The Sonics and City of Seattle announced a deal today that allows the Sonics to leave tomorrow in exchange for up to $75 million to buy out the remainder of its KeyArena lease.

In addition, the NBA will work on getting another team in Seattle, though there's no guarantee.

It's now up to the Legislature: If they don't finalize an arena funding plan next year, the city automatically loses out on $30 million of the payment – and the possibility of an NBA team in its future.

We'll post reactions here.

Update 5:51 p.m.: I just got off the phone with Rep. Ross Hunter, D-Medina, chairman of the House finance committee. He had this to say:

On whether legislative leaders were involved in the negotiation, since it requires Legislative action: I would be surprised. It would be atypical for Seattle.

On whether this will be a top priority next session: I don't think this is the top priority for anyone next session... transportation, economy, education funding, healthcare - those are the most important issues that face them. That's what we're going to focus on. Part of our job is dealing with how all the tax policy works, local and state...

On City of Seattle lawyer Tom Carr's statement that the state would lose $20 million in sales tax revenue if they didn't act next year to ensure Seattle keeps the stadium: All the economic models that I've ever seen show that people who would go to basketball games and go out to dinner and do all those other things are likely to do something else anyway, so that the tradeoff doesn't exist ... I haven't really seen an economic model from an economist who is not employed by either a city that wants to have a basketball team or the teams themselves that show actual new revenue.

Hunter said a task force dealing with local taxes in King County, including the stadium tax, will meet July 16 "to try and sort these things out and this is one of the issues."

He also said he hasn't read the agreement and didn't know exactly what was required of the Legislature in the deal.

Update, 6:32 p.m.: While we accumulate politicians' responses here, what do you think? Click on our Hot Button poll and tell us whether you think the city got a good deal or not.

Update, 6:43 p.m.: Here's what Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, had to say in a release:
"No matter where you place the blame for things not coming together, there are a lot of people who are very disappointed that professional basketball is leaving Seattle.

At the end of the 2008 session, the Legislature created a task force to figure out how best to use existing revenues in King County. A Key Arena upgrade is on the list, as are a number of other worthy projects.

The task force is still doing its work, and so it's just too early to say whether or not the Legislature will authorize the extension of current taxes to support professional basketball in Seattle.

But it's too early to say for a number of other reasons, too. We don't have a replacement team ready to step into the breech. We don't know what the Key Arena needs are. We don't have a proposal to evaluate. Is the Legislature going to fund it? We don't yet know what 'it' is.

Keep in mind that public financing for profession sports is about as hot-button a political issue there is. A third of lawmakers are going to be supportive, a third are going to opposed, and a third are going to need to see the details. Let's wait until there are some details to discuss.

If - after the details are made clear and the task force has done its work - a Key Arena upgrade pencils ahead of other projects, the Legislature could authorize the use of public dollars for another sports arena in Seattle. But not unless and until that happens first."