Sacramento Kings to be sold to Chris Hansen's Seattle group, report says

Seattle billionaire Chris Hansen may be on the verge of announcing that he's buying the Sacramento Kings, according to a Pro Basketball Talk report.

The announcement of the Seattle group's purchase of the Kings from the Maloof family could be just days away, according to PBT's Aaron Bruski. However, even if a deal for the Kings is agreed upon, Sacramento officials will have the opportunity to pitch the NBA's Board of Governors that the team should stay in the Cowbell Kingdom, scuttling the Hansen deal.

PBT reported that "Sacramento is close to announcing three groups of 'heavy hitters' that meet NBA criteria and have the 'vision to transform one of the NBA’s most proven markets into a top NBA franchise.' This, they believe, will help win the NBA’s support for keeping the Kings in Sacramento."

The NBA Board of Governors will ultimately approve or deny the franchise's move to the Emerald City. So the return of the Sonics isn't a given. It's either Hansen's Seattle group getting the franchise or a Sacramento group of investors.

UPDATE: ESPN reports that the Seattle group's deal is $525 million for a majority stake -- 65 percent -- in the franchise.

UPDATE: Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that that the name of the franchise -- if/when moved to Seattle -- would be the SuperSonics.

We've heard these reports before, but the deal seems to be getting closer to being finalized.