Multiple Groups To Make Bids To Keep Kings In Sacramento?

March 16, 2012; Sacramento, CA, USA; Former Sacramento Kings player and current Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson (center) watches the game during the second quarter against the Boston Celtics at Power Balance Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Earlier today we touched on the rumor of potential groups who were willing to step up and put in an offer to purchase the Sacramento Kings, a rumor that was all but confirmed by Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson during his press conference earlier this afternoon.

Johnson covered a handful of topics, though one of the most important was the aforementioned suggestion that there are willing buyers out there who want to put their money where their mouth is in order to keep the Kings in Sacramento. This dog isn’t going down without a fight.

Mayor Johnson didn’t delve into who the potential groups were, but he did suggest there were more than one and that number didn’t include Ron Burkle, the same Ron Burkle who attempted to purchase the Kings in the past and who is part owner of the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, a team he helped save from a sale/relocation. The Mayor has been staying in close contact with Burkle about a potential purchase, so at the minimum, it appears at least three groups – potentially more – are open to making offers on the Sacramento franchise, all with the intention of keeping the Kings in the California capital.

A sale to a local investor group could prove more fruitful for the Maloof family as Aaron Bruski touched on earlier today, given the large amount of money the Maloof’s still (and will) owe the city. The rumored $500 million dollar sale isn’t anything close to what the Maloof family would pocket given their financial debt to the city of Sacramento (and the NBA, for that matter), so passing along some (or much) of that debt to new owners would allow them to escape a significant financial crunch and quite possibly make more money in the end, as opposed to selling to the Seattle group where the Maloof family will be hit with their debts to the city. It will also allow the rumored local buyers to cough up far less than Hansen and his group are having to do since they’ll incur the debt.

Needless to say – this roller coaster is still just clicking up the peak of the tracks – there is a long way to go and we haven’t even started our decent.

As I saw somebody say earlier on Twitter – Burkle up – it’s going to get bumpy.