Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson says he'll save Kings

SACRAMENTO — Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson swears he still has a shot to save his hometown team.

Johnson, the native son and former NBA point guard who has spent recent years trying to keep the Maloof family that owns the team from taking it elsewhere, told USA TODAY Sports on Friday night that Seattle hasn't won this game just yet. Asked if his window had closed in light of a Wednesday report that the Maloofs and the Chris Hansen-Steve Ballmer group were finalizing a deal to bring the NBA back to Seattle and more reports on Friday that the deal was done in principle for $525 million, Johnson spread his hands wide and smiled. The window, he swears, remains open.

"(NBA Commissioner David Stern) knows that I'm going to make a request to speak to the governing board (before any Seattle deal is formalized)," Johnson said, noting that the deadline to file for relocation is March 1.

Stern said Thursday night that potential buyers who might keep the team in Sacramento deserve a shot, even naming billionaire supermarket mogul Ron Burkle as one candidate.

"This will be decided by a committee of owners and the NBA's board of governors with the advice of me but not leading the way," Stern said on Thursday night.

As was the case when he made an impassioned and ultimately successful pitch at a board of governor's meeting in New York to keep the team from going to Anaheim, Calif., in April of 2011, Johnson — who had an agreement in principle with the Maloofs and the NBA for a new arena last February before they backed out — is confident Stern will give him the time necessary to organize his effort.

While the prospect of engaging in a bidding war with someone like Ballmer (reported net worth $15.7 billion) is daunting, Johnson has spent recent weeks rounding up local and outside investors who he is confident could come with a competitive offer. Because a Sacramento-based offer would not include a relocation fee and the new owners could assume the $77 million loan that the Maloofs owe the city, he said the target figure for an offer that is comparable to the $500-525 million in Seattle is $425 to $450 million.

"I think from my standpoint, we're thinking about $450 (million) — $425 to $450 (million)," he said. "There's a lot of due diligence that has to take place on both sides. But everybody we're talking to, who has some interest, they know the number is going to be pretty darn high. It's going to be over $400 (million) for sure. The good thing is that there's not a shortage of people who are interested."

A person with knowledge of the deal said the formal Sacramento offer would have to involve a viable arena plan in order to be considered by the NBA. The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because the talks are ongoing.

The identities of some of the involved parties have become more clear. As first reported by CBSSports.com, Mark Mastrov, the founder of Northern California-based 24-Hour Fitness, is considered a major player on the local front. Burkle is also part of this picture. Johnson, who spent recent weeks ramping up his effort to organize a response to this sort of situation, is in the process of managing all the money men.

"Some of the big dollars may not be from Sacramento, but we knew we'd have a local presence as well," he said. "I think we have an opportunity to do that. We know what the number is, and we know what's at stake, and there's no shortage of interest."

Johnson didn't indicate a timeline for presenting the formal offer from his group.

"What we need to do is to take a step back, get our process together, get organized and get a game plan that makes sense," he said. "We don't all want to be bumping into each other. We don't want to be bidding against each other. We need to have one Sacramento offer that makes really good sense and put ourselves in a position of strength.

"We're going to get one shot to really put our best foot forward and we want to be able to do that. The clock is ticking. We know the March 1 deadline is looming, and we're going to work our way backwards from there.

"I feel very strongly that we will be able to produce a group that has Sacramento ties that can be competitive or at least comparable. I believe the NBA knows that we're a proven market. ... I want Seattle to get a team. They deserve a team, but I don't want it to be our team."