Post-Sonics Watch
Feeling lost without your Seattle SuperSonics? Seattle-area NBA fans face their first season without an NBA team in 41 years. Primarily, our coverage here will focus on the City of Seattle’s attempt to bring the NBA back to Seattle. But we also will provide updates on the Portland Trail Blazers, the Oklahoma City Thunder and area players plying their trade for other teams in the NBA.

Eric Williams covered the Sonics' last season in Seattle. A Tacoma native, Eric graduated from Mount Tahoma High and the University of Puget Sound.

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Keeping an eye on the NBA and Seattle's efforts to get back into the game
Monday, August 13th, 2007
Posted by Eric Williams @ 12:24:19 pm

Here is Clay Bennett's response, along with a clarification by minority owner Aubrey McClendon, on comments he made in today's Journal Record on wanting to bring the Seattle Sonics to Oklahoma City.

Clay Bennett

“As the controlling owner, I admire my fellow owners and appreciate their support. While they are excited about the basketball operations and the future of the team on the court, they, like me, have been disheartened by the lack of progress we have made to secure a new arena for the Sonics and Storm.

"Aubrey expressed his personal thoughts and, in context of the story, was not speaking on behalf of the ownership group. It is my hope we will see a breakthrough in the next 60 days that will result in securing a new arena for the Sonics and Storm in the Greater Seattle area.”

Aubrey McClendon

“I support our efforts to secure a new arena for the Sonics and Storm in the Greater Seattle area. Clay is the one who speaks for the ownership group. Today's interview in the Oklahoma City-based business newspaper, Journal Record, simply reflects what has been my personal desire concerning NBA basketball in Oklahoma City. It has always been my hope that Oklahoma City would have an NBA team someday.

"That said, I was always aware and understood our number one goal was to work with officials to build a new arena in the Seattle area. I have supported Clay and the ownership group to use our good faith best efforts to secure a new arena and keep the teams in Seattle. I admire Clay's tireless efforts and his persistence to get an arena and keep the teams in Seattle.

"I support him completely. The comment about my personal hopes cannot in any way be interpreted to mean the organization has not exhaustively pursued every reasonable avenue to get an arena deal done and keep the Sonics and Storm in Seattle. However, as Clay has consistently stated, a solution to the arena issue must be found by October 31.”

Categories: NBA 24 comments

COMMENTS:

jaz @ 13:33 - Monday, August 13th, 2007 Email
Translation: "OK, so our first set of lies failed, here's another batch to chew on."
chucker123 @ 13:34 - Monday, August 13th, 2007 Email
these guys are a bunch of liars. no they are telling lies to cover previous lies. what a bunch of disingenuous dishonest clowns. i have tried to give them the bennifit of the doubt, but no longer. the league needs to get involved.
jefshana @ 13:40 - Monday, August 13th, 2007
Gee, I'm going to miss them when they leave.
hollidl @ 13:41 - Monday, August 13th, 2007
"I support him completely. The comment about my personal hopes cannot in any way be interpreted to mean the organization has not exhaustively pursued every reasonable avenue to get an arena deal done and keep the Sonics and Storm in Seattle. However, as Clay has consistently stated, a solution to the arena issue must be found by October 31.”

From this last paragraph it appears that Mr. McClendon is attempting to cover his perverbial butt. Mr. Bennett must have reminded him that legally they are bound to make a "Best Faith Effort" to find an arena deal in the Seattle area. By making his original comments, it would confirm that they did not make their best effort since their original intent was always to move the team.
wynryder @ 13:50 - Monday, August 13th, 2007
Hey now, they're just being good republicans. Why is anybody surprised by this?
gustafm @ 14:05 - Monday, August 13th, 2007
OK we need there to be a stop to comments like:

"Hey now, they're just being good republicans. Why is anybody surprised by this?"

This is not a R vs D political issue. This is a civic issue. There are a lot of Republicans in the Northwest who are part of the effort to save this team. Why in the world would you want to alienate them?

We need to stifle are poltical attacks. If a good liberal like Howard Schultz wasn't the guy who sold us out you may have a leg to stand on...

Stop the politics crap. Now!
goverbye @ 14:11 - Monday, August 13th, 2007 Email
what a bunch of lying sacks of S##t. And that includes Howard ("these Okie bastards are the guys who will ensure basketball stays in Seattle" while I cash my $350 million check AND raise the price of coffee because you people are too stupid to figure it out) Schulz.

Having said all that, all this was apparent over a year ago - what took the rest of you so long to figure it out.
LeftCoastBiased @ 14:26 - Monday, August 13th, 2007
Everyone has noticed it. But exactly what can you do when the practice of "legalized extortion" is allowed to happen. Gustafm is right... this isn't as much as a political issue as it is borderline criminal. The ownership wants us to pay a ransom to keep the team... and that is more evident than ever in the latest round of comments from them. Hopefully it totally backfires and the judges will see that the current ownership is NOT acting in good faith, thus forcing them to live out the lease agreement. I find myself leaning toward whatever hurts that team's ownership, because they could care less about the fans here. I hope the courts force them to stay in the Key and see how loud the echoes are with empty stands. Let us know how loud they are Clay We just love hearing from y'all!
jaz @ 15:14 - Monday, August 13th, 2007 Email
Howard Shultz, such an avid fan of Sonics basketball. Think we'll ever see his face at the Key again? I think not!

And will we ever see Bennett at the Key? Not without a disguise.
pwhit44 @ 15:18 - Monday, August 13th, 2007 Email
Will someone hire these people a PR department? What a disaster. They have zero savvy with the public and the media.
seadawg52 @ 15:21 - Monday, August 13th, 2007 Email
Eric, did Sam Presti buy a place in Seattle or is he renting?...that would be a good indicator on what inside knowledge he had and what he expects for the future
HAWKTILLIDROP @ 16:37 - Monday, August 13th, 2007
Like many of you, I believe these guys are full of ****. Quit lying to everybody if you don't plan on at least trying to keep the Sonics in Seattle. I hope David Stern catches wind of this and sees that the city of Seattle got duped. I cannot imagine nobody in the league not stepping on and saying the city of Seattle is getting a fair shot at keeping the franchise here. People say things for a reason, and this guy let the cat out of the bag, and now we see the true colors. This is crap, but my focus on the sonics still remains with Schultz, the hometowner, who sold the Sonics to an out-of-towner. What a joke, it started with him and it keeps moving with the new guys.
doubleog @ 16:40 - Monday, August 13th, 2007
Good call seadawg52.
Eric Williams @ 16:43 - Monday, August 13th, 2007 Email
Seadawg 52. I'm not sure if Presti is renting or bought a place, although I imagine if he did buy a place he would be able to sell if the Sonics do in fact leave town.

But I don't think whether Presti owns a place or not reveals the Sonics ownership's true intentions.
joe66 @ 17:08 - Monday, August 13th, 2007
"Hey now, they're just being good republicans. Why is anybody surprised by this?"

Your a ****.

jaz @ 18:09 - Monday, August 13th, 2007 Email
Even Bennett hasn't bothered to get any kind of housing for all his visits here. He sleeps under the Fremont bridge, for crying out loud! Oh, wait, that's the Troll.
rengaw @ 19:28 - Monday, August 13th, 2007
If Bennett and his boys had no intention of keeping this team in Seattle, he would have just sat on his hands and said nice things about the Sonics and spent no or little money to secure a home for the team here in Seattle. But, the fact is, these Oklahoma guys spent quite a bit on legal fees, impact studies, architectural models and other expenses in trying to get the ball rolling in this town. But when the legislature slammed the door in his face and there was practically no response from the Sonic faithful, he knew keeping a team here was dead in the water unless some high roller came to the rescue. I'm a huge Sonic fan but this town has lost its enthusiasm for the Sonics and it ain't Bennett's fault. Oklahoma City, although a much smaller market than Seattle, has way more enthusiasm for this team than we do. Bennett and his boys would be crazy not to move the team out of Seattle. They have spent enough time and money on this dead end solution in Seattle. Our biggest hope for NBA basketball after next year will be if FOXNW broadcasts the Blazer games up here. Wally Walker and Mr. Coffee are the bad guys in all this not Clay Bennett's gang.
luisc @ 20:44 - Monday, August 13th, 2007
backpedal.gif
rkhoov @ 20:54 - Monday, August 13th, 2007 Email
Ho hum. The spin is in. Bennett is fighting for major shareholder Aubrey McClendon's right of free speech, particularly when it supports his position: "Aubrey expressed his personal thoughts,...: And Aubrey is devoted to Clay: "I support him completely."
These dudes don't disagree on anything. They haven't from the time they ponied up an exorbitant sum to become NBA owners. They were united in seeking a franchise for their hometown, OKC.
Face it, the Sonics are gone. They were gone when Walker/Schultz conned Bennett and company out of $350 million for the privilege of dickering with David Stern about the future of the league and the viability of their franchise, wherever it may eventually settle.
ttownport @ 21:37 - Monday, August 13th, 2007 Email
What a bunch of chumps
MitzFan @ 22:13 - Monday, August 13th, 2007 Email
Mr. McClendon used the word "we" five times in two sentences. I don't see how that can be construed as "personal thoughts" in Mr. Bennett's own words.

As much as I consider Seattle and King County government to be bumbling idiots, this is the smoking gun. Turns out that they never wanted to be here at all. I don't blame them for not wanting to be at the Key, but their failure to produce anything meaningful as an alternative and sit back and wait for a deadlinem plus this latest news, tells us what the real plan is.

That being said, David Stern is smart as a whip. I can't imagine him being happy about this. Whether he knew about this or not doesn't matter. What matters now is that he will have to deal with it, and maybe that is a good thing for all of us.
moo @ 03:02 - Tuesday, August 14th, 2007 Email
I would say our only hope is the Davids - Sabey & Stern. Or if one's into fairy tales, how about a Jailblazers/Sonics owner's swap with the Jailblazers going to OKC & Paul Allen to Seattle where he belongs?

It's a shame that a Starbucks boycott wouldn't work........

Do we have a Slade Gorton ro step up? Somebody who will tell Stern, fix this or bye bye NBA's anti-trust exemption? While I'm a Dem myself, somehow I don't see Murray or Cantwell going there......
SPAN1AWAY @ 08:34 - Tuesday, August 14th, 2007 Email
Actually moo, Murray is one of the very few political figures that have taken the time responded to me and here is her response:

"Thank you for contacting me regarding the Seattle Supersonics and the Seattle Storm. It is good to hear from you.

For forty years, Seattle and all of Washington state have enjoyed cheering for the Sonics, and sharing in their victories and defeats on the basketball court. The Sonics franchise has created jobs for surrounding residents, provided hours of entertainment for Washingtonians, and enriched the cultural landscape of Seattle and of our state. The addition of the Seattle Storm in 2000 only enhanced these assets.

As you know, the Sonics and the Storm were sold last year to a small group of investors based in Oklahoma City. Although decisions relating to the location of the Sonics and Storm's stadium are not federal matters, I will follow this situation closely.

I appreciate your contacting me about this matter and I hope to hear from you again."

dizzzyguy @ 08:35 - Tuesday, August 14th, 2007 Email
Um, the NBA doesn't have an anti-trust exemption - that would be MLB.

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