The NBA says Sacramento Kings co-owner Gavin Maloof will break bread with Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson today – the first step in an image makeover guided by the league's high-powered consulting team.

The private luncheon with Kings corporate sponsors is the precursor to a wider public relations campaign for the team that's likely to start next week, said Christopher Granger, an NBA executive vice president who's leading a nine-person league delegation sent to Sacramento earlier this week.

"You will see a wide campaign, a very wide campaign," Granger said in an interview at Power Balance Pavilion. "We're working on it right now."

Granger's team is advising the Kings organization on executing sponsorship and ticket sales and other nuts-and-bolts issues. It's also trying to help the Kings repair their image following the Maloofs' well-publicized attempt to move the Kings to Anaheim.

The family agreed Monday to keep the Kings in Sacramento another year, giving the community one last shot to assemble financing for a new arena. If a deal isn't in place by next March, the league says the team is free to go.

The mayor and NBA Commissioner David Stern have said the Maloofs have to be involved in the arena effort. While the Maloofs have said they're still skeptical that an arena deal can come together, they've pledged to do whatever they can.

"We talk to them all the time; they're involved," Granger said. "They'll continue to be engaged throughout the process." He noted that the Maloofs already have spent hours on the phones with corporate sponsors since Monday.

Appearing Wednesday on cable television's CNBC, Gavin's brother Joe Maloof gave the fans of Sacramento credit for the family's decision to stay put.

He also gave the mayor and the arena effort what amounts to the family's most enthusiastic endorsement to date: "We're 100 percent behind him and we'll take it from there."

Gavin Maloof's planned presence at the sponsors' lunch is noteworthy because the family has had a rocky relationship at times with Johnson and other city officials.

Also, the Maloofs were rarely seen around Sacramento during their negotiations with Anaheim. No longer courtside fixtures, they didn't attend many games this year and were hunkered down at the family's Palms casino in Las Vegas when they announced the Kings would remain in Sacramento.

Granger said details of the lunch were being worked out Wednesday.

While the success or failure of the arena effort won't be known for many months, the NBA is trying to ensure that the upcoming basketball season is a business success in Sacramento.

Granger's "team marketing and business operations" crew is bivouacked indefinitely at Power Balance Pavilion – a highly unusual commitment from league headquarters that's generally reserved for franchises in distress or going through major transitions.

Despite the Kings' problems, Granger said he's impressed with the fans' loyalty to the team.

Season ticket renewals, which began late Monday, have "exceeded even our most hopeful expectations," Granger said. "It's impressive for any market."

He wouldn't go into details but noted that renewals usually begin in February.

That means the Kings organization, which is moving to hire more sales staff, has to gear up quickly to make up for lost time.

"The demand here is substantial … and our timelines are compressed," he said.

Brian McIntyre, the NBA's senior communications adviser and another leader of the nine-person team, said it's essential to convert fan enthusiasm into ticket sales as quickly as possible.

"We capitalize now," McIntyre said. "You want to sustain the momentum."

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