Over the next few months, we'll see how committed the Maloofs are to Sacramento. Their actions in reaching out to fans, sponsors and the public sector — from the mayor to the supes to Steinberg — will show us whether they are truly willing to re-engage in good faith here.

But to me, there seems to be no question that the NBA is committed to seeing this out.

A few reasons why I believe the NBA is really on board with this last chance:

* The league isn't just sending foot soldiers to Sacramento — it's sending generals. Brian McIntyre is basically the top PR man in the NBA — he became David Stern's "senior communications advisor" last year after serving as the chief of the league's PR arm. We've discussed Chris Granger before — he's the "troubleshooter" and will help sell tickets and sponsorships. More folks are coming with them.

* "Too little too late" would have been an easy case for the NBA to make; proposing new money and a new plan literally four days before the relocation deadline was a risky move by Kevin Johnson, and the league deserves some credit for hearing us out.

* The Maloofs held out until nearly the final minutes. Stern claims he didn't tell the Maloofs to stay. But … uh … they weren't budging on their push to move until the last minutes. Again, Stern could easily have let the Maloofs hang themselves out to dry.

* Stern said Monday that the NBA will be intensely involved in the actual arena negotiations, which means that the Maloofs won't be able to ignore a good plan. No sandbagging allowed.