After the death of a deal that would have gotten the Sacramento Kings a new arena in Sacramento, the team-owning Maloof brothers got an acidic statement from Sacramento mayor and former NBA star Kevin Johnson. And now, according to CBS Sports' Ken Berger, the Maloofs' NBA owner brethren are incensed.
The Maloofs reportedly pulled out of a deal that would have included $255 million in public money toward a $400 million new arena over pre-development costs, game-day obligations, and the length of their lease. Unsurprisingly, that has peeved some owners.
Commissioner David Stern backed the Maloofs' decision to pull out of the deal, calling it "their prerogative." But the Maloofs' fellow owners are at their wit's end with the family's bungling of the arena deal, according to a person familiar with the Board of Governors' stance.
"We can complain, we can jawbone them, but there's nothing we can do," the person said. "We can't force them to sell."
A local coalition of Sacramento leaders is looking into the possibility of proposing an alternative ownership group to the NBA.
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