It is worth noting that Steinmetz covers sports teams in the Bay Area, and that local reporters in both Sacramento and Seattle have contradicting reports this morning. As with all Maloof negotiations, it's fair to treat this with a healthy level of skepticism until it starts being confirmed elsewhere.

I personally find it difficult to believe that a difference of $25 million, a difference of 5%, was enough to swing the Maloofs from wanting to maintain decision-making powers to suddenly being out of the picture entirely. This flies in the face of everything we know about how the Maloofs value the prestige of being NBA owners (no matter how much they may tarnish that prestige).

As always, stay tuned and we'll update you as more information comes out.