Sacramento Kings minority owner Dave Lucchetti will not be matching Chris Hansen’s bid on a 7-percent stake in the franchise that currently sits in bankruptcy court. Sam Amick of USA Today reports that the Sacramento contingent has decided that purchasing the share is no longer a main priority in the fight to keep the Kings.
The key to this component of the deal, and so many others in this saga, is that this potential transaction will still require the approval of the NBA. As a result, the Sacramento side — which is being headed by mayor and former NBA point guard Kevin Johnson — is making this strategic choice based on the common sense assumption that the league would not approve the minority stake if they reward Sacramento with the majority share.
Hansen was the only serious bidder in the stake’s bankruptcy auction more than two weeks ago. The prospective Seattle SuperSonics owner came to an agreement to purchase the shares once owned by limited partner Bob Cook for approximately $15 million.
Court documents confirmed a report by Cowbell Kingdom’s James Ham and NBC ProBasketballTalk’s Aaron Bruski that the Kings minority owners possessed the right of first refusal. Last week, it was reported that Lucchetti would invoke his right to match.
Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson originally intended to have 20-plus local investors committing $1-million each bid on the 7-percent stake. However, their contribution is now part of the effort to buy the Maloof family and Bob Hernreich’s controlling interest in the team.
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