Kings co-owner wants mayor removed from arena negotiations

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ARTICLE . 04.15.2012. .USA TODAY . KINGS CO-OWNER WANTS MAYOR REMOVED FROM ARENA TALKS

• To work out a deal with the City of Sacramento for a new entertainment complex for the Kings, co-owner George Maloof would like to hit the reset button with one key figure absent. "I don't think I'd want to negotiate with the mayor," Maloof told USA TODAY Sports on Saturday. "Maybe there's someone else that I'd feel more comfortable with. "We're disappointed in comments made by the mayor that we feel were shots to us that were unfair and not truthful." J. Michael Falgoust . USA TODAY

• Though Johnson said most of this was news to him, George Maloof insists that Stern's office informed him. "We were working with the league. The league was working with the city throughout the whole year," he said. "It was our understanding that everything was getting to the city. … That was told to us by the league."J. Michael Falgoust . USA TODAY

• • Why did you kill the deal? Joe Maloof: It was a bad deal. The main thing was … the projected revenues were too high. They were at 2005 levels, before the housing bubble burst and the economy went down. We kept telling (NBA attorney) Harvey Benjamin that. Ailene Voisin . SacBee.com

  • How do you feel 24 hours after the fact? Any regrets? Joe Maloof: We feel like criminals, and we didn't do anything wrong. This was just the wrong time and this was the wrong deal. When the time is right, we'll do a deal. We'll look at another downtown deal or something at Natomas. Ailene Voisin . SacBee.com

  • Can you afford to run a competitive franchise? Joe Maloof: We have tremendous personal wealth. Wells Fargo stock … but I don't want to go into. But we have no debt. We're fine. Ailene Voisin . SacBee.com

  • A lot of people still suspect your plan is to spend next season in Sacramento and then file for relocation in March. Joe Maloof: That's not true, that's not true. I swear that is not going to happen. I don't care what rumors are out there. It's our team. We're not selling, and we're not leaving. Our identity is the Sacramento Kings. That's how we're known. Ailene Voisin . SacBee.com