7: The wins on the road the Kings could have based on current win rates.

Okay, after the jump my expanded thoughts on the game..

I'm not the first (and probably won't be the last), and I'll bet this gets ignored too. Just the way it is in life I suppose. But I have thoughts about Seattle and this whole bit of "Don't hate us".  Sorry Adam Brown and Jason Reid, I empathasize with your plight. I know what it's like to live in a city without a NBA team. I moved up there right as the Sonics were shifting to leave under Clay Bennett's lying ass. (About the only thing I disagree with Bennett on even though I understand Bennett would have never gotten his dream of a team in OKC either without doing so.) I watched Sonicsgate and found it insightful and a strong point. 

First thought is really a very condensed version of how I will later pontificate on: Fuck you.

I don't really care whether Seattle fans want us to hate them, but the truth is, I don't care about their plight at all in this. I don't want to be one of them, and even living in Seattle for 5 years has especially intensified that. My sporting experiences come from being a Kings fan, and to a significantly lesser degree an Oakland A's fan. I'm not part of Oakland; Oakland isn't my hometown. I just happened to like the A's because of Rickey Henderson way back when. For some strange reason, I'm still a fan, but I do not hold unconditional love. I do not care whether they leave Oakland or stay. I could care less if the franchise moved to the Moon or San Jose. Makes no difference to me. It doesn't actually effect my plight at as a fan. (Now those who are living in Oakland? That's a different story. Not sure I agree with it, but that's a different matter.) That does not apply to the Kings. The Kings staying in Sacramento matters a whole hell of a lot.

No, I will not be a fan of the "new" Seattle Sonics if they do indeed move. I'll just flip Puget Sound the bird for taking my team and move on. I'll despise the Maloofs forever (as Sonics fans do with Howard Schultz) regardless of whom they decide to sell to (the Maloofs want the team moved the team to Seattle just to spite Sacramento because they can no longer own the Kings and there is no question in my mind of that).

There is only one question and one question remaining: Is there a bid strong enough to get the NBA to override a very possible move to Seattle? Maybe, maybe not. We'll see. That end of the story has not been written yet.

Today, after Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports said Phoenix and Memphis were involved in trade talks with Rudy Gay, the Memphis Commercial-Appeal followed up with saying the Kings had inquired about Gay, too.

Why? Seriously. Gay is a volume shooter who is decent in some ways, and is what he is. 

Why do the Kings need Gay? Because he fills the hole at SF?

Why? No, seriously, why?

Let that sink in for a moment.