Well that escalated quickly. 

Less than two days after the NBA Board of Governors voted down the Sacramento Kings relocation, the Maloof family has agreed to sell the team to the group led by Golden State Warriors minority owner Vivek Ranadive. According to a Sacramento Bee report, both sides have signed the agreement and the money has been wired.  It was not made clear whether the full reported sale price of $535 million was transfered.

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson told News10 in Sacramento that he thinks the deal will be approved in about a week and added he doesn't forsee any problems from the Board of Governor in that approval process. Ranadive will now have to sell his minority ownership in the Warriors.

The next question is how much, if any, of the Kings front office and coaching staff will return next season. General Manager Geoff Petrie's contract is up and, frankly, it is amazing he lasted this long. 

Head Coach Keith Smart has one year left on his contract, but it'd be really tough to see him stick around if Petrie goes.  Then comes the roster overhaul that might come with a new front office.

So there are a lot of questions that remain for the Kings, but the key is the Maloof family will be gone very soon and a new arena is a few years down the road.  Now if we can just get the Kings back to this color scheme we would be set!

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it is about that time of the NBA season where the playoffs are underway, and teams already in summer vacation are taking a look at potential NBA players at the 2013 NBA Draft Combine.

The combine kicked off yesterday and players from Glen Rice, Jr. to Nerlens Noel, the NBA's future was on display and this new crop of potential NBA players look ready to make their mark on an NBA team.

Check out some highlights from Day 1 of the NBA Combine.

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The Heat and Grizzlies wrapped up their conference semifinals series and made it to the NBA's Final Four last night with series-clinching wins. They will have some waiting to do, although it may not be too long (or may not be too much of an advantage with the NBA likely waiting to set up the conference final schedule to their liking) with a pair more of elimination games tonight.

The Warriors and Knicks will try to extend their season at least one more game from the comforts of their home tonight.

For the first time in a while, the Grizzlies and Heat can sit back and watch. Surely Lionel Hollins and Erik Spoelstra have begun thinking about the next matchups and what to do. Even if gameplans will not get installed until later. After all, Memphis  brought dogs to their practice the day after eliminating the Thunder.

This would be the time to relax a bit in the Playoffs and try to recoup while you wait.

Since they are waiting, they can think about who they would rather face. So who would Miami and Memphis like to see in the next round? Let's answer.

The Chicago Bulls’ season ended last night, losing in five games to the defending champion Miami Heat.

It was a rough year for the Bulls, who had to wait patiently through Derrick Rose’s recovery only to have him sit out the whole season. They limped through the playoffs, grinding out a gritty series win against the Brooklyn Nets only to come up short to the Heat.

But after all that they can take some consolation in the fact that they have the best mascot in all of American sports!

Yes, Benny the Bull sets the bar when it comes to representing his team.

Benny’s likeability with kids and his ability to get the crowd going has him at the top of Forbes’ list of mascots. What’s most impressive is that Benny is actually the only NBA mascot to crack the top 10. Forbes must think he is in a class by himself.

“The work ethic and the athleticism he displays during game breaks at the United Center have paid off: Benny stands as this year’s most popular sports mascot. That’s the word from The Marketing Arm’s Davie Brown Index, which is based on a survey of public perception of celebrities and their influence on brands. For mascots, the DBI measures popularity by the following criteria: Awareness, likeability, attention-getting, photo-friendliness, interaction and fun. Fans were also asked if a given mascot happened to be his ‘absolute favorite’ or ‘one of my favorites.’”

The end of the Bulls’ season doesn’t mean time off for Benny the Bull. The Chicago mascot does 250 events a year and continues the hard work even when his team isn’t playing.

If you ever get to go and see a Bulls game at the United Center, consider yourself lucky. Aside from getting to see a basketball game, you are also getting the best mascot entertainment that money can buy.

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The Sacramento Kings are staying in California's capitol. That comes after the NBA's Board of Governor rejected the relocation bid which would have moved the team to Seattle.

The vote was 22-8 in favor of keeping the team in Sacramento. NBA Commissioner David Stern did not reveal which teams voted to allow the move. Stern said the next step is meeting with the Maloofs about selling the team to Golden State Warriors minority owner Vivek Ranadive and his group.

"We will talk to the Maloofs and see in the next 24-48 hours to whether we can help facilitate an agreement to be signed between the Ranadive group and the Maloofs for the sale of the franchise." Stern said.

Stern added that he anticipates the Maloofs will accept a sale in the ballpark of $525 million to Ranadive's group. 

As for Seattle, the question now turns to whether relocation will be an option. Stern and Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver said generalized talk about expanding the league to 31 teams may occur after the next national TV deal is decided. Those negotiations have begun. The other bit of news that was revealed on the expansion front is that expansion could be revisited in the next year, as opposed to the three years from now when the current TV deal runs out.

The good news for Kings fans is the only game in town will stay, but I do not imagine the full celebration will happen until a sale from the Maloofs to the Ranadive group is completed. Stern said he hopes that agreement is made as soon as possible.

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The Philadelphia 76ers introduced their new general manager, Sam Hinkie, and the first question he will have to answer (aside from the Draft) in reshaping the franchise is the 7-foot-1 elephant with bad knees in the room. While Daryl Morey might be saying how glad his former protege is in the Eastern Conference, this is not an easy decision or situation for Hinkie to walk into.

Hinkie and 76ers owner Josh Harris know that the trade they made last August to bring in the former Lakers All Star was a risky one -- and one Harris said he would do again despite Bynum missing the entire season -- but Hinkie is an analytics guy. And with Bynum sitting out the entire season before hitting free agency, it increases the stakes this summer.

The possibility of losing Andre Iguodala, NIkola Vucevic and Maurice Harkless for virtually nothing -- Bynum did not play the entire season and Jason Richardson missed half the season with knee issues -- leads to only one conclusion, as Hinkie told Christopher A. Vito of the Delaware County (Pa.) Daily Times:

Hinkie said it's fair to call the Sixers' trade for Andrew Bynum "a failure."

— Christopher A. Vito (@ChrisVito) May 14, 2013

Harris went on to describe the Bynum trade, at least for this past season, as a "sunk cost." In business-speak that is an investment that a businesss simply will not be able to get back.

Twitter has made the phenomenon of the posterizing dunk a cultural touchstone that inspires hashtags, constant replays, oohing and aahing and all kinds of hyperbole.

When DeAndre Jordan dunked on Brandon Knight, the NBA world went buzzing. When LeBron James threw down on Jason Terry, the cycle started again.

Everyone wants in on this action . . . so long as they are the one doing the dunking.

In our world's never-ending desire to set the next trend, "Posterizing" has become a thing. Featured on last night's Inside the NBA, some high school kids are part of this trend (unfortunate for the poor sap just standing there reading his texts):

I feel bad for this kid (unless it was planned) since Inside the NBA featured this bit of trendsetting on national television last night.

Fortunately, this trend is not quite catching on. Kids, it is best to leave the posterizing to the professionals:

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File this under "Why in the world Kobe wanted to share THIS with the masses?"

For some unknown reason, Lakers' Kobe Bryant felt the need to gross everyone out and post a photo via Instagram of his torn left Achilles heel -- during surgery! As is open flesh, blood seen, muscles exposed, and syringe in view. 

Seriously why Kobe? Why?

Check out this disgusting and cringe-worthy photo (h/t Larry Brown Sports) but avert your eyes if you do not like the sight of blood or just anything else this gross.

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Since Jerry Sloan abruptly left the Utah Jazz after 23 seasons in February 2011, his name has come up as a possible candidate for a couple of head coaching positions, but Sloan has always withdrawn because it was not the right fit.

The 71-year-old Hall of Famer is carefully choosing the team that could entice him out of retirement, and who can blame him?

Well it is starting to look like the right fit could be with the Milwaukee Bucks. Sloan has interviewed with the team and is reportedly being seriously considered.

The Bucks started this season with Scott Skiles as their head coach. Skiles left the team in what was called a “mutual decision” and was replaced with assistant Jim Boylan. After making the playoffs with a sub-.500 record, the Bucks decided they were not going to keep Boylan around, so the coaching search began.

If Sloan is going to take the job, he is going to have a project on his hands.

The Bucks have a lot of drama in the locker room and some pretty big egos on the team. The biggest problem is probably Brandon Jennings, but he will be a restricted free agent this offseason and may not return to the team next year.

Sloan is the right guy for the job. The Bucks are going to need someone who commands a lot of discipline and respect. They have some talented guys on the roster, including one of the better backcourts in the league with Jennings and Monta Ellis. Plus they also have some talented young players in Larry Sanders and Ersan Ilyasova.

Milwaukee certainly is not a bad team and with the right coach in place they could make some noise in the Eastern Conference. The question is whether or not the Bucks are worth it for Sloan. It would be nice to see him on the bench again, but only if it is the right fit.

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The teardrop shot.

Many NBA guards are now effectively using it as part of their offensive arsenal as they barrel their way in the paint to score over the big men in the league.

It is pretty much a simple move -- drive in the paint, timely arc the shot to the rim, see it sail over the fingertips of would-be defenders as it swishes into the basket for two points.

From Nate Robinson, Stephen Curry to Spurs' Tony Parker who recently joked the move originated with him, check out how such a elegant move can lead to big problems for defenders in the paint.

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