NBA commissioner David Stern announced on Friday a second extension to the deadline for the Sacramento Kings to file for relocation to Anaheim before next season. The original deadline was March 1, but days before the deadline the league granted an extension to April 18. As the Maloofs have had trouble convincing their fellow franchise owners that they should be allowed to move to Anaheim, the NBA Board of Governors granted a second extension, to May 2.
Stern said that the relocation committee headed by -- no joke -- Oklahoma City Thunder owner Clay Bennett, who essentially robbed Seattle blind in moving the Sonics after giving minimal effort to find a local arena solution, will further investigate Anaheim's proposal to host the Kings at the Honda Center. There are also reports that the NBA could unveil a new revenue sharing plan in upcoming days that could make Sacramento more viable as a market.
Looming in the background is Ron Burkle, who announced Thursday (with the help of Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson) he was interested in helping keep the NBA in Sacramento, whether by buying the Kings (who are not for sale) or bringing another team to the city.
Stern indicated that the extra time before the Maloofs file for relocation will be used to further understand what each market offers. He stopped short of calling Anaheim's pitch incomplete, instead saying the league needed to better understand the proposed revenue streams.