Sacramento Kings Will Not Be Final Option for Seattle to Reacquire NBA Team

Seattle failed to get the Sacramento Kings to move up north. Fortunately, there will be other opportunities for the city to reacquire a franchise.

Since the SuperSonics moved out of town in 2008 to become the Oklahoma City Thunder, the city and its fans have been trying their best to get another organization to come to the Pacific Northwest.

Recently, a group led by Chris Hansen attempted to purchase the Kings with the intention to relocate the franchise. Unfortunately, the league voted down the potential movement, according to Sam Amick of USA Today:

Marc Stein of ESPN reports that the vote was 22-8 in favor of Sacramento. However, NBA commissioner David Stern provided some interesting quotes following the announcement. "I would say it's a victory for Sacramento, not a victory for the NBA," Stern told the media. "This was not an anti-Seattle vote. This was a pro-Sacramento vote."

It seems clear which way he wanted this vote to go. Deputy commissioner Adam Silver also seemed encouraged on Seattle's behalf, "We've never wavered in our desire to return to the Seattle market at some point ... and we fully expect we'll return there one day."

Some NBA personalities like Grantland's Bill Simmons believe that the league is doing everything it can to hurt the city of Seattle:

However, it is clear that those in charge are working hard to bring a franchise back to the former home of the SuperSonics.

The problem is that this latest defeat is certainly discouraging. Hansen presented a great offer to not only the purchase the Kings, but $4 million was offered to each team around the league as part of a relocation fee, according to Stein.

Hansen was obviously disappointed when providing fans with a message after learning of the vote (via SonicsArena.com):

"

I would like to thank everyone in Seattle who has been a part of our effort and supported our cause. Words simply can’t express how much your support has meant to me personally and to our City. I truly believe we did everything possible to put our best foot forward in this process and you all should be proud and hold your heads high today.

Our day will come...and when it does it will just be that much sweeter for the struggle.

"

He is absolutely right that the day will come for Seattle to once again get a team. As he stated, the offer was not the problem. Instead, it appears that the target franchise was the issue in this case.

Next time an ownership group attempts to relocate a franchise—and it will not be long until next time—they simply must hope that they face a weaker opponent.

Sacramento mayor and former NBA player Kevin Johnson knew how to negotiate with the league and did a fantastic job of keeping the organization where it was. Vivek Ranadive also helped with his willingness to purchase the team and keep it in California.

Only time will tell if Milwaukee or Minnesota can have as strong of an effort against the now-angrier Seattle fans.

There is confidence among the city's citizens that they eventually regain an NBA franchise. While not getting the Kings to relocate was a major step back, the fight is not over.

As Hansen states, "it will just be that much sweeter" when it does finally happen.