The NBA Board of Governors has voted down a Seattle-based group’s attempt to buy and relocate the Kings from Sacramento, according to reports.

The NBA Board of Governors has voted down the relocation bid to move the Kings to Seattle, @USATODAYsports has learned—
Sam Amick (@sam_amick) May 15, 2013

Very high level source: "Sac's got this"—
Bryan May (@BMayNews10) May 15, 2013

Sources: NBA owners vote to back relocation committee recommendation to REJECT proposed sale & relo of Kings to Seattle. Story posting now—
Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) May 15, 2013

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson said a local group is confident of its upcoming bid to keep the Kings. (Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)

The tug-of-war between Sacramento and Seattle over the future of the Kings will not be determined this week. NBA officials postponed the vote by the league’s Board of Governor scheduled for this week.

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn told reporters Tuesday NBA Commissioner David Stern told him during a phone call Monday that the league was not likely to decide the Kings’ future by Friday as previously believed.

“(Stern) informed me then that he does not expect a decision out of the NBA Friday — that’ll be sometime after the meeting that we’ll get a decision made,” McGinn told reporters Tuesday. “So don’t expect something Friday; that’s what I heard. But they will tee-up the decision by the Board of Governors within a week or two after that.”

Stern left open the chance that the vote would be delayed two weeks ago.

While the NBA did not provide a reason for the delay, the move coincides with Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson saying his investment team is prepared to submit a bid it believes is suitable to the NBA and the Maloof family, the team’s current owners, according to the Sacramento Bee.

Gavin Maloof, George Maloof and Joe Maloof are anxious to sell the Sacramento Kings to pursue another pro sports franchise. (Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)

Among the reasons the owners of the Sacramento Kings want to sell the franchise is their pursuit of a Major League Baseball or NHL team — and an agreement to keep their NBA team in Sacramento is not out of the question, according to a report by Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee.

The Maloofs — who have already met with NHL Comissioner Gary Bettman — placed a 5 p.m. deadline Friday for a Sacramento-based group of investors to submit a matching offer for the Kings. Seattle investors led by Chris Hansen and Steve Ballmer already have an agreement with the Maloofs to buy a majority interest in the Kings for $341 million with the intent of relocating the team to Seattle.

The Maloofs reportedly rejected an offer designed to relocate the Kings to San Jose.

Voisin reports sources close to the Maloofs said the family will accept a matching offer from the Sacramento investors if it satisfies the league’s parameters. The NBA board of governors must approve all sales and relocations.

According to the Bee, the sources said:

• An agreement that keeps the Kings in Sacramento must include reimbursement to Hansen for his $30 million nonrefundable deposit.

• Before being completely surprised by the size of the Hansen/Ballmer offer, the Maloofs had rejected overtures from Ron Burkle and Larry Ellison. Ellison would have attempted to relocate the Kings to San Jose.

• The Maloofs have met with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and have for months looked into buying a hockey franchise, with Las Vegas among the possible destinations. Their interests also have expanded and included opportunities in Major League Baseball.

“We’re giving Sacramento every opportunity to keep the team,” one source said Thursday, “but they keep blowing every deadline. We haven’t seen anything in writing.”

Though the NBA clearly wants another franchise in Seattle, which lost the Sonics to Oklahoma City five years ago after similar and protracted arena wranglings, the league is reluctant to abandon Sacramento for a number of reasons, including TV market size (20th), proven viability and history of fan support, potential for economic and population growth, and lack of competition (the Kings are the only major-league sports franchise in town).

A group of local investors hope to keep the Kings in Sacramento. (Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Maloof family has placed a deadline on Sacramento’s efforts to keep the Kings from relocating to Seattle, according to the Sacramento Bee.

The Kings owners have given the group of investors seeking to buy the Kings and keep them in Sacramento until 5 p.m. Friday to submit a written, binding “back-up” offer that matches the deal the family has already approved from a Seattle group.

The Seattle investors, led by hedge fund manager Chris Hansen and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, have offered the Maloofs $341 million for the Kings.

The Sacramento group includes Silicon Valley software tycoon Vivek Ranadive, health-club financier Mark Mastrov, the Jacobs family of San Diego and developer Mark Friedman.

According to the Bee:

The source told the Bee that if the Maloofs receive a matching offer by Friday, they will consider it as a serious back-up proposal should the NBA nullify their tentative deal with Seattle. If the offer doesn’t arrive, or doesn’t match the Seattle bid, the Maloofs have said any talks are off with the Sacramento group. The source declined further comment about who issued the ultimatum, when, or why.

The source said the NBA a few weeks ago forwarded a “statement of interest” in buying the team to the Maloofs from the Sacramento group, but NBA Commissioner David Stern said the dollar amount in that offer was substantially lower than the offer on the table from Seattle. The source described the initial offer as “not even close” to the reported bid from Seattle of $341 million.

However, following presentations last week in New York from both sides, Stern said the discrepancy between the Seattle and Sacramento offers is no longer an issue.

Chris Hansen of the Seattle-based group attempting to buy and relocate the Sacramento Kings has reportedly purchased a 7 percent share of the team that had been in bankruptcy, as first reported by News10 in Sacramento.

News10 reported Hansen’s was the only offer for the share and that the purchase price was $15.1 million.

The share was scheduled to be sold off as part of the bankruptcy of Sacramento developer Bob Cook, with the proceeds to be split among Cook’s creditors.

If the sale is completed, Hansen and his group would control 72 percent of the Kings leading into the NBA’s approval meeting next week in New York. Hansen already has a sale agreement with the Maloof family and Bob Hernreich for 65% of the team for a reported $525 million.

The Sacramento City Council Tuesday night approved a term sheet for a new $447 million downtown arena as part of the city’s efforts to keep the team. Sacramento mayor and former Kings player Kevin Johnson announced plans to gather pledges for 10,000 season tickets from businesses and fans, and $50 million in corporate sponsorships to help strengthen his case to keep the team.

BREAKING: Cook's bankruptcy lawyers completed negotiations to sell his 7% to Chris Hansen of Seattle. As of Tues he was only serious offer.—
  (@nickmonacelli) March 27, 2013

Warriors minority owner Vivek Ranadive has promoted “Bollywood” nights at Warriors games. (Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)

A minority owner of the Golden State Warriors has taken the lead role in the Sacramento-based group attempting to buy the Kings, according to a USA Today report.

Vivek Ranadive, founder of the $4 billion software company, Tibco, has become the leader of the group previously fronted by 24-Hour Fitness founder, Mark Mastrov, according to a person with knowledge of the move. The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because the agreement had not yet been announced.

Mastrov and supermarket mogul/part owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins Ron Burkle are still major players in both the bid for the team and the downtown arena effort that was expected to be revealed by way of a term sheet on Thursday, but Ranadive agreed to take part recently after pushing for a more significant say in personnel matters.

Ranadive is the India native whose “Bollywood” night at Warriors games led to NBA games being televised in his home country. He would have to sell his interest in the Warriors before buying an interest in the Kings.

Earlier this month, NBA Commissioner David Stern said the Sacramento group needed to sweeten its bid to keep the Kings from being purchased and relocated to Seattle by a group led by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and hedge fund manager Chris Hansen.

On Monday morning, following reports that the Kings sale was finalized over the weekend, the NBA released the following statement about the deal:

“The NBA received an executed Purchase and Sale Agreement for the transfer of a controlling interest in the Sacramento Kings from the Maloof family to an investor group led by Christopher Hansen. The proposed transaction is subject to the approval of the NBA Board of Governors and has been referred to the Board’s committee process for review.”

It’s expected that the Hansen-Ballmer group will file for relocation to Seattle before the March 1 deadline, and the NBA Board of Governors would consider the bid sometime in April.

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, former NBA All-Star for the Phoenix Suns, will be given another opportunity at the Board of Governors meeting to keep the Kings in Sacramento. Johnson has been organizing an ownership group intended to make a counteroffer that would convince the NBA to deny the relocation request.

NBA says in statement it has received an executed agreement for the transfer of a controlling interest in the Kings.

—
Ken Berger (@KBergCBS) January 21, 2013

Seattle Supersonics fans cheered for the Miami Heat to beat OKC Thunder, the former Seattle Supersonics, in Game Four of the 2012 NBA Finals. (Ronald Martinez, Getty Images)

King County Executive Dow Constantine and Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn signed legislation  on Tuesday approving a funding plan for the construction of an arena. The new arena could bring the NBA back to Seattle, although investor Chris Hansen said there is still a lot of work to be done.

The Mayor remains optimistic about a future Seattle team:

“We’ve taken a big step today to get a new arena built in Seattle and bring the Sonics back, back home where they belong,” McGinn said.

The plan is still subject to environmental reviews, but the existence of the deal is enough for Hansen to make a pitch to any NBA ownership.

The plan features a $490 million arena to be built near Safeco Field and CenturyLink field are located. $200 million will come from public financing.