SEATTLE — There have been plenty of rumblings the past few days but no new indication of which way the NBA Board of Governors will vote Wednesday on the sale of the Sacramento Kings.

The league’s Finance and Relocation Committee held a conference call Tuesday, but no details were released. The panel unanimously voted last month to recommend the NBA keep the Kings in Sacramento, and so far that’s stayed the same.

However, on Tuesday, a lawsuit was filed in Sacramento Superior Court alleging that the city has broke the law on several fronts in its proposed arena deal — a key factor for the Kings to remain in Sacramento. Meanwhile, another group says it plans on launching a ballot initiative to stop the arena funding.

SEATTLE — As an NBA vote nears on the sale of the Sacramento Kings, a “Bring Back Our Sonics” rally was held on Seattle’s Capitol Hill Monday night that featured former star forward Shawn Kemp.

Shawn Kemp greeting fans outside the Sonics rally Monday night in Seattle.

NBA.com is reporting that the league’s Finance and Relocation Committee held a conference call Monday and will meet again Tuesday before the final vote by the Board of Governors, which is made up of all the NBA owners. The board is expected to vote Wednesday in Dallas.

The committee earlier voted 7-0 against relocating the Kings team to Seattle, but since that vote, Seattle-backed investor Chris Hansen has increased his offer to buy the Kings by $75 million.

There are also reports of a “backup agreement” between Hansen and the Maloof brothers, who own the Kings, in case the league rules against the sale of the Kings to Hansen. But that remains to be seen. The vote by the NBA board is the most important element in the Kings/Sonics saga.

SEATTLE — A Bring Our Sonics back party is scheduled for Monday evening in advance of the NBA’s Board of Governors voting on a potential relocation of the Sacramento Kings.

The party will be held at 6 p.m. at Neumos on Capitol Hill. The free event will feature Geo of the Blue Scholars, Neema, Grynch, Nacho Picasso and other artists. It will be hosted by ex-Sonics star Shawn Kemp.

The party is sponsored by Neumos, Alive and Well and Sonics Gate. For more information on the party, click here.

SACRAMENTO — The Maloof brothers, who own the Sacramento Kings, are giving Sonics fans another reason to hope for a return to Seattle.

ESPN.com is reporting that the Maloofs are cutting a new deal with Chris Hansen and Steve Ballmer, the deep-pocketed Seattle-based investors trying to acquire the team.

Two sources told ESPN.com the Maloofs have informed their fellow owners that if their deal to sell and relocate the Kings to Seattle is not approved by league owners next week, they will not sell the team to a Sacramento-based group that wants to keep the Kings in Sacramento.

ESPN.com reports that the cash-strapped Maloofs have made a “backup” agreement with the Hansen-Ballmer group to sell them 20 percent of the team for $125 million to allow the Maloofs to continue to operate the franchise.

The new agreement follows Friday’s announcement that Hansen upped his offer by $75 million to buy the franchise. The voluntarily increase to the proposed purchase price for the Sacramento Kings went up from $550 million to $625 million.

Sources told ESPN.com that the new proposal also included a $115 million offer to owners as a relocation fee, which would amount to about $4 million per team. By comparison, in 2008 when the Oklahoma City Thunder moved from Seattle, they paid a $30 million fee to the other owners.

ESPN.com reports the NBA relocation committee is planning to re-evaluate the Hansen-Ballmer offer and has scheduled another meeting ahead of next Tuesday’s full owners’ meeting in Dallas.

SEATTLE — Chris Hansen’s investment group voluntarily increased their proposed purchased price for the Sacramento Kings NBA team Friday by $75 million, continuing the ever-evolving saga of bringing the Seattle Supersonics back to the Emerald City.

A final decision on the Kings’ move to Seattle is slated for later this month by the NBA’s board of governors. However, the NBA’s relocation committee recently recommended that the Kings stay in Sacramento, siding with the Sacramento’s mayor Kevin Johnson and his efforts to keep the Kings.

Hansen, Steve Ballmer and others announced their decision to raise their purchase price of the Kings on Sonicsarena.com.

Here is Hansen’s full release:

“May 10 • Messages from Chris The Latest on Bringing the NBA Back to Seattle

In an effort to further demonstrate the extent of our commitment to bring basketball back to Seattle, we have elected to voluntarily increase our proposed purchase price for the Sacramento Kings NBA Franchise by $75 million — from an enterprise value of $550 million to $625 million. In conjunction with our revised offer, we have also guaranteed to the NBA that the Franchise would be a revenue sharing payer in all years in Seattle.

We would also like to take the opportunity to again point out just how far ahead our Arena project is:

The ownership group has acquired 100% of the property necessary to construct the Arena.

We have 100% of our private financing for the Arena committed and in place.

After being approved by the City and County Councils the Arena MOU/legislation was signed into law by the Seattle Mayor and King County Executive on October 16, 2012. The referendum period expired 30 days later.

We engaged our Arena architects two years ago and have completed our detailed design schematics and costing.

We have filed for our Master Use Permit and are well underway with the Environmental Review Process, which we expect to conclude late this year.

While we appreciate that this is a very difficult decision for the league and owners, we hope it is understood that we really believe the time is now to bring the NBA back to Seattle, and that it is paramount that we do everything we can to put Seattle’s best foot forward in this process.”

— Chris Hansen

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KTXL-TV) — Mayor Kevin Johnson said Tuesday that investor Chris Hansen and Microsoft’s  Steve Ballmer should “take the high road and be gracious” – and “step back” from their quest to buy the Kings and move the team to Seattle.

“Once the relocation committee spoke as loud and as clear as it did (7-0 vote against relocation), I would probably take a step back and understand that I’m probably not going to get this team, so how can I put Seattle in the best possible position to get a team moving forward?” Johnson said at a news conference. “I would take the high road, and I would be gracious.”

The mayor added that “in some respect, you’re poaching, you’re taking somebody else’s team.”

Johnson brushed off reports that Hansen could still move forward with buying the Kings and keep them in Sacramento, saying, “It’s not a scenario that we’re planning for.”

The full NBA board of governors is expected to take a final vote on whether to approve the Maloof family’s sale of the Kings to Hansen and Ballmer — or to a Sacramento group led by Silicon Valley software exec Vivek Ranadive.

“I’m confident and I expect that we will win and we will be able to keep our team in Sacramento,” Johnson said. “With that said, we are not gloating, we’re not over confident.”

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The investors who are trying to keep the Kings in Sacramento have told the NBA that if they are awarded the team, they will stop taking revenue-sharing money provided the league’s struggling franchises, The Sacramento Bee reported Monday.

The newspaper said that would mean the ownership group led by Vivek Ranadive would forfeit $15 million or more in annual assistance from the NBA’s wealthier clubs.

The pledge, first reported by Sports Business Journal, was made shortly before the NBA relocation committee voted last week to recommend the team stay put. That 7-0 vote sets up a final decision May 15 by the NBA board of governors, which will meet in Dallas.

The current owner of the Kings, the Maloof family, agreed to sell its controlling interest in the Kings for $357 million to Seattle’s investors led by hedge fund manager Chris Hansen and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

Ranadive’s group wants the NBA to reject the Seattle deal and approve its offer to the Maloofs.

Irwin Raij, a sports attorney in New York, told the Bee he isn’t aware of a team in any pro sports league that has rejected revenue sharing.