Sonics moving to Oklahoma City

[SpaceFlare]

It's really sad to see a city rich in basketball history leave. And it's not like they don't have fans in the city.

I'd hope something turns out for the better before their KeyArena lease expires, and they won't have to leave Seattle. It'd be hard to imagine Seattle without a basketball team.

[shadowgrin]

Seattle without a basketball team? What are you talking about?

Seattle Storm.

[SpaceFlare]

Woops... forgot about them.

[Silas]

Swoopes and Cash and Lauren Jackson and Sue Bird, I might actually have to watch a game this year. None the less I remain confident in their remaining in Seattle.

Until they board that plane they're staying in my book. C'mon Microsoft!

[Andrew]

If Ballmer's group is successful in buying the team, I propose the Sonics play in a new building named the Blue Screen Arena, in honour of the corporation that kept them in town. It's slightly more catchy than Random Crash & Restart Center.

[shadowgrin]

Get it right Andrew, the actual name will be BSOD Arena.

*keeps looking for that poster that wanted Andrew to make a joke and to drag that poster to this thread*

[Andrew]

You're right, BSoD Arena is more catchy. Of course, it would come to be affectionately known as the Fatal Exception.

[Andrew]

Stern derides KeyArena effort as 'a late PR stunt'

Stern is coming across as being pretty hard-headed there but his position is understandable. It seems that individuals such as Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis are determined to point the finger at Stern and portray him as the big bad commissioner conspiring to move the Sonics out of town when decisions made by city officials haven't exactly helped resolve the financial issues that have led to the possibility of the team moving.

At the end of the day, it's a disheartening situation for Sonics fans in Seattle. I would hope that if the current efforts with Ballmer and co have any chance of succeeding, the league will indeed consider that proposal.

[shadowgrin]

But the relocation of the Sonics is still to be voted upon by the league governors, right? If the people who are trying to save the Sonics pull it through, the vote might be against Benett for trying to move the team.

[Sauru]

i think they should just move the sonics to mexico and be done with it

[Andrew]

But the relocation of the Sonics is still to be voted upon by the league governors, right? If the people who are trying to save the Sonics pull it through, the vote might be against Benett for trying to move the team.

It certainly could go that way, but now that the application has been made to move the team the NBA has to go through that process. If the latest initiative is successful then perhaps the league would vote against the move.

i think they should just move the sonics to mexico and be done with it

How about Paris or London? That would seem to be more Stern's MO.

[Drex]

But Los Sonicos sounds cool.

[Andrew]

So does Le Sonique.

[Drex]

Pff, french is for pussies.

[Dan's Brain]

Stick em in Melbourne and they can be "The farken Sonics"

[benji]

I don't know why anyone wants to move from the 15th largest market to the 45th largest. Only post-Katrina New Orleans and Salt Lake City have smaller markets and NBA teams.

[Andrew]

They're willing to pay for arena renovations and new practice facilities. That seems to be the priority, short-sighted or not.

[Andrew]

David Stern says KeyArena renovation not an option for Sonics

It doesn't look good for Ballmer's initiative, though I guess it's not over until the vote is cast.

Sonics owners willing to leave behind team name if franchise moves

I guess that leaves some hope for a new team to assume the Sonics lineage much like the Cleveland Browns in the NFL, though that seems little comfort when the players themselves - in particular, Kevin Durant - won't be retained.

[Lamrock]

Sonics owners willing to leave behind team name if franchise moves

I guess that leaves some hope for a new team to assume the Sonics lineage much like the Cleveland Browns in the NFL, though that seems little comfort when the players themselves - in particular, Kevin Durant - won't be retained.

At this point, I would be satisfied with that. I would hate to see the history go to waste. Granted it would take years, if it ever would happen and we would lose our shitty, but ambitious young team.

[Chaser7]

This is really unfair for Seattle, Clay Bennet never had any intention of keeping the team there, as we all can figure, he probably put the minimum amount of effort in trying to work something out, rejecting probably all of Seattle's proposals. All he did was try and give off the appearance that he cared. Even though I'm not a Sonics fan, I definitely don't want to see them leave...

[Andrew]

Absolutely, but unfortunately as long as Bennett owns the team, it's his right to choose not to sell it or try to move it to another city; after all, it's not against the law to refuse to sell an asset you own and league rules permit relocation. To play devil's advocate for a moment, it wouldn't be fair to force Bennett to sell the team, especially for a price he wasn't interested in, nor deny him the right to petition the league to be allowed to relocate.

Having said that, it doesn't make his actions noble or above criticism and it really sucks for Sonics fans, without a doubt. Unfortunately, he's not doing anything illegal; if he were, it would be much easier to keep the team in Seattle. As it stands, it seems the strongest weapon from a legal standpoint is the KeyArena lease which could keep the Sonics in Seattle through 2008/09, though that would probably be a fairly hollow victory, very much a cloud hanging over the entire season.

Relinquishing the records, team name, colours and logos would at least preserve the Sonics' history though it doesn't change the fact Seattle would be left without a team at least in the immediate future and should they get a new team, Kevin Durant won't be a member of that squad. Perhaps it's better than nothing, though it's still a disappointing situation.

[benji]

The other owners of the league can prevent relocation.

[Andrew]

They certainly can, so I guess it remains to be seen whether they ignore Stern's recommendation.

[Chaser7]

At first I thought that was the only possible hope, but the other owners may allow it to happen. They probably don't want to piss off Bennet, as if they were in position where they would want to relocate, they wouldn't want the other owners to reject it either.. hopefully they do though..

[Andrew]

That's Seattle's last hope but I have to admit I don't think it's likely. I'm not sure what the other owners' motivation would be to block the move; sympathy for Sonics' fans and acknowledgement of the team's roots and history in Seattle but one could cynically suggest that as long as the move isn't perceived as detrimental to the rest of the league, they'll be fine with it.