That sound you just heard was Clay Bennett having another stroke moment.
Posted on Tuesday, May 6th, 2008 at 6:45 pm by Steven Pyeatt
Judge Marsha Pechman ruled against Clay Bennett and company today in their attempt to combine the lease issue and the damages issue.
This means that if somehow Bennett and company win the case to break the lease there will be a separate trial to determine the cost they would have to pay to break the lease. This trial would take considerable time to play out so any hope of a move this year was squashed today.
This is a huge win as it will lock the team here for this upcoming season unless they can negotiate a settlement with the city that lets them out of the lease. Obviously that isn’t going to happen so the team WILL be here for 2008-2009 meaning that the vote to relocate will expire and Bennett will have to re-apply at some later date if he still owns the team and wants to attempt a move.
More details later as we hear more.
May 6th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Good news!!!!!!!!!!
May 6th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
Nothing beats a great news like this after a hot shower which also came after a hard game of basketball.
IN YO’FACE CLAY CLAY!!!
May 6th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
thanks, saves me from staying up til late to pick the news out of the reporting.
I kind if feel bad, almost, for Bennett’s lawyers, he is a dumb liar, they don’t have much in the logic department to work with, the truth isn’t helping, grasping at straws is a tough gig.
May 6th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Damn, I hate it when Clay screws up. He’s always been my idol. He’s in the Hall of Fame, you know…
(OK HOF, that is)
May 6th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
There once was a man named Clay Clay..
Who attorneys didn’t know how to play play…
The team he tried to shill…
Proved he did not have the skill…
To get to Oklahoma must must he find now another WAY WAY…
May 6th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
w00t!
May 6th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
Back to business for another year with this game changer. May 20th should decide if Watson or Wilcox gets traded.
May 6th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
Seattle 1 PBC 0
May 6th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
This puts a timeframe around some actions to nail down the state and county after the election to fund the arena. Schultz case should get rolling in a big way as we get closer to the start of the season.
It can be shown where the lack of action has made this much harder than it needed to be.
I am going to make some beer for opening day, last day of October, first if November, the price of hops went through the roof after the tragic fire last fall.
May 6th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
Great news! Is it now 100% that they are here next yr or is it just probably they are here? ANyway good news and hopefully just the first of many victories that will lead to Saving our Sonics!
May 6th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Great news! Is it now 100% that they are here next yr or is it just probably they are here? ANyway good news and hopefully just the first of many victories that will lead to Saving our Sonics!
May 6th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
Great news! Is it now 100% that they are here next yr or is it just probably they are here? ANyway good news and hopefully just the first of many victories that will lead to Saving our Sonics!
May 6th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
Great news! Is it now 100% that they are here next yr or is it just probably they are here? ANyway good news and hopefully just the first of many victories that will lead to Saving our Sonics!
May 6th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
T: its pretty much confirmed, discovery process/trial for the damages trial should take it till next winter/spring
May 6th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
I imagine now the the PBC and the NBA will push hard for a settlement with the City, if one can’t be reached then they will likely just drop the whole buyout attempt and stay for two years thus avoiding an embarrasing trial. We will see how it really plays out.
May 6th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
T, did you just have a seizure or something? 4 times?
May 6th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
THank u Otto… Also I apologize for the multiple posts im on my phone!
May 6th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Otto - more like
City - 2
PBC - 0
Remember PBC lost in trying to take it to arb.
This is great news indeed. Buys us more time and now the legislature can act on their “promise”.
May 6th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
these guys are really pulling at strings in thin air now
http://newsok.com/article/3239437/
of course some of our politicians didnt want to support the arena and were working against it. Welcome to America where people have different opinions.
May 6th, 2008 at 7:40 pm
Brian Robinson on with KJR right now.
May 6th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Sonicsman: Despite the bravado, I seriously doubt Bennett and buddies will just sit tight in Seattle for two years. Lots of reasons that doesn’t work. But mostly it’s just money. The creaking sound you just heard was Aubrey McClendon closing his wallet…
May 6th, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Well Brian said its 98+% that they stay, so thats pretty close to 100%
May 6th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
HA HA HA!
May 6th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
Steve Kelly on KJR in just a minute!
May 6th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
Woo-hoo!!! Now hopefully the Idiot’s I mean Legislator’s will get something done. Maybe if the Supes offer Free Horse Massage Night they will act.
May 6th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
Allright Armondo Montelongo, I mean Clay, let’s see the “Sweet Flip.”
May 6th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Flip that team Clay (you dirty son of a b)! Go Sonics!
May 6th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
Great NEWS! On may 20th get ready to hear and the 5th pick goes to the Seattle Sonics! Stern will make sure we don’t get a high pick now, but obviously a team in Seattle is much more important than either beasley or rose being a Sonic!
May 6th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
If Pechman rules that they are allowed to leave, what would prevent them from leaving before the damages case is settled? Since the damages case will simply be a mathematical exercise to determine how much money PBC owes the City, the team’s physical location at the time of the trial will be irrelevant. Hopefully I am overlooking something.
May 6th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
SanDiegoSonic10
Save the date of the last game at the Key next year, this time we are on that court. Jail, who cares?
May 6th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
News now beginning to break in local media!!
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/basketball/362052_arena07.html
May 6th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
If we get the 5th pick, I’m gonna fly to NYC and cold-cock that midget Stern right in the jaw. The good news is, even at 5 we’ll still land a top-notch player (Mayo, Bayless). Plus, who knows what Presti will have up his sleeve come draft night. If we get stuck at 5, I could definitely see Sam trying to do a Wilcox plus pick 5 in exchange for a #1 or #2 pick.
Counting down the days til May 20th. Hopefully Durant brings us some good luck that night.
GO SUPES!!!
May 6th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
Yeah, you are overlooking Schultz. He’s going for an injunction. So, Bennett has three hurdles (June trial, ‘damages,’ and this little fraud case) to get our Sonics to OKC this year. Not likely…
May 6th, 2008 at 8:29 pm
Cage44
Ill be there sporting my yellow SOS shirt yelling and screaming (LOUD)!!!
May 6th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
I am still worried that PBC will make this a battle of wills and not common sense. We still need a funded building plan as Stern has said going back to Schultz.
May 6th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
Hate to break it to you but if Bennett is stuck with a team in Seattle next season, he’s not going to do anything other than cut costs particularly player payroll. He will do two things: bank draft picks and lose more contracts. Who’s the next to go? The pickin’s are getting thin:
http://hoopshype.com/salaries/seattle.htm
And you thought 62 losses were ugly…
May 6th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Hahahah hahahahaha ha Haha hahahahah hahahah hahahahah!!!!!!
May 6th, 2008 at 8:37 pm
98% that they are here NEXT SEASON. This is not a long term solution.
May 6th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
Hey Oklahoma City, you want to be a “Big league city?” Take the Mariners, although not much Big league about them.
May 6th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
This is great news Chuck!
I’ve wondered for a long while how Clay boy and his crew could screw all this up so badly. Now I’m not counting our chickens yet at all, just saying he could have worked the whole thing in such a way that there would be no court cases if he had simply put up an actual good faith effort. The chances of a high dollar arena coming together were not good and if it did, he’d still win in terms of financial gain. If an arena had not worked out then he would have his team. Does the word GREED sum it all up?
May 6th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
Sene makes $3.9 Million ? What’s his first name? He has played ball for how long? Can he do anything but run and be tall?
May 6th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
Somebody enlighten me. I have never understood Bennett’s claim that the city is trying to “bleed them dry.” With a lease that is essentially sharing revenue….and Bennett damaging his own product by selling off parts, could the city not counter sue for damages? The less buts in the seats, suites, and parking revenue is bring less revenue to the city by having a poor performing team. Is not the specific performance a two way agreement, and Bennett could be breaching the lease agreement? Legal minds, help me out.
May 6th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
98% that the Sonics are here next season. Percentage chance on Bennett still being here, at least something less than that…
May 6th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
So Clay - if you are reading this, how does it feel now that you have “engaged” LOL!
May 6th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
Pretty good news. Take the Clay and PBC!! Save Our Sonics!!!
May 6th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
As greedy as clay is (notice I dont capitalize his first name anymore), how much is he really willing to put up with? Would he be willing to put up with all of this for possibly two more years or would he actually start thinking about selling to locals? (I hope so)
May 6th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
I disagree with the assessment that the team will be forced to remain in Seattle until the separate trial is held on damages. If the judge rules that the specific performance clause is invalid or does not apply, then the judge will likely lift any preliminary injunction to hold the team, perhaps requiring some sort of bond or deposit for a figure to cover a possible judgment.
However, the judge will very much want to avoid a lengthy & messy hearing on damages, so will likely rule in favor of the City of Seattle during the first phase of the trial. This greatly reduces the judge’s work load and the case law highly favors the City’s position, in my opinion. The 2nd phase becomes moot and the judge is a hero.
Ultimately, this helps the City, because if the judge had heard both phases at once, then the judge would be feeling more like Solomon and split the baby. Mark my words - the judge will not want to hear the 2nd phase = win for Seattle.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
“If Pechman rules that they are allowed to leave, what would prevent them from leaving before the damages case is settled? Since the damages case will simply be a mathematical exercise to determine how much money PBC owes the City, the team’s physical location at the time of the trial will be irrelevant. Hopefully I am overlooking something. ”
Good point, they wouldnt have to stay just to find out how much money they owe would they? And just because Howard is gonna go for injunction, doesnt mean it will be granted.This is good news and a small step in the right direction but we still have many more obstacles to overcome.
Also regarding Howards case…does anyone know how many days you have in King County to respond or answer a complaint. Snohomish County I believe is 20 days but not sure about King. So my question is has Bennett already responded to this or if not how much longer does he have? Do you think he will respond with an answer or with a motion to dismiss? Does anyone know?
May 6th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
I wonder if Stern is consoling Bennett right now. I can just see… ooh gotta erase that image out of my head.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:12 pm
I willl give a 98% chance that Bennett files a motion to dismiss.
glennpdx Says:
Who’s the next to go? The pickin’s are getting thin
How does Ridnour or Watson packaged with Sene for Eric Snow grab ya?
May 6th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
I imagine the City has to have their money before the team could leave so the judge would rule they could not leave until the amount is determined. The buyout would be based on being paid first!
May 6th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
Dick - I think you are being generous. I would say it’s a dead lock 100% certainty he does that.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
Dick - I would say it’s a dead lock 100% certainty he does that.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
hellz yea, time to plan for the 08-09 season!
May 6th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
Promtional Nights for 2008-09 Seattle SuperSonics:
Canned Food Night- Bring a canned good in exchange for a ticket to the game. Each can will be given to a member of PBC to help them thru this time of “Financial Bleeding”.
Scorched Earth Night- The First 10,000 Fans thru the door get deed to one acre of land in Oklahoma.
Coats for Clay- Needs no explanation.
David Stern Stepping Stool Night- The First 5000 Kid’s get a step stool just like the one Commissioner Stern uses when he brushes his teeth at bedtime or holds a Press Conference.
Aubrey McClenndon Banner Night: This is a very special night where a Banner will be unveild in the Rafters of Ket Arena. The Banner will have Aubrey’s name and the slogan “You’ve Got Mail!” underneath.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Stern is Basking in the Supposed best playoffs in a long time Glow, even heard one ESPN Radio guy say these playoffs are better than the playoffs in the Bird, Magic, Jordan era. Proud to say I have seen less than 10 minutes of it.
F**k the NBA
Save These Sonics
May 6th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
That’s Key Arena, don’t want anyone to think a new arena is in place yet!
May 6th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Seattle SuperSonic’s 2008/09 roster:
Durant
Green
Collison
Wilcox - trade deadline deal?
Watson - draft day deal?
Ridnour - any takers?
Petro
Marshall
Griffin
Wilkins (probably)
1st Rounder
1st Rounder
2nd Rounders
Swift resigned?
Sene someday?
May 6th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
ML- “Somebody enlighten me. I have never understood Bennett’s claim that the city is trying to “bleed them dry.” With a lease that is essentially sharing revenue….and Bennett damaging his own product by selling off parts, could the city not counter sue for damages?”
my thoughts on this issue are that this is typical BS double speak from a lying manipulative group of social misfits that do not respect the community.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doublespeak
May 6th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
LOL to David Stern Stepping Stool night.
Cage44- Im with you on the playoffs, Ive been excited about the palyoffs since it was apparent how tight the Western Conference was gonna be the whole year, but now that its playoff time, I think Ive only watched a couple games when last year I watched almost every single one. Im just not interested until we save our sonics!
May 6th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
SONICS ARE STAYING IN SEATTLE WHERE THEY BELONG!!! GET LOST CLAY CLAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! Clays only hope of NBA Basketball in OKC is with an Expansion team.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
no, no way, the value of the team is in this market as the Sonics. Move it to OKC with that 15 year lease and tell me what it’s worth.
Howard can argue with little effort that until the case is decided the team can not be relocated because if Howard won how could you in-rename the team and move it back to Seattle from OKC.
it is absurd to think that a judge would defacto decide the case by allowing the team to leave. They already made that point in the initial filing.
These cases have similar goals, having one bail out now is not likely unless there is a team playing in Seattle beyond 2010 involved.
Howard does not have to make the effort a cost getting case material and have Bennett pay for its collection as long as the city keeps going and wins.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Don’t be so sure they keep all those draft picks…
2008-09 Sonics (if Bennett remains owner and they stay in Seattle)
Durant
Green
and the best D League team money can buy…
May 6th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
Cage44
Weird how the Celtics and Lakers are able to make crazy trades that only benefit them and not the teams they are trading with. Lakers vs. Celtics final for ratings; Wow what a coincidence! Stern licks balls.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
Of course the legal guys will have to confirm this but there is no way Clay could just up and move and pay the bill later. The first trial will decide if the lease can be enforced. If the judge rules it can’t that doesn’t instantly invalidate the lease it simply says that the city can’t force the team to stay.
The next step is to decide how much it would cost if Clay were to break the lease. Once he knows that cost he can decide if it is worth it to him to break the lease or not. He can only get out of the lease by paying that amount.
So imagine if he could just leave, and did, and then 6 months later there was a trial that said that Bennett had to pay the lost revenue to the city, county, state, and businesses that depend on the Sonics honoring their lease for their existance. Clay claimed the value of the team to the community was in the hundreds of millions a year in order to try and get an arena deal done now he can’t very well go back and claim that isn’t the case. If the trail decided he had to pay several hundred million he would be stuck having to pay it because he already moved the team.
This is why the team can’t be moved until the amount is known and why they pushed to slide that in the back door. If the amount were low enough that he can justify paying it then he could opt out of the lease but if the amount were too high he would end up riding out the lease.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
Phenom, Marshall and Griffin are likely gone, as they had expiring contracts. I doubt they’ll be back. Same goes for Swifty and Jelly, from what I can tell.
I suspect it’s going to be Durant, Green, Collison, Petro, Wilkens, whoever they can’t trade out of Wilcox, Earl and Luke, four rookies or so and a couple of NBDLers to fill the roster.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
Oh, and Sene. How can I forget Sene?
May 6th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
David Saddam H. Stern
May 6th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
I think this sums up the general sentiment among the majority of the Sonics faithful. Hey, we’ll be ok, and in the end, hopefully everyone will think twice about attempting to steal Seattle’s teams. This will be 3 for 3 when all is said and done.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:54 pm
by the way, I think the city could go after damages to the shared revenue source, that may be a function of cast #3, the fan case involving the deposits and sale of season tickets based on the team being here to 2010.
Bennett is saying that the relationship soured, that really does not matter too much since that can be died directly to Bennett.
The guy that could really collect damages is Howard Schultz. If he is the basketball team Repo Man, bustin’ Clay for doing some crimes, if clay damaged the product with intent then Howard could collect if he won.
Imagine Bennett borrowing money from Stern, he loses the team to Howard, there are damages (he does not get all of his money back from Howard) and then is left with no team and a debt to Stern on a property he doesn’t own.
Live the dream.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:55 pm
Skip Bayless was getting railed by Stephen A. Smith on 1st and 10 today about his lack of understanding regarding basketball. Skip picked the Cav’s to win the Boston series and he was describing how close Lebron is with the orignal #23….Bayless was born in Oklahoma City, which explains a lot about his personality.
May 6th, 2008 at 9:55 pm
ARENA ARENA ARENA ARENA ARENA ARENA ARENA ARENA-let’s go GOVERNOR-get-er-done!!!!!!!!!!!
May 6th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
Is there any way or place online I can order a Save Our Sonics t-shirt??
Im currently in college in California, so haven’t been able to go to any of the SOS events that handed out shrits, but would LOVE to wear an SOS shirt around school/town. Can anyone help me here? It seems like a no-brainer that SOS should have a way of selling shirts to Sonics fans who want them. Just another to help Sonics fans contribute to the SOS cause, both by spreading the word and financially.
In the meantime, I just ordered a SCREW CLAY shirt. Now I’m liking the idea of a Bennet/McClendon “Youve got mail!” shirt, with credit to 4020vision…
May 6th, 2008 at 10:09 pm
“Skip Bayless was getting railed by Stephen A. Smith on 1st and 10 today about his lack of understanding regarding basketball.”
I can’t believe you were even able to sit through that. Easily two of the most annoying personalities in the world.
May 6th, 2008 at 10:09 pm
Good question, DavidE. I’ve been wondering how I could get an SOS t-shirts as well, since I’m at school here in Texas.
May 6th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Regarding why a damages trial would keep the team here next year, Steve is right: while winning the specific performance portion of the trial would likely give Clay the right to leave, it would be too risky for him to do so until the amount of damages was determined. Since a damages trial would stretch well into next season, the team will almost certainly be stuck here.
Moreover, as someone else noted, Schultz’s suit is still sitting out there and if the City lost the specific performance trial, I’d guess that Schultz would immediately move for a preliminary injunction enjoining the team from leaving.
May 6th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
I can hardly type anything relevant to the conversation I am feeling so happy/optimistic right now. The smile is going through my fingers.
Yes, this is an open invitation to say that I never bring anything relevant anyway
May 6th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
Ladies and gentleman…………………I believe it is now time for another David Stern “slap down Seattle” speech in response to the good news for us bad news for them. Which game will he “allow” himself to be interviewed at, and this time allow them to ask the big question? Maybe he’ll say something really new like” they turned down our beatiful stadium” or the Sonics are definitely leaving for Oklaholma. I keep seeing Toto pulling back that curtain on the “Wizard of OZ”. Look! It’s Danny Divito!
May 6th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
DavidE and Sonics fan in TX
I got mine from the pre-game rally before we played the Mavs; the last game of the year. Anyone else know were these fellaz can get one of these?
May 6th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
T Shits are coming online to a Sonics Central near you.. It is an action item to be addressed forthcoming by the SOS community.. We discussed it last weekend and you should have an avenue to do so soon.
May 6th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
Sorry if this was posted already. I saw this posted on the newsok forum and wanted to share. It’s an Oklahoman noticing the poor coverage of the situation.
“We are really missing the information here. I’ve been looking stuff up, outside the Oklahoma news sources. I’m hopeful but really not so sure we have this thing even close to winning. This paper really doesn’t tell the facts and tries to distort the facts in favor of OKC. I saw on the news tonight that a “win” for us being the judge didn’t grant the delay. However, this isn’t a win because the judge threw out the motion for her to decide the buyout with Seattle. Now a second trial would have to decide that, if we make it that far. Which means we have hardly any chance of seeing them here next season. But we probably won’t read any of that in this paper.
Jess, Warr Acres - May 6, 2008 10:46 PM”
I love seeing an open minded Oklahoman come to the realization that their newspaper is a joke!!!
May 6th, 2008 at 10:34 pm
Eric E- thanks for posting that, if only more oklahomans would look at it that way and realize the facts of the case.
May 6th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
Looks like KJR 1-3pm will be the Seattle Sonics gloom and doom show from now on. Groz is out and Ian “all news is bad news” Furness is taking over. Bummer. Groz was the only one there with some cahones, although even they weren’t huge.
http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/story/353812.html
May 6th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
Couldn’t they have cut Softie instead. Or maybe Sandie?
May 6th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
Yes the next step after the city locks them into the lease is for them to go back to the well for damages. Clay has intentionally driven the revenue down to try and claim he can’t make the team work here financially which costs the city their share of the revenues. They will go back and get that money.
In addition you can be sure that every one that does business with the team will be asking for money back for the decreased revenue they suffered. The local businesses will have a class action suit for their losses. The list is endless.
Clay got himself into a real bind when he went to Olympia and made huge claims as to the economic impact the Sonics have to the region. Now he will have to pay up for his destruction of the market.
In the Schultz case I can see a couple scenarios. First since Bennett negotiated a discounted price because he was the only one willing to put “best efforts” into keeping the team there is a chance that BCOS could get that additional money in damages. I don’t think they are asking for it at this point but I could see that possibility.
Here is the best part. When the court places the team in the constructive trust and then has to find a buyer the value of the team will likely be set by appraised value. Bennett can’t get his entire purchase price back because he has intentionally devalued the asset. He sold the Storm, traded away Ray Allen, let Lewis go, dumped all the vets to cut payroll, and has driven away sponsors, ticket buyers, and damaged every revenue stream the team had. We all know that the appraised value was much lower than what he paid because he was willing to overpay to make sure he secured the team. Now you roll back all of the damages he has done and you get a much lower value. The new local owner will get the team at a bargain price and Bennett will end up eating the difference. Talk about being upside down in a deal, this one is big time. I can see his losses being in the hundreds of millions if he tries to ride this out.
So now we get to see if Clay is a smart businessman or not. If he is then he is going to start working on ways to get a team in OKC and leave the Sonics here. He is going to have to get busy bringing Stern back down to earth and getting him to show some leadership and broker a deal.
May 6th, 2008 at 10:44 pm
“Skip Bayless was getting railed by Stephen A. Smith on 1st and 10 today about his lack of understanding regarding basketball.”
Skip Bayless reminds me of Myk.
May 6th, 2008 at 10:47 pm
Thats really disappointing news. Groz is way better then Ian.IMO.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
Schultz can seek an injunction independent of the City’s. Whether he gets an injunction will be telling as to how his suit will fare. Schultz does not have to pursue that right now.
If the PBC wins phase I, then they will attempt to leave as quick as they can. They will propose leaving without posting a bond. The City will seek the largest possible bond that they can ask for in good faith. The PBC owners are cowboys, so unless Schultz has an injunction in place, they will post the bond and split town.
I do not think the judge will hold a phase II trial unless the PBC has already breached the contract. The court is not interested in speculating what the cost would be if the PBC decided break the lease. The court will only hear the matter after the PBC actually breaks the contract and the court must determine actual damages.
In my view, today was a very slight plus for Seattle. However, the PBC can spin this as a big victory because a delay to hear both phases at once would have delayed a trial long enough to guarantee that the Sonics would play at the Key next year. In that respect, this is a win for PBC, because they have increased their chances that they might play in Oklahoma next year. But, my opinion is that the PBC’s chances of winning phase I diminished slightly, giving slghtly greater hope the team will be in Seattle for 2 years.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:16 pm
I would rather listen to Milt Ferness.
Fwiw, I have one class in the evening and on the way home at 9 I find myself listening to KIRO TBTL. Luke Burbank is a funny guy.
Bummer for Groz, I am not an Ian fan. He is a meathead homer (too harsh?), or maybe I don’t give a ratsass about Coogrrrrr anything or his time in Portland. It is more fratboy radio, whooptifreakindo, he brings very little to the table.
I am taking kjr off my presets, they suck.
There, enough kjr hate for everybody? Really, I stopped listening to that station 2 years ago, 7 months of Mariners pregame during the basketball season was getting old.
Did I mention that I thought Steve Sandmeyer is a one trick pony who’s negative vibe on anything involving the Sonics will forever make me dislike him for the rest of his time on this earth (too harsh?).
Goodnight kids, a great victory, and a good sign from the judge.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:17 pm
So now we get to see if Clay is a smart businessman or not. If he is then he is going to start working on ways to get a team in OKC and leave the Sonics here. He is going to have to get busy bringing Stern back down to earth and getting him to show some leadership and broker a deal.
Steve Preatt - Do you think that now the NBA will find a way to give us another team so Clay can take these Sonics to OK? I hope that no matter what happens is that these Sonics stay here and he gets an expansion team for OK. Is this going to be the end game here, that we keep these Sonics? I just fill that the city would take another team so we can keep the NBA here.
May 7th, 2008 at 12:14 am
Bad News about the Groz. He’s my favorite KJR DJ. This certainly isn’t about quality or any problem with the Groz. KJR is just trying to save money. David Grosby is or was (most likely) the highest-paid DJ on KJR and this is just a cost-cutting measure. I’m sure Ian Furness comes pretty cheap. Groz will be around with the Gasman still and will do some fill-in for vacations and such, but he said he took a huge pay cut to do it and he certainly didn’t sound happy about it.
I’m definitely not happy about it either. I know losing the Groz is not like losing the Sonics, but maybe some of us at least could call, write, or e-mail KJR and tell them we would like to see Groz come back to his old show or we’re not going to listen to Ian or something like that. KJR is cutting their costs just like Clay does in Seattle.
May 7th, 2008 at 1:06 am
I like The Groz, but I also like Ian Furness. He gives us Sonics radio just as much as any other host. Softy is my favorite, except during Husky Football season. Nobody gets fans amped up like Softy does for a big game or story.
May 7th, 2008 at 1:30 am
Although I agree this news is good, no one has ruled on this yet. You are presupposing the city of seattle wins a “stay” to keep the team here.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/basketball/362052_arena07.html
I’m happy with this recent decision, but it still up to the courts to decide whether the Sonics are here next year.
May 7th, 2008 at 1:34 am
I’m starting to get this feeling in my bones that our expansion option is closer to becoming a reality. 2 lame duck years will be nothing short of a disaster from a PR standpoint as well as monetarily. Also to be known as the only team in major professional sports obviously tanking it for the express reason of keeping fans away makes a mockery of the league we once dominated.
If the offer is made, I think we should go for it. Schultz will no doubt drop his suit as he will be wearing the mission accomplished bomber jacket. He never figured out that while he gave lip service to the team being a public trust, he still treated it like a real business and everyone knows the only profit to be made is when the team is sold. I’m with Brian in that I have no emotional ties to that rag tag bunch out there right now who ended up wearing the Green and Gold. None whatsoever. I can’t believe these people who waste everybody’s time wondering if Mo Sene will become the next Manute Bol minus the 3 point shooting. Nick Collison is our wily veteran? Jeez, need I remind you we had a record last year worse than our first year. Everyone knows the NBA model is broken. How else can the Heat go from first to worst literally in 2 short years?
We need to bring in the casual Sonics fans in to our side, but not alienate them with our rabid dedication that it must be the present team. It is extremely selfish for us to DEMAND that we hang on to this particular franchise so future generations may not have the opportunity to grow up in this area and be inspired to excel as did James Edwards, Doug Christie, Brandon Roy, Nate Robinson, Jawann Oldham, Jamaal Crawford, Jason Terry, Aaron Brooks, Michael Dickerson, Steve and Spencer Hawes, Clint Richardson and others. Durant will be back as soon as he can, this time for good. I would much rather be sitting in a remodeled Key Arena somewhere down the road with a packed house watching Payton and Kemp’s jerseys being raised to the rafters for time immemorial.
May 7th, 2008 at 1:52 am
I disagree with you. I WILL NOT SUPPORT an expansion franchise. I want Durant. The only reason I am here is to SAVE MY SONICS!!!
May 7th, 2008 at 1:52 am
I disagree with you. I WILL NOT SUPPORT an expansion franchise. I want Durant. The only reason I am here is to SAVE MY SONICS!!!
May 7th, 2008 at 1:52 am
I disagree with you. I WILL NOT SUPPORT an expansion franchise. I want Durant. The only reason I am here is to SAVE MY SONICS!!!
May 7th, 2008 at 1:52 am
I disagree with you. I WILL NOT SUPPORT an expansion franchise. I want Durant. The only reason I am here is to SAVE MY SONICS!!!
May 7th, 2008 at 1:52 am
I disagree with you. I WILL NOT SUPPORT an expansion franchise. I want Durant. The only reason I am here is to SAVE MY SONICS!!!
May 7th, 2008 at 1:54 am
I am sorry about the multiple posts. I just double clicked too many times.
May 7th, 2008 at 8:12 am
wherearemyrings: Well stated. The decision, when it comes, is not about us. It’s not about the most rapid fans, the most Durant-obsessed among us. It’s about the future. About Sonic fans who are not yet fans (or even born). It’s about the vitality of the city and Seattle Center. It’s about playing in the big leagues, and being a big league city. I have no attachment to our current roster of underachievers and drifters. Ugh. SIXTY-TWO LOSSES! That alone makes me want to run this team out of town. On the other hand, Durant is the real deal, and I hope he has a future in Seattle. But keeping this franchise (at any cost) is not the only way to have Durant wear green and gold in Seattle. Even keeping this franchise does not guarantee it, so I don’t buy the argument about keeping the roster, or any part of it…
If expansion is on the table, why is it automatic that Seattle gets that team and the Sonics franchise moves to OKC? At that point, doesn’t it make more sense to award the expansion team to OKC and leave the Sonics here? (There I go again, thinking something is going to make sense.) It ain’t over yet. We don’t know how this will end, but I will go with whatever works and keeps an NBA future in Seattle…
May 7th, 2008 at 8:37 am
Durant is great and will be a great player. Let’s not hang on him. An expansion franchise will stink for a while. There will be other players to pick. Let’s look at some top 5 picks from the past 6 years. Horford, Durant, Roy, Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Howard, Lebron, D Wade, Carmello, Chris Bosh, Yao, Amare S, Caron Butler.
My point is that other great players will be around to be drafted. Let’s not go crazy about one guy if it means not having bball in Seattle.
May 7th, 2008 at 8:37 am
I want Durant too.
May 7th, 2008 at 8:44 am
“My point is that other great players will be around to be drafted. Let’s not go crazy about one guy if it means not having bball in Seattle.”
SAVE THESE KD-LED SONICS!
I have zero interst in supporting an expansion “Sonics 2.0″ or stealing a team from another city. For me, its these KD-led Sonics or bust.
May 7th, 2008 at 8:49 am
Other factor not mentioned here is if city lost this judge’s ruling on specific performance they could appeal and postpone a move. If they lost they’d have to assess prospect for a reversal but they could also assess value of just tying things up longer.
May 7th, 2008 at 8:56 am
I now see the appeal aspect mentioned in Greg Johns story.
May 7th, 2008 at 8:58 am
I completely disagree with u about the expansion.no way!isn’t the reason were fighting for this team?I know people have there different feelings about this but if the NBA is willing to let our team be stolen after 41 years and then throw us some crappy expansion team I will not support it!
May 7th, 2008 at 9:03 am
What the fff is going on. Dont give up on OUR team. We are looking decent as far as the trials are going. No expansion.NO FFFNNN EXPANSION! If we lose this team its because of a crooked league that I would not want to be apart of ever again. Why would anybody support a new team? For somebody to come in and steal it for there own city. Come on. Dont give up. We will not get another player to build around like Durant. I PROMISE! Like glennpdx mentioned in his post that if we are offered an expansion, then why doesn’t Okieville get the expansion and we keep 41 years. (43 years when the lease is up) If I was a fan in Okieville(thank god Im not) I would want a new team and not someone elses old team. What the fukc!SAVE THIS TEAM! NO EXPANSION!
And by the way, do you think that when another owner wants to move his team, dont you think an open Seattle market would be there first choice. For those of you that would still support a step child team, dont let the threats from Sterny sway you. FIGHT FOR THIS TEAM DAMNIT
May 7th, 2008 at 9:15 am
“My point is that other great players will be around to be drafted. Let’s not go crazy about one guy if it means not having bball in Seattle.”
This team or no team. Durant and Green or bust.
May 7th, 2008 at 9:15 am
Why in the wide world of sports would we want an expansion team over the Sonics? Also David Stern has already said he would not expand in Seattle anyways. KD is the future of the NBA and expansion is not!!! SAVE OUR SONICS!!!
May 7th, 2008 at 9:20 am
I hope Stern realizes that an expansion team would do better in a brand new market with a level of excitement and acceptance that such a team would never get in an embittered burned-out market. An expansion team in Seattle would be perceived as a giant step backwards and a radical end of the tradition of the true SuperSonics, who would all but in name have been stolen.
May 7th, 2008 at 9:26 am
This city sweated and paid the price for the load of draft picks & the two rookies. We did not pay our dues just to profit OKC.
It is harder to rekindle a flame than to keep the fire burning.
May 7th, 2008 at 9:31 am
Rock - I agree. Look at Charlotte as an example. It becomes even worse if there is a time gap between losing the team and getting an expansion team.
All of this is moot without an arena deal though.
May 7th, 2008 at 9:49 am
wherearemyrings Says:
May 7th, 2008 at 1:34 am
I would much rather be sitting in a remodeled Key Arena somewhere down the road with a packed house watching Payton and Kemp’s jerseys being raised to the rafters for time immemorial.
> More like: raised to the rafters for 10-12 years until another new stadium is demanded!
May 7th, 2008 at 9:57 am
Rock
AMEN!!!
May 7th, 2008 at 10:05 am
One of my best buddies lives in Charlotte. There are a number of issues there. One of them is that the team had some success with the Hornets and none with the Bobcats. The idea of drafting all NC players and holding cap room forever has not helped them with the fans. They actually had real basketball with the Hornets. If the Bobcats put a playoff caliber team on the floor for a couple years things would be just fine in Charlotte.
I have one concern keeping basketball in Seattle for the long haul. I watched Sikma, Freddie Brown, and Gus Williams. I want a team that I can cheer on for another 30 years. I want to secure a Sonics team to root for after KD has retired from the NBA and TNT.
Court cases and all, we don’t get any team without a funded building proposal. Unfortunately, Stern is correct in saying that there has been a battle to get an improved facility in Seattle for 4 straight years with no real results. Yes, there were problems with each of the proposals, but the result is still the same, not building. IMO, $75M from Clay and a promise for a NBA franchise once the new building is build secures NBA basketball in Seattle. This plan allows us to bypass Chopp and the legislature. No taxes and Clay pays 25% of the new building. We get a team and our pound of flesh all at the same time. Not the best answer, but one that is more realistic than any other. If we had a building plan or a real hope of one, then I would feel a bit different.
The expansion plan also takes care of the question of where the team would play while the new building was being constructed.
May 7th, 2008 at 10:20 am
KD is great. I am a fan of what I have seen of Rose, so far. But the honest truth is that there have only been a hand full of guys in the last 26 years of the NBA who have brought their teams championships: Jordan, Isaiah, Duncan, Shaq, Bird, Dr. J, Magic and Hakeem. I am not giving any of the new Pistons that rank. Guess what? I am not ready to put KD in that class. Otherwise, there are a lot of players who can bring exciting, winning bball to Seattle.
May 7th, 2008 at 10:23 am
Does anyone feel that the Milwaukie Brewers are “our” team? I admit I cringed when they made the WS and thought of the possibilites. The Mariners have worked out, but it was a long haul. That said, I don’t want an ugly step sister as a favor from David Stern. Screw him, and stick it to them. It baffles me how far up Clays tush he is, and the BOG is OK with it. Is this really the sport that we want to cheer for??? I dunno. You can’t replace a 41 year old relationship with a newborn and say that their is continuity.
How can Dallas, LA (twice with the Ducks and the Kings), Carolina, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Nashville (???) and Columbus (???) all be NHL cities, and not Seattle? Even Phoenix is bigger time than Seattle when it comes to the big 4. I’m ready for the NHL if the NBA can’t see how vital Seattle is with the SONICS.
May 7th, 2008 at 10:26 am
“IMO, $75M from Clay and a promise for a NBA franchise once the new building is build secures NBA basketball in Seattle.”
malaman41 - I respect your level-headed approach to the issue of keeping NBA basketball in Seattle. It’s noble, and would certainly be a great end solution for the likes of the league, King David, and Clay.
But an expansion team would most certainly would push me toward becoming a citizen for more important things.
While I enjoy the league as much as the next fan of great basketball, I’m not here to simply save the NBA’s presence in Seattle and advocate a “best option for all sides”. I could care less about the NBA’s, Stern’s, or Clay’s best interests.
Seattle has successfully hosted the NBA for over 41 years. Anything less than these Sonics staying in town would be a slight I would have no interest in overcoming by supporting some nu-Sonics.
I’m here to SAVE THESE KD-LED SONICS!
May 7th, 2008 at 10:27 am
Sounds like the NBA isn’t expanding within the states because the talent is too diluted….if anything, the league wants to expand internationally. Relocating a franchise to Seattle alienates me and many as well. Sonics or nothing.
May 7th, 2008 at 10:27 am
Expansion to Seattle is beyond idiotic. Save the Sonics. It is that simple, and if David Stern had a clue, that’s what he’d do. Bad sadly Stern has no clue, so we must fight this in the courts and the court of public opinion.
May 7th, 2008 at 10:28 am
It is unacceptable to accept an expansion team while Schultz’s lawsuit is pending. Don’t forget that we have two good lawsuits here, not one. While we have this leverage we need to do everything we can to keep THIS TEAM. We only accept expansion as a last resort, when all other options have been exhausted. To me that’s the worst case scenario, because the league is not going to stay away from a market like Seattle for long, no matter what Stern is blustering about right now.
May 7th, 2008 at 10:29 am
BTW, I will quit the arena and NBA efforts if the Sonics are sacrificed. Sonics or bust! If the Sonics leave, I am done with the NBA forever.
May 7th, 2008 at 10:30 am
malaman42, you have to remember, the next session is in January I think. There is no way they reject the offer from Balmers group. They will pass the extra 75 million. The trials could last that long and by then if we have the money for the upgrade and Balmers group still willing to buy the team, I dont see the owners letting them relocate. By then, Clay Clay will want to sell becuase of the cost of the trial. This is all my dream of course.
May 7th, 2008 at 10:38 am
“Otherwise, there are a lot of players who can bring exciting, winning bball to Seattle.”
Kind of like J-Rich, Gerald Wallace, Emeka Okafor, Adam Morrison, Derek Anderson, Walter Hermann, Ray Felton, Othello Harrington, Jared Dudley, Matt Carroll, Brevin Knight, Kareem Rush, and others have either tried or are trying to do for Charlotte’s expansion team? All players mentioned have been fantastic at some point in their careers, be it at the college, D-League, NBA, or international level.
However, I’d take KD over ALL of ‘em, as I would take him over anyone in the league today not named LeBron, Kobe, or perhaps a healthy D-Wade. Sorry, but giving up Seattle’s first ever Rookie of the Year and potential face of ALL Seattle sports for the next decade or so is something that sounds completely ridiculous to me.
SAVE THESE KD-LED SONICS!
May 7th, 2008 at 10:44 am
Skip Bayless reminds me of Myk.
- That is a pretty low blow…even from a Cougar. Most of my opinions have at least some basis of logic or facts to support my case (whether you believe them or not)., Bayless just pulls them from thin air.
May 7th, 2008 at 10:55 am
Right now there are so may possible solutions that include keeping the current team, obtaining another team from a failing market, or bringing in an expansion team. They all have upsides and downsides. Of course the main goal is to keep our current team but that current team is no better than an expansion team (maybe worse in some areas) so we have to keep in mind that “Our Sonics” is our team, colors, and history playing with SEATTLE on the jersey.
Save Our Sonics is 100% committed to two non-negotiables. Continuous presence and a team named the Sonics. The details
We all loved Gus Williams, but there was life after Gus.
We all loved Shawn Kemp but there was life after Shawn.
We all loved Gary Payton but there was life after Gary.
We all loved Ray Allen but there is life after Ray.
We all love Kevin Durant but there will be life after Kevin.
Players come and go but the franchise lives on and it WILL live on in Seattle.
May 7th, 2008 at 11:04 am
- everyone should listen to malman…he is very smart…
May 7th, 2008 at 11:04 am
malaman
May 7th, 2008 at 11:06 am
and Steve Pyeatt also explains the situation very well. It’d be really disappointing if so many people here just quit on a team because of one player, who played one year.
It just seems odd…by that rationale…if the Sonics had ended up with Mike Conley Jr. or Yi Jianlin…would you have not wanted to keep the Sonics at all? I find that highly unlikely
May 7th, 2008 at 11:09 am
“Of course the main goal is to keep our current team but that current team is no better than an expansion team (maybe worse in some areas) so we have to keep in mind that “Our Sonics” is our team, colors, and history playing with SEATTLE on the jersey.”
An nu-Sonics or Sonics 2.0 expansion team would communicate failure and a break in Sonics history to me, and I would not be interested. IF Clay somehow “wins” and successfully relocates this team to OKC, count me out for supporting expansion.
But, each unto their own…
May 7th, 2008 at 11:11 am
“and Steve Pyeatt also explains the situation very well. It’d be really disappointing if so many people here just quit on a team because of one player, who played one year.”
Myk - it wouldn’t be a quitting a team at all. It would be choosing to not support a BRAND NEW EXPANSION TEAM we received from King David after losing this team to his good friend Clay and the top 5 worst place to live in the world.
SAVE THESE KD-LED SONICS!!!
May 7th, 2008 at 11:19 am
In addition, wasn’t landing the #2 pick in last year’s NBA draft (which turned out to be ROOKIE OF THE YEAR KEVIN DURANT) a significant, if not thee, reason Nichols cut off buyout talks with Clay?
KD is that special, and will join the elite “best ever” bunch by the end of his career. He’s a 6-9 finesse sg with a sky’s-the-limit upside. He is THAT special, and will end up being THAT dominant. Plus, as a bonus that means everything to some (most all of Seattle - basketball fans or not) and little to others, he’s got a level head and isn’t an asshole.
May 7th, 2008 at 11:20 am
I don’t think its just the KD factor that fires up the ‘this team or bust’ crowd. I think they are just trying to be the Farrah Fawcett of NBA fandom.
What the hell am I talking about, you ask?
Back in the 80s Farrah did a couple of those bad-azz chick movies where she was a rape/beating victim who fought back and in the end burned one dude while he slept and buried another guy in the yard (or something).
So in this analogy, Seattle NBA fans have two options…
1) get raped and beaten by Stern/Bennett, stand up, love them, thank them for what they did to you, beg them to do it again
2) get raped and beaten by Stern/Bennett, stand up, burn them while they sleep and bury them in the back yard
Farrah chose #2 as are the ‘KD Sonics or bust’ people. I can’t fault them.
May 7th, 2008 at 11:21 am
Players come and go but the franchise lives on and it WILL live on in Seattle.
That’s all that matters to me.
For those that say these Sonics or they’re done forever, fans come and go too. Witness the post ‘95 wave of new Mariners fans. They may not be as knowledgeable as the previous fans and may be more interested in asinine things such as hydro races and dancing grounds crews but the only thing that matters is the gate receipts. Of course once the novelty wears off and they learn more about the game, at the end of the day you have to field a competitve product, as proven by last nights Safeco Field attendance low. Personally, I lost interest in the game when the ‘94 series was cancelled. I have a hard time watching more than an inning at a time now unless I go to a game. But baseball hasn’t missed me. The roundabout point is, life will go on in the sporting world no matter what type of noble stand the “diehards” feel they have to take.
May 7th, 2008 at 11:29 am
Dick - best of luck with lying down and taking it from Stern and Co. if Sonics 2.0 becomes a reality.
May 7th, 2008 at 11:29 am
Clint: I think you might have missed my allusion to the Bobcats poor personnel decisions.
I think that the legislature could very well turn down the Ballmer offer. Even if all of that comes together, Clay has to be willing to sell. If he and his buddies are upset enough to throw $60-80M down the drain to see Seattle suffer then we lose the team.
It is a high stakes game where all 3 or 4 pieces have to come together. I think we have a better chance of negotiating with Stern and Clay than waiting them out. The court cases are the leverage to get them to the table and bargain. Unless, Schultz wins his case outright, PBC and Stern hold all of the cards.
May 7th, 2008 at 11:44 am
KD is that special, and will join the elite “best ever” bunch by the end of his career. He’s a 6-9 finesse sg with a sky’s-the-limit upside. He is THAT special, and will end up being THAT dominant. Plus, as a bonus that means everything to some (most all of Seattle - basketball fans or not) and little to others, he’s got a level head and isn’t an asshole.
- Again…by this rationale are you saying that if the Sonics had not been able to draft KD you wouldn’t have cared if the NBA left?
1) get raped and beaten by Stern/Bennett, stand up, love them, thank them for what they did to you, beg them to do it again
- After all you heard from Bennett and Stern are you truly saying that you don’t believe getting an expansion team in Seattle (with no break in continuity) is not a huge win? There is no way they would’ve ever planned on things happening this way.
Clint: I think you might have missed my allusion to the Bobcats poor personnel decisions
- It’s been pointed out many times in many different ways that the reason Charlotte has been such a failure is because they hired such a poor group of basketball people to lead their franchise…Bernie Bickerstaff is the best they could get…really??
May 7th, 2008 at 11:47 am
malaman41 - all of the past and present Bobcat players I listed were solid-to-excellent players at some point in their careers. Heck, I would have taken Adam Morrison at #1 a few years ago.
But, none of them have panned out to be excellent as Bobcats, and fan interest in the franchise as a whole has been lukewarm at best.
These current Sonics may be a bunch of do nothings+KD and Green, but they’re still OUR do nothings+KD and Green and represent a continued league presence in Seattle for over 41 years. Breaking that continuity along with losing KD and forming an upstart Sonics 2.0 would totally alienate me as a fan.
I mean, there would be absolutely no integrity in supporting an expansion team in Seattle after a franchise, OUR franchise with 41 years of history in the city, was visciously swept away to an undeserving, underqualified OKC because David Stern felt like punishing our state and city leaders.
SAVE THESE KD-LED SONICS!
May 7th, 2008 at 11:48 am
Dick - best of luck with lying down and taking it from Stern and Co. if Sonics 2.0 becomes a reality.
- Dick is just pointing out that the number of people who “give up the NBA forever” is amazingly small…no matter how tough we talked. I was someone who felt that he wouldn’t follow the NBA anymore…and I have already said that no matter what this situation has changed how I view the game.
However, if the team is good I am still going to support them.
Why wouldn’t I?
If watching good basketball leads to my enjoyment as a human being then it would be dumb to hold back that enjoyment to try and prove a point to someone who could really care less. This in some ways is like the argument people use against the arena that goes “I don’t want to build a palace for billionaires and millionaires”. Well in my eyes…we are building a palace for all of citizens to go watch those people entertain us. The Arena is really something for the people…not the team.
May 7th, 2008 at 11:49 am
“Skip Bayless reminds me of Myk.”
SAVE THESE KD-LED SONICS!!!
May 7th, 2008 at 11:51 am
But, none of them have panned out to be excellent as Bobcats, and fan interest in the franchise as a whole has been lukewarm at best.
- At this point Gerald Wallace is better than KD. Jason Richardson probably is as well.
These current Sonics may be a bunch of do nothings+KD and Green, but they’re still OUR do nothings+KD and Green and represent a continued league presence in Seattle for over 41 years. Breaking that continuity along with losing KD and forming an upstart Sonics 2.0 would totally alienate me as a fan.
1) Can we stop including Green in these conversations? I can understand not wanting to lose Durant. However, Green hasn’t shown any signs that he will be a great player that would effect my feelings towards the team.
2) What part of:
Save Our Sonics is 100% committed to two non-negotiables. Continuous presence and a team named the Sonics.
Makes you continue to talk about a loss of continuity.
May 7th, 2008 at 11:56 am
?“Skip Bayless reminds me of Myk.”
SAVE THESE KD-LED SONICS!!!
- Hmmm, making an argument that has no real logic behind it…sounds like you’re the one pulling a Skip.
May 7th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
“However, if the team is good I am still going to support them.
Why wouldn’t I? ”
Exactly why I wouldn’t mind Amtraking it to Portland on weekends and showing the Seattle’s B-Roy, Martell Webster, Paul Allen, and (because he was here FOREVER) Nate McMillan some ticket and merch love.
Hmm… Successful Portland Trailblazers led by a handful of Seattlites, or Sonics 2.0 led by a bunch of expansion draftees after the original, 41 year-old Sonics were ripped away from Seattle and maybe or maybe not owned by Steve Ballmer…?
Seeing as integrity would be sacrificed in electing EITHER option, I’d go with supporting the winning Seattle basketballers in Portland. I’m a fan of good basketball as much as a the next guy, but I am not a fan of being steamrolled by a big business like the NBA on my own turf.
May 7th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
“What part of:
Save Our Sonics is 100% committed to two non-negotiables. Continuous presence and a team named the Sonics.
Makes you continue to talk about a loss of continuity.”
None of it, and I am fully committed to doing what I can to save our Sonics.
But losing these Sonics and enduring any period of time without an NBA, only to have an expansion team magically appear (defying any sort of business sense, especially when you consider sharing revenue among all teams) would signify a BREAK IN CONTINUITY, and certainly a breaking away of me as a fan of the NBA in Seattle. I believe that this scenario would also mean that, despite best efforts and limited resources, the SOS movement would only represent Save Our Storm, and would have failed at saving our Sonics.
Myk, I’ll never buy into what I consider the Sonics 2.0 expansion movement.
SAVE THESE KD-LED SONICS!!!
May 7th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Integrity? Are we still talking about the NBA?
(We all loved Spencer Haywood, but there was life after Spencer…)
May 7th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Myk, I’ll never buy into what I consider the Sonics 2.0 expansion movement.
- OK…what part of non-negotiable isn’t coming clear. When the leaders of SOS state that they are OK with an expansion team they are doing it as part of having a continuous period of time with a team.
Seeing as integrity would be sacrificed in electing EITHER option, I’d go with supporting the winning Seattle basketballers in Portland. I’m a fan of good basketball as much as a the next guy, but I am not a fan of being steamrolled by a big business like the NBA on my own turf.
- OK…so what happens when all those players no longer play for the Blazers?
May 7th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Clarification #1, of an ambiguous point I have made in the past:
I think there is a 1 in 28 chance (maybe better) that Durant plays in a Seattle Sonics jersey in 2012-2013, no matter what team ends up in OKC (assuming there is an owner of a team that could put a team in OKC when this is all said, and done).
Really, KD could spend 3 years here with Bennett as owner, get relocated in 2010-2011, then more Bennett bliss, then 2011/12 he gets the Qualifying Offer.
So, this is what I mean when I say that maybe Durant might be in a Sonics uniform in 2012. This is true of any and all of the Sonics in uniform right now.
Clarification #1, of an ambiguous point I have made in the past few months (a year):I think there is going to be a team named the Sonics in Seattle past 2010.
This is the current team; another team painted green and gold, and expansion team pained green and gold.
Bennett does not, and has not, wasnted to have the “Sonics” in OKC, but the Sonics “franchise”. They had a naming contest in the OKC news the week after he filed for relocation. His offer of the Sonics name, history, team colors, ball boys, etc has been a meaningless gesture. He does not want a Seattle Sonics team in OKC, he wants a team in OKC. So, get past the history, jersey hangin’, who your fav player is stuff. He’s leaving that box in the shed for the next owner to find.
In order of pref, and likelyhood in my mind, outside the circle, know only what I read in the papers:
1. Sonics stay in at much tact as possible (Bennett goes not in tact and takes some bits with him that may, or may not be assets, towels, slippers, his leg razor, he can have Presti, I’ll take Cho and half the posters on this site over Presti and PJ). The giant dollar figures pile up, topped of with a colossus of a claim: Howard be thy name.
2. Another team, but not in name. As Slade Gordon said, Bennett becomes an interested party in solving the solution, and helps in expediting the relocation of another team to be here when he leaves. Maybe he still gives up assets, maybe 24 players walk in to the home team dressing room in street clothes, and 12 walk out wearing Sonics jerseys that were not on the same team when they walked in.
3. An expansion team named the Seattle Supersonics. Maybe Durant comes back a s a free agent because he can. He is making more money from endorsements than he is from the Sonics, staying in OKC would be up to him, after all of this (cheer him on from the cheapest seat you can afford).
That’s my outside the circle guess in descending order of likely outcomes. I could be very wrong, but I haven’t been too wrong so far. I picked the wrong billionaire to show up, I thought the State would deliver on the arena on the last day of session and not this fall. Oh well. Prepare to be wrong again is all I can do.
May 7th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
#2
May 7th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
“- OK…so what happens when all those players no longer play for the Blazers?”
Unless they relocate and are replaced by a bullshit expansion team, they will still be the original Blazers.
I’ve been a Sonics fan for 20 years (since the age of 5) and a Washington resident my whole life. If these Sonics are replaced by an expansion team, I’m out. That is how much saving these Sonics means to me.
SAVE THESE KD-LED SONICS!!!
May 7th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
“- OK…so what happens when all those players no longer play for the Blazers?”
Unless they relocate and are replaced by a bullshit expansion team, they will still be the original Blazers.
I’ve been a Sonics fan for 20 years (since the age of 5) and a Washington resident my whole life. If these Sonics are replaced by an expansion team, I’m out. That is how much saving these Sonics over importing another team to dress up like the Sonics means to me.
SAVE THESE KD-LED SONICS!!!
May 7th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Unless they relocate and are replaced by a bullshit expansion team, they will still be the original Blazers.
- To each his own…I find it hard to believe that you will remain a loyal Blazer fan for an extended period of time. However, if it is that important to you…if you would give up being able to support a team in your hometown…a team where you can wake up one day and just decide to go to a game that evening…then that is your decision.
You are in the very, very, very small minority…and if Sonicscentral.com still exists in 2011 it will be interesting to see if you are still around.
May 7th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
“You are in the very, very, very small minority…and if Sonicscentral.com still exists in 2011 it will be interesting to see if you are still around.”
That’s BS. There’re plenty of people saying that they’d be done with the L if this team leaves, just listen to the damn radio. You’ve even said many times that your interest in the NBA has waned over the last few years, and that if it wasn’t for this forum, you probably would have much of a reason to care.
First off there’s plenty of reasons for which both sides of the argument are legitimate. If you’re a flat-out fan of hoops then your concern is to ensure that your favorite game will be here for years to come, and for your children to witness; not a damn thing wrong with that.
Then there’s the other side: You’ve been a Sonics fan and can’t stomach the idea that some group from OK can just hijack your team and take it to BF Egypt because the city doesn’t cave to their half billion dollar demands. The entire principle of the matter makes you feel that, unless the league changes its stance 180 degrees, you’re not going to support that kind of extortionist bullshit.
I had a great life before I cared about the Sonics or the NBA, to think that it’d be significantly worse without them makes me question how spoiled I am as an American. There is life beyond the NBA, period.
Neither opinion is wrong in any way, so it’s pretty pointless to argue about which stance the “true fan”would take.
May 7th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Any solution involving leaving the team logo with Seattle is BS. The current logo clearly states “Est. 1967″ If the team leaves that will have to be changed to “Est. 2012″ or whatever.
Becuase of that alone I would not accept any replacement franchise.
May 7th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
F the NBA.
F Stern.
F Bennett.
F every Okie coveting our team.
May 7th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
I had a great life before I cared about the Sonics or the NBA, to think that it’d be significantly worse without them makes me question how spoiled I am as an American. There is life beyond the NBA, period.
- This is actually why I dont think many fans will “go away”. I think as a whole everyone has been soured enough that they will probably not be willing to spend their hard earned dollar on a team that is 20-62. However, when that team is 62-20 I have a hard time believing you will just completely ignore the team.
People will treat the team like a movie…it will be just another form of entertainment that when it is good (Godfather) they will spend $20 bucks to see. When it is bad (Lindsay Lohan movie of the week) they will go spend their money elsewhere.
I just can’t say that with a clear conscious that I would just completely avoid the team if it was one of the big news stories in town. We’re sports fans…we will naturally gravitate towards the big sports stories. Bill Simmons has spent years talking about how he’d never follow the NHL again and then suddenly the Bruins are in a big game with Montreal and there he is writing an article about it.
May 7th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Any solution involving leaving the team logo with Seattle is BS. The current logo clearly states “Est. 1967″ If the team leaves that will have to be changed to “Est. 2012″ or whatever.
Becuase of that alone I would not accept any replacement franchise.
- I was at Green Lake this weekend and for the first time I wondered what they would even do with the big Sonics logo on the basketball court there.
May 7th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
Donald Trump showed America that everybody has a price and sometimes it is better to be re buffed on a sale of a property you want initially only to have the owner come crawling back to you at a later date desperate to sell-at a much lower price–leverage leverage leverage baby!!!!
May 7th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
gooooood news, and i’m happy. i’m not a big pc guy, but the stroke/seizure jokes are tough on this end in that a) dear ol’ mom died of a stroke back in january, and b) son #1 (out of 4 kids) has epilepsy.
so, i’m not charging anyone w/bad motives, but for a fellow sonic fan and seattle loyalist, go easy on the medical malady = funny reference stuff. . . if possible.
anyway, whatever keeps clay tied up in knots makes me happy. in slade i trust.
May 7th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
gooooood news, and i’m happy. i’m not a big pc guy, but the stroke/seizure jokes are tough on this end in that a) dear ol’ mom died of a stroke back in january, and b) son #1 (out of 4 kids) has epilepsy.
so, i’m not charging anyone w/bad motives, but for a fellow sonic fan and seattle loyalist, go easy on the medical malady = funny reference stuff. . . if possible.
anyway, whatever keeps clay tied up in knots makes me happy. in slade i trust.
May 7th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
gooooood news, and i’m happy. i’m not a big pc guy, but the stroke/seizure jokes are tough on this end in that a) dear ol’ mom died of a stroke back in january, and b) son #1 (out of 4 kids) has epilepsy.
so, i’m not charging anyone w/bad motives, but for a fellow sonic fan and seattle loyalist, go easy on the medical malady = funny reference stuff. . . if possible.
anyway, whatever keeps clay tied up in knots makes me happy. in slade i trust.
May 7th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Charliesonic, you just made me feel like a jackass three times over.
May 7th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
“Hmmm, making an argument that has no real logic behind it…sounds like you’re the one pulling a Skip.”
Actually Myk….I speak more to the fact that you seem to take the devil’s advocate/unpopular position alot lately. Nothing wrong with that.
May 7th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
“People will treat the team like a movie…it will be just another form of entertainment that when it is good (Godfather) they will spend $20 bucks to see. When it is bad (Lindsay Lohan movie of the week) they will go spend their money elsewhere.”
Oh, so we’re all going to become a bunch of Laker fans?
Sorry, Myk, but I just don’t seem to agree with your thinking on, um, anything you’ve discussed - be it boycotting, KD, Jeff Green, or expansion teams…
SAVE THESE KD-LED SONICS!!!
Sorry to hear about your mom and kid, Charliesonic.
May 7th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Clint, just because you have been a Sonics fan for 20 years doesn’t make it any more special than the next guy. I’ve been a Sonics fan for at least 35 years( I know I’m dating myself but it was sometime in the early seventies that I can remember as a kid watching them). But the way I feel isn’t more important than the person who may have fell in love with the team this past season. Seniority doesn’t count for much as a fan. We all care.
And I’ve stated a few times I would support a Sonics NBA team in whatever form it takes as long as it’s based in Seattle, and as long as it’s locally owned, not Bennett owned.
While I respect your conviction I can say with some certainty that as a fan who was with the Vancouver Grizzlies from day one I know that time kind of heals the sharp wounds of losing your team and I bet that after a couple of years without a team most of the die hards would give in and wish for a new team.
I haven’t changed my view one bit and still feel that the #1 goal is to have an NBA team named the Sonics in Seattle for the longterm. Obviously this current one is the #1 priority. But I would never say it’s this or nothing. Fight hard until the 11th hour to do all you can to hold onto this team. But if the writing became clear on the wall that even if you win the battle you’re going to lose the war then I wouldn’t shut the door tight on seeing what could be achieved.
May 7th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
No expansion team for seattle!!! It matters little to me what effect it has on the league. The league has no concern for me or what the effects of it’s decisions do to me. Why should I care if my decision makes a ripple in their water? My decision would be made based upon how I have been treated by them and how I feel about it. If there is some side benefit IE other teams knowing that when they sign a lease it means you have signed to stay for the length of it’s terms based upon mutual agreement. That would be fine with me.
and although I agree with Dick’s Basball analogy I”Personally, I lost interest in the game when the ‘94 series was cancelled. I have a hard time watching more than an inning at a time now unless I go to a game. But baseball hasn’t missed me. The roundabout point is, life will go on in the sporting world no matter what type of noble stand the “diehards” feel they have to take.” I too lost interest in baseball at the same time and take the same approach to it. But just as Baseball Goes on So Will I. I have loved Basketball since my 1st exposure it it as a child. Before there were Sonics in seattle I was watching Jerry West, Wes Unseld, Bill Russell. And I have been a Sonics fan since the begining. My Uncle played for the Portland Trailblazers in the 70’s. My sister baby sat little Donald Watts I will always love Basketball but will never except a new team stolen from another city. And I do not believe we will recieve an expansion team if we lose this case and the team leaves. But I will go on. Just as the game will.
May 7th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
At this point, if SOS gets behind an expansion team, it greatly reduces the chances that we will keep the original Sonics team. Consenting to an expansion team is something done late in negotiations when all else is lost.
At this point, the City is poised to win the injunction and we keep the original Sonics here until 2010. Bennett will not be able to afford that, especially while risking a loss in the Schultz lawsuit, so the PbC will be forced to sell to a local group. Then Bennett can get his own expansion team.
That is the end of the story unless SOS and the mayor botch this.
If in the unlikely event that the PBC wins in June, then the City could start to seriously consider an expansion team and bundles of cash, because they will have no choice. HOWEVER, nothing is lost by waiting until after the June victory.
Unless the City blinks, the judge will decide which city gets to keep the original Sonics and who gets the expansion team. Don’t blow it by settling now.
May 7th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
DK - Its this team or nothing for me in terms of the NBA in Seattle.
SAVE THESE KD-LED SONICS!!!
May 7th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
I think we need to press forward with all of the suits as some sort of negotiations go on. While I think that expansion is the most likely option, I am not saying we go on our hands and knees asking the NBA to give us an expansion team. For the we want to make Clay pay folks, it seems pretty good to see PBC pay more of their own money than they planned to spend on the $500M project.
To be a bit of a broken record, the primary hope of keeping these Sonics is the hope that PBC’s wallet and Stern’s image can’t take 2 bad years. What if they can handle the heat we lose. I think Schultz has a good case but not quite good enough. The challenge is that if they don’t blink and we are not willing to compromise, there is nothing we can do to “make” something happen.
May 7th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
I think the City will win the lawsuit. If for some odd reason they do not, they have absolutely no position to bargain from until/unless Schultz wins an injunction. So, just giving in makes no sense, but not opening discussions does not really the way to go either.
May 7th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
im out if its not the current team. ive said before that i will stick around and show my support until other fans get a team, but after that then im out. for me its this kd team or none. dont get me wrong though its not strictly about kd, it is more the principle of the thing that has ticked me off. if kd were to leave in the future then so be it, at least he wasnt hijacked out if you follow my line of thinking. i want to follow kd in a sonics unifor until he is traded or decides to sign with another team. as for the whole history thing a new team or expansion is sonics 2.0 no matter which way you spin it, hence continuity is lost and the history is lost. im all for this team or nothing, but im also for getting another team for fellow sonics fans if it comes to that. at least they can enjoy the new team, i myself just cant bring myself to be ass raped by the league and then come crawling back knowing full well that the same shit is gonna go down elsewhere to other great fans or maybe even in seattle again in 15-20 years. just not a league i respect anymore im afraid, and dont get me started on the conspiracy theories, cause i fully believe this league is rigged. its a show now not a sport.
May 7th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
Wait about four years for expansion franchise. Wait four or five years before possible title contention. Watch team be sold to ownership group with supposed good intentions. Support the team until moved back to owner’s hometown and hope the NBA expands again or try and steal another city’s franchise….repeat cycle while saying, “thank you Stern and will you violate me again?”
May 7th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
Laporbo, I love analogies like you made. We are trying to be the Farah Fawcett of NBA fandom! Burn David Stern while he sleeps and bury Clay Bennett in the backyard. Right on. Very creative metaphor.
May 7th, 2008 at 10:20 pm
In the words of Bill Fitch, “War is hell. Expansion is worse.“
May 7th, 2008 at 10:31 pm
Malaman1, you sound very demoralized and depressed. Wait until the June trial before doing anything. If the Sonics get the injunction until 2010, then Stern & Bennett cannot survive, especially since waiting out the 2 years might be total a financial disaster for the PBC. That plus the uncertainty of the Schultz suit will force them to sell. Believe me, the PBC will not risk losing more than $100,000,000 with nothing to show for it.
If the Sonics lose in June, then the court will require negotiation. We can talk expansion club then, but the PBC might decide the relocation fee plus the payment to Seattle is too steep, so they might again decide to sell (worst case is an expansion team for Seattle).
Any early settlement before the judge rules in the June trial is an utter disaster for Seattle.
May 7th, 2008 at 10:31 pm
Clint, how could you call Nick Collison a “do-nothing” Sonic? He works harder than anyone. He’s a very smart player & a team player & our best rebounder. If I could only keep 2 Sonics to start the team over with, it wouldn’t be Kevin Durant and Jeff Green - it would be K.D. and Nick Collison. I like Jeff Green quite a bit, too, but, Nick Collison is an essential building block for a championship team. And I’d love to add Michael Beasley to the mix - then we’ll be back in the playoffs very soon.
May 7th, 2008 at 10:33 pm
I want to see this current team stay right where it is as well and hopefully send a message to both Bennett and Stern at the same time that the city of Seattle has deeper roots in the game than both of them put together ever could dream of and they picked the wrong people to mess with.
All I’m trying to say is that I wouldn’t shut the door tight and bar it forever. Everything proceeds in steps and at some point there has to be an offer of some description come from the other side. They won’t smuggly go to court despite the game face they’re attempting to put on right now. I don’t see any harm in listening to their best pitch, then countering with the city’s best pitch, then seeing if the team and league crack and try to offer an olive branch to save face somehow.
Like just about everyone else in here I too feel that the city is dealing from a position of strength. That’s why I’ve said only an ironclad deal that’s satisfactory to the city is acceptable, whether it’s this team or another one. A guarantee of NBA basketball in Seattle must live on for the longterm, without Clay Bennett behind the wheel. But the city has to be openminded if such an offer does materialize.
But I certainly wouldn’t say it’s wrong for anyone to follow their feelings and give up the NBA if their heart tells them that’s the right thing for them to do. I just know that I would accept an alternative if it meant saving pro basketball in Seattle.
May 7th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
I just love a lively discussion don’t you? Where people come at you from all angles with many different scenarios. I never said I preferred an expansion team but we must be prepared for anything and we don’t want to be blindsided if/when it occurs. After all that’s happened I would be very surprised if Memphis or New Orleans get on the relocation train so soon again. Shinn has to be on his best behavior after his past transgressions and Heisley is locked in to a long term lease and knows there are local owners waiting in the wings.
To whomever said we should hold out for Howie’s injunction and hope the okies get the expansion team, what would be his motivation to continue the lawsuit if we were offered expansion, turning his whole premise into a moot point? He’s off the hook except for the tiny minority foaming at the mouth who wants it all their way or the highway. It’s simply not feasible to negotiate from a position of weakness.
Genghis Stern may be talking tough now but his mouthpiece to whose campaign he contributed, a certain Ron Sims, floated the idea of an expansion team with all the colors a few weeks back. Why do I think that was not just a coincidence? Sims is a signatory on Gregoire’s non-binding letter, along with public enemy #1 Chopp. No it may not look like it means anything now but somehow when it’s time to pony up the $75 million with everything else in place, the last piece of the puzzle will come together.
This brings me to my final argument why we should be feeling good about our chances, even if the ‘classic’ Sonics are headed into the sunset. The team ownership will be STEVE FREAKING BALLMER, a hoops fanatic if there ever was one who never settled for mediocrity in any arena of life. He may be doing this for no other reason than he can’t bear to let his kid grow up without the quality time they’ve been spending courtside as season ticket holders since probably before the boy could walk. No premier free agent will ever be out of reach again and the salary cap will be our only impediment. About a year and a half ago I was telling people that Steve Ballmer was gonna save the team and was ridiculed, laughed at, told that I was crazy, that the newspapers were just speculating and there was nothing to it etc. Well things are not what they seem sometimes and I feel whatever sacrifices are to be made will well be worth it in the long run.
Finally, a shout out to Brian and Steve, men of sterling character who IMHO are making all the right moves after careful consideration of the relevant factors involved. You are acting in the real world, hustling, and it’s clear your eyes are firmly on the prize, along with your political, legal and business partners. Thank you for the updates that keep our spirits up.
May 7th, 2008 at 11:35 pm
Screw an expansion team! Let Memphis or New Orleans go to Oklahoma City. If our team leaves town an expansion team coming in is not going to be a continuation of Sonic tradition, it will be broken and we’d be stating from scratch
I’m hoping that bad things happen to David Stern and his Oklahoma ownership buddies.
SOS!
JayT
May 7th, 2008 at 11:36 pm
DK said, “Everything proceeds in steps and at some point there has to be an offer…” That is the same thing I am saying. Wait until after the court ruling, then the real negotiations begin.
Worst case scenario: The City is only slightly weakened if the court ruling is bad. The two sides must negotiate the price to let the team move - and it will cost Stern an NBA expansion team commitment plus lots of cash.
Best case scenario: The judge rules in Seattle’s favor. The current team will almost certainly remain in Seattle.
So, forget the talk about settling for now. The City must have faith that it will win this lawsuit. We will know the outcome in a few weeks. Please, do not negotiate until after the court issues its decision, which will very likely be in Seattle’s favor.
May 8th, 2008 at 12:39 am
Based on the blog post it sounds like a very significant development. If the Sonics are guaranteed to be in Seattle next year it would be a very significant development indeed. It would be a headliner. So how come no one else is talking about it?
May 8th, 2008 at 1:04 am
Is anyone interested in going to the Storm game on Saturday, which is their last pre-season game before they start their 2008 season on May 17 against the Chicago Sky? The game this Saturday is at 7:00 PM at Key Arena against the Indiana Fever.
I’d like to meet up with Deniece at that game if possible to talk strategy for SOS and Storm games. If anyone else plans to go Saturday let me know. We can probably purchase a luxury suite for the home opener on the 17th IF there’s enough interest for a fun event combined with an SOS meeting. It costs $25 apiece for 20-40 people.
Then there’s the only ESPN game this year on Tuesday May 20th, which we should turn out for in large numbers with signs to get on camera if possible. That’s also the day of the NBA Draft Lottery to see who gets which pick. That would be a great day to get a lot of us together. If we have a big enough group for that, we can probably get cheaper tickets, but we will have to move pretty fast on it or they may be sold out of all the lower bowl seats. I think the home opener is already sold out in the lower bowl and the second game on Tuesday the 20th is probably getting close. We need a presence there and upper bowl is not as effective.
May 8th, 2008 at 1:06 am
Is anyone interested in going to the Storm game on Saturday, which is their last pre-season game before they start their 2008 season on May 17 against the Chicago Sky? The game this Saturday is at 7:00 PM at Key Arena against the Indiana Fever.
I’d like to meet up with Deniece at that game if possible to talk strategy for SOS and Storm games. If anyone else plans to go Saturday let me know. We can probably purchase a luxury suite for the home opener on the 17th IF there’s enough interest for a fun event combined with an SOS meeting. It costs $25 apiece for 20-40 people.
Then there’s the only ESPN game this year on Tuesday May 20th, which we should turn out for in large numbers with signs to get on camera if possible. That’s also the day of the NBA Draft Lottery to see who gets which pick. That would be a great day to get a lot of us together. If we have a big enough group for that, we can probably get cheaper tickets, but we will have to move pretty fast on it or they may be sold out of all the lower bowl seats. I think the home opener is already sold out in the lower bowl and the second game on Tuesday the 20th is probably getting close. We need a presence there and upper bowl is not as effective.
May 8th, 2008 at 4:00 am
Good news!!!
May 8th, 2008 at 7:40 am
Rock: I am not depressed. I am a pragmatist. I have been watching the Sonics since 1977 and want to keep watching them. I want to do whatever it takes to get a guarantee of a team here. A plan based on the hope that some one else will give up is not much of a guarantee to me.
In the outside chance Seattle loses the court case, then there are no negotiations. A court proceeding will be held to decide how much cash PBC has to pay Seattle to exit the lease. No negotiation about what the NBA owes the city.
I think beginning to negotiate in about 3 weeks just before the case starts makes sense. If we win the case, then our leverage gets a bit stronger. Even then we need arena funding. Without it everything else does not matter. Again, wouldn’t it be great for Clay to pay for a large chunk of the building for the Sonics? I don’t trust the legislature to do anything.
The other side is that if PBC loses the case and decides that they truly want a team in OKC then they can wait it out and lose the money. We are left holding the bag. I want a guarantee.
May 8th, 2008 at 8:18 am
“Nick Collison is an essential building block for a championship team.”
Essential building block? No way. He is a role player. Everyteam needs role players……but that in no way makes him a building block of the team.
May 8th, 2008 at 8:19 am
In my humble opinion, malaman41 made a gross understatement when he or she wrote: “If we win the case, then our leverage gets a bit stronger. ” In fact, our leverage will be immensely stronger. You hear a lot of bravado from OKC, but that is the public face. Privately, a loss of more than $100 million (much worse if Schultz wins - a 50% shot) will rock those investors out of their luxury seats. That’s chump change to a very few people on earth.
As I see it, the case in June will be the deciding factor as to which city gets the true Sonics . Settling before the case is heard is idiotic & whimpy.
This assumes rumors of an expansion team are real - as Stern may be able to do no more than make a recommendation.
May 8th, 2008 at 9:00 am
for those of you with myspace accounts, you may want to flood this;
http://www.myspace.com/nba
May 8th, 2008 at 9:02 am
is anyone else aware that there is a city in Oklahoma called Durant?
May 8th, 2008 at 11:10 am
I don’t think $100 million means much to those chumps. They might be willing to pay as much as $100 million to bail on the lease, so why wouldn’t they be willing to lose it outright?? Tax write offs, tax write offs, tax write offs. Money is nothing to these guys, they burn hundreds lighting cigars. The fact that one is a CEO of a $25 billion company, and the other is a money manager and they have no clue how to manage this mess speaks volumes. If I was their shareholders, I’d be in a proxy fight to boot ‘em.
May 8th, 2008 at 11:23 am
I don’t think $100 million means much to those chumps.
I think they probably had a number like that in mind when they bought the team. The $100M would either go into a new building or relocation litigation.
May 8th, 2008 at 11:37 am
Mark WS and Dick Tate might be right or might be wrong. My perspective is that I don’t want to wait and find out. If they are willing to eat $100M to have a legacy as the group that made OKC a big league city, there is no amount of pressure that can get them to sell outside of Schultz’s suit.
I think waiting them out is a valid strategy.
I doubt any of us know Clay, Aubrey, Stern, Chopp or anyone else who has the power to make the decisions that need to be made. So, I would rather play towards the more favorable odds than hope that pressuring PBC, the NBA, Ballmer group, state legislature and the Seattle city government will get them to agree on a plan that works.
May 8th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
That is an interesting trivia find TB.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durant,_Oklahoma
May 15th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Thinking about negotiations for an expansion team…
Suppose the following:
1. Either OKC or Seattle will get an expansion team in 2 years.
2. Either OKC or Seattle will be without a team for 2 years.
3. Both cities would prefer to have a team now.
4. The only important player assets on either team are Durant and Green.
Possible outcomes:
A. Seattle keeps the Sonics, OKC gets an expansion team in 2 years.
B. Bennet gets to keep the Sonics and move them to OKC, Seattle gets an expansion team in 2 years.
Would you agree to option A, Seattle keeps the Sonics without interruption, with the agreement that Durant and Green will be traded to OKC for its first 2 first round draft picks?
Would you agree to option B, Seattle gets an expansion team in 2 years, with the agreement that Durant and Green will be traded back to Seattle for Seattle’s first 2 first round draft picks?
My choice…
I would rather keep basketball in Seattle and give up Durant and Green to Bennet and the new OKC expansion team. The Sonics will continue to suck for several more years, but I think that is a fair trade off for keeping the team in Seattle without interruption.