Sad developments if you're an NBA fan in Sacramento Friday, (but interesting developments for Seattle fans), as it's become clear that the arena deal there has completely fallen apart. Just recently, the Maloof brothers - owners of the Kings-, along with Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson and NBA Commissioner David Stern had come to a handshake agreement on the outlined proposal for a new arena in Sacramento that would keep ownership in the Maloof's hands and the team in the city. The latest developments indicate that upon further inspection, the deal doesn't work for the Maloofs, for many reasons, and as Kevin Johnson framed it on Friday, "Is the deal as we know it dead? Absolutely."
This raises all kinds of questions about the current strength in ownership. Several options that could emerge for them include moving the team to Anaheim, which the Maloofs would prefer, or selling the team altogether. The NBA voted down an effort to relocate the Kings to Anaheim last year, so that option seems unlikely. As for selling the team, that just so happens to be something Bay Area hedge fund manager Christopher Hansen and his investment group is willing to step up to the plate for, with the endgame being a move to Seattle and a re-birth of the Seattle SuperSonics franchise. After the jump, SI.com's Sam Amick discusses the future of the Sacramento Kings franchise after a supposed deal between the owners and the NBA has come to a halt.