California Group Looking to Keep Kings in Sacramento

It’s not over for the Kings in Sac-Town, as a couple of wealthy dudes are trying to buy the team and keep them in the city. The Maloof family, though, doesn’t sound like it’s willing to budge. From the Sac Bee: “Southern California supermarket tycoon Ronald Burkle, in partnership with well-connected Sacramento lobbyist and developer Darius Anderson, emerged as last-minute potential saviors of the NBA in Sacramento. The duo said they would lead a group that could purchase the Kings – or buy another team for the city should the Kings move to Anaheim. Burkle’s dramatic emergence turned the saga of the Kings completely upside down. Anderson, accompanied by Mayor Kevin Johnson and arena developer Tim Romani, essentially presented Burkle’s credentials to the NBA board of governors. The board on Thursday began two days of meetings in New York’s exclusive St. Regis Hotel to deal with the Kings’ future and other matters. A co-owner of hockey’s Pittsburgh Penguins, the multibillionaire Burkle already has been rebuffed by the Maloofs on buying the team, Anderson said. The family has vowed to hold onto the Kings and insisted Thursday that the team isn’t for sale – to Burkle or anyone else. ‘It does not matter – they are not going to sell the team,’ said Kings spokesman Troy Hanson when asked about the Burkle plan.”