Apr 28, 2013; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Monta Ellis (11) during game four of the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs against the Miami Heat at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. Miami won 88-77. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Wait – actual basketball news around this place? And you thought we forgot about that topic.

With a hat tip to Aykis Yerocostas, this morning we’ve learned that the prospective ownership group hoping to keep the Kings in Sacramento is doing more than just attempting to keep the team local – they’re already involved in basketball operations.

Well, sort of.

Ken Berger of CBS Sports is reporting that if the Sacramento Kings are unable to retain the services of former Rookie of the Year, Tyreke Evans (who is a restricted free agent), they may look into Monta Ellis who apparently almost came to blows with teammate Larry Sanders after a recent loss.

Per Berger:

Oddly, a member of the proposed ownership group trying to keep the Kings in Sacramento has done some background checking on Ellis as a possibility for the Kings if the team decides to part ways with restricted free agent Tyreke Evans this summer, a league source involved in the discussions said.

Fantastic! Keeping the Kings in Sacramento and we’re already back to bad basketball decisions.

In all fairness, the rumor – if you can even call it that, needs to be taken with a hefty grain of salt as the ownership group doesn’t even have control of the franchise yet, so talking about potential roster moves is a bit pre-mature. Still – legit rumor or not, it’s pretty high on the vomit scale.

Ellis holds an early termination clause in his contract where he can either become a free agent this Summer or remain a Buck for one more season at an $11 million dollar cost.

Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

not sure if his story is 100% accurate… he (Matt) is the only one who knows his source.

It is unclear whether he was referring to essential elements of Steinmetz’ report of the sale of the Sacramento Kings to Hansen-Ballmer in Seattle; or, whether it is a matter of accuracy over the details.