NBA Commissioner David Stern made the announcement Wednesday. 

"At the request of the Maloof family we’ve determined that the league office will direct future efforts." 

Kings’ owners Joe and Gavin Maloof met with Stern earlier this week to discuss the change in tactics after ballot proposals for a sales tax increase to help fund a potential downtown arena were defeated by Sacramento County voters last week.

Stern says it’s too early to say whether they’ll be collaborating with local government officials or whether they’ll work on putting an arena in Natomas or Downtown Sacramento. 

"It should be in the place that has the greatest possibility of getting done. We don’t come in with a preconceived notion."

But Sacramento County Supervisor Roger Dickinson says he and other local officials already tried to work with the NBA when they were promoting the arena ballot measures. 

"That did not turn out to be particularly productive so we will have to wait to see what it is, if anything, that the commissioner has in mind."

The billionaire Maloofs have come under fire from arena opponents for seeking public funding for a proposed multi-use downtown facility