Chris Hansen | featured news

The Maloof family is asking NBA owners to approve the sale of the Kings to a Seattle group, saying there is "significant distance between us and the Sacramento group." In a letter sent to the NBA's relocation and finance committee, and obtained by The Associated Press on Friday, the Maloof family said the Sacramento group originally matched the $525 million valuation for the franchise negotiated by Chris Hansen, who is heading the Seattle group. Hansen then increased the valuation offer to $550 million last week.

The Sacramento Kings may be playing their last games in the capital city. Sources said Sunday night that the Maloof family, which owns the team, reached agreement over the weekend to sell a controlling interest in the club to a group led by hedge fund manager Chris Hansen, whose intention after buying the team is to petition the NBA to move the team to Seattle in time for the 2013-14 season.

After Adrian Wojnarowski’s report that the Maloofs are close to finalizing a $500 million deal with Seattle billionaire Chris Hansen, closing a deal shouldn’t be a problem this time, but there are plenty of reasons to not call it a “done deal” just yet.