When former Kentucky center DeMarcus Cousin’s mind wanders to last year's dismal 73-66 loss to West Virginia in the NCAA Tournament's East Regional final, Cousins tosses and turns as images of missed shots and missed opportunities replay in his mind.

"When I think about it, I can't sleep at night because we should have won that game," said Cousins, now a rookie center for the NBA's Sacramento Kings.

Even at 18, Cousins understood he was part of something special.

"Yes, I wish I was still there," Cousins said. "College life was fun."

Sacramento city officials Monday fired off a terse letter to the city of Anaheim warning it to cease negotiations with the Sacramento Kings.

The city went on to say it will seek state legislation to block Anaheim from issuing any inducements to lure the Kings -- unless Sacramento is first assured that the Kings will pay off the estimated $77 million they owe the city.

The dramatic turn of events comes hours before the Anaheim City Council is scheduled to vote on issuing $75 million in bonds.

The Sacramento letter, emailed Monday afternoon to Anaheim City Manager Thomas Wood, warns that Anaheim's actions could cause "irreparable harm" financially to the City of Sacramento.

If the Sacramento Kings are successfully able to move to Anaheim, the Los Angeles Lakers' lucrative 20-year television deal with Time Warner Cable won't be as lucrative as it once was, multiple Lakers sources confirmed to ESPNLosAngeles.com.

Some reports at the time pegged the value of the pact at $3 billion, a figure Time Warner Cable and the Lakers have since refuted.

If a third NBA team moves into the market, the Lakers' television deal will decrease by about just under 10 percent, sources said.

The Lakers' best hope of reclaiming lost revenue is citing their potentially diminished television contract to elicit a hefty relocation fee from the Kings. Relocation fees in the NBA are "discretionary" and established by the league's board of governors.

Henry Samueli, billionaire owner of the Anaheim Ducks, is all but subsidizing the move for the Maloof family so that an NBA team can join the Ducks as professional co-tenants at Honda Center.

Samueli is guaranteeing repayment of the $75 million in lease-revenue bonds which will all be purchased by "private investors". Included in the $75 million package is a $50 million loan to the Maloofs.

But without Samueli's deep pockets — and it's possible he might also give the Maloofs a substantial personal loan — it's questionable the Maloofs would have the money needed to pay the NBA's hefty relocation fee (likely in the $30 million range) and pay off an existing loan with the City of Sacramento.

The Maloofs inherited the terms of a $70 million loan from the previous Kings owner when they bought the team, and there's a reported $67 million left on the loan, which also stipulates a prepayment penalty of $9 million.

That $76 million would have to be paid in full if the Kings relocate or else the City of Sacramento would acquire a $25 million stake in the team.

One of the few bright spots in the Sacramento Kings' woeful season has been the emergence of Marcus Thornton since being acquired from New Orleans for Carl Landry just before the trade deadline.

Thornton is averaging 21 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 46% shooting since joining the Kings, finally getting the minutes he’s shown worthy of for two seasons. The result is a deadly combination of inside-outside play and a real finisher for the Kings while Tyreke Evans has been out.

Evans is back now, but Thornton is still the man for the Kings, as he was Sunday, scoring 28 points in the second half in a 114-111 overtime win in Philadelphia.

The Kings may not be in Sacramento much longer, but wherever they wind up, they’ll have a possible star in the making with Thornton if he can keep playing like he has been.

Included in the $75 million package that the city of Anaheim is using to lure the Sacramento Kings to Southern California is a $50 million loan to the Maloof family from the organization that runs the Honda Center.

The Maloofs have been negotiating for weeks with Orange County billionaire Henry Samieli, who manages the Honda Center for the city and owns the arena's main tenant, the NHL's Anaheim Ducks.

Samueli's arena-management company is offering to spend $25 million to upgrade the building, including new locker rooms, office space, and other improvements.

In addition, Samueli would pay for $50 million in "transition costs." Sources have said those costs would include the relocation fee imposed by the NBA, which could run to $30 million or more.

The city is proposing to issue $75 million in bonds to cover those expenses, but Samueli's organization would be responsible for repayment.

The Maloofs in turn would commit to repaying $50 million to Samueli.

Also Saturday, the Kings issued a statement rejecting a plan by former Kings officials to renovate Power Balance Pavilion in Sacramento.

The city of Anaheim outlined a $75-million plan on Friday to pave the way for the NBA's Sacramento Kings to move into the Honda Center.

Under the agreement, scheduled for a vote at Tuesday's City Council meeting, Anaheim would provide $75 million in lease-revenue bonds: $25 million for construction upgrades to the Honda Center, and $50 million in working capital, possibly for the Kings' relocation costs.

The bonds, funded by private investors, would be paid back over 10 years by revenues from the city-owned Honda Center.

The council actions are the first official acknowledgement that steps are being taken to bring the Kings to Orange County for the 2011-12 season.

The Lakers and Clippers strongly oppose the Kings' move to Anaheim, sources say, because it would bring a third team into their market playing out of a building (Anaheim's Honda Center) that sits just 30 miles away from Staples Center.

But the Lakers and Clippers would need 14 other teams to oppose the Kings' relocation when it reaches the voting stage.  But one source said there are already strong indications in circulation that the Kings will be able to secure the minimum 16 votes required (and maybe more) to clinch the simple majority needed to ratify any proposed relocation.

It would appear that the best L.A.'s teams can hope for is a hefty relocation fee that could dissuade brothers Joe and Gavin Maloof, who co-own the Kings. Relocation fees in the NBA are "discretionary," meaning that the fee established by the league's Board of Governors vary from relocation to relocation. The Seattle SuperSonics, for example, paid a $30 million relocation fee when they moved to Oklahoma City.

If there is a dramatic new plan afoot to keep the Kings in Sacramento, the mayor and other key players say they don't know about it.

R.E. Graswich, an aide to Mayor Kevin Johnson, said he doesn't have any information about a Fox40 television report late Wednesday that said unnamed government and business leaders are discussing a plan to keep the team in town.

And a spokesman for developer David Taylor who's been commissioned by the City Council to develop a feasibility study on a new arena, said Taylor was also unaware of any plan.

Samuel Dalembert needed time to adjust to his new role on a new time following his trade from Philadelphia to the Kings, but he is now a regular starter and anchors their defense. He seems to be happy with the Kings, but is noncommittal about his future as a free agent this offseason.

"I just want to let everything play out," Dalembert said. "See what's happening and see what's going on. You never know what's going to happen."

A potential lockout is one issue facing Dalembert, with a possible move to Anaheim for the Kings being another.

"I try to do my part and let the business side happen," Dalembert said. "We'll see."

Paul Westphal credits Dalembert with figuring out his role on offense.

"I knew he could score and he's always had good percentages," Westphal said. "He's not a one-on-one kind of player you run your offense through, but that doesn't mean he doesn't score.

"He scores as a counterpuncher, and he can get his opportunities with the ball when the defense adjusts when he's not the focus offensively, and he's very good at that."