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
Friday, November 2nd, 2007
Posted by Eric Williams @ 06:41:35 pm

A quick look at some of the comments from individuals on the Sonics filing for relocation to Oklahoma City.

"The move today was no surprise. We continue to work with others on the arduous process of keeping the Sonics and Storm in Seattle."

-- Washington state Gov. Chris Gregoire

“The history of sports is littered with franchises that intended to relocate, said they would relocate and for whatever reason didn't relocate,'' said Cornett, a former television sportscaster. "Things change. I don't anticipate anything changing, but things do change.''

-- Mick Cornett, Oklahoma City mayor

“It seems like a pretty transparent strategy on his part. We would much prefer that he work with us and the fans to be successful in Seattle, instead of trying to alienate the fan base and create a false financial crisis for the team to help his argument to break the lease. My advise to fans is to go to the games and prove him wrong.”

-- Tim Ceis, deputy mayor of Seattle

“We want to recapture the spirit and love of basketball in Seattle by bringing the Sonics and Storm back to local ownership,”

-- Dennis H. Daugs, a former minority owner of the NBA franchise, and part of a local investor group that offered to buy the Sonics

“Demonizing Clay is not going to help solve the problem. His group owns the team, and until the moving fans show up at the door and start moving sports material out, I think people should try to work with him to try and find a solution.”

-- Peter von Reichbauer, King County councilmember, and a person who helped broker previous deal to keep the Seahawks in town.

“The answer for Seattle always has been, and always will be that we get a building done. If we get a building done and we do it for Clay, or another ownership group then it does not matte what he has applied for or what he tells David Stern. Now is the time for the politicians to start sweating things a bit and make sure that we put the choice in front of the NBA. Do they abandon this market to satisfy a guy’s desire to fill his hometown market?”

-- Brian Robinson, Save Our Sonics and Storm

Categories: NBA 16 comments

COMMENTS:

jegggo @ 20:32 - Friday, November 2nd, 2007 Email
Thank you Clay Bennet! you can't get this team out of here fast enough. And governor Gregoire remember this is a private franchise no corporate welfare for these losers.
dizzzyguy @ 21:11 - Friday, November 2nd, 2007 Email
Many "cultural" activities are supported by public dollars. I suspect few are as broadly followed as public sports. I shudder to think of Seattle without a quality symphony, but I strongly suspect that the level of subsidy, if calculated on a per capita of interested resident basis, is likely higher for our symphony than for our basketball team.
snydro22 @ 22:31 - Friday, November 2nd, 2007 Email
You really shudder to think of Seattle without a quality symphony?

I shudder when I think of Durant and Green maturing in Oklahoma, and us not being a part of it.

I hate Clay Bennett and everything he represents. Piece of sh**..
pdway @ 22:39 - Friday, November 2nd, 2007 Email
Bennett's been a complete liar from the start, and the msg of this whole miserable transaction -- that a rich guy can swoop in and buy a franchise to take it and put in his own backyard just b/c he wants to, is terrible for an entertainment enterprise that is built upon loyalty to a team.

And I hate the guy too.

I only hope we can raise enough of a stink to make the rest of the country's fans, and then the league, take notice of the "it could happen to you" aspect of all this, and move to stop it.

moo @ 23:20 - Friday, November 2nd, 2007 Email
I don't know why, but I don't remember hating Jeff Smulyan or Ken Behring nearly as much as I HATE Clay Bennett. Maybe 'cause the sonics have been here longer (I went to Al Bianchi's Basketball camp as a little kid) or maybe because neither one of those slime were as big of a liar as Bennett.

I fully believe that Audrey what's his name told the thruth when he stated that their intention was to move the team to OKC from day 1. Only question is did Howard Schultz lie to us or did Bennett lie to Schultz?

David Stern is right up their with the rest of this rogue's gallery.
rhino136 @ 01:35 - Saturday, November 3rd, 2007 Email
You know how at the start of every game they announce "And now YOUOUOUOUR Seattle SOOOOOOOOPERSONICS" It's like they were telling us , " Hey, we are yours, we are a part of you, sort of like a family or pet. Commit to us, and we will commit to you. Spend your money on us, and you won't lose out." And then we get fools like Jegggo.
If someone buys a sports franchise, he buys into a commitment to people who have also committed their own money, time, energy, and passion to the team. It is a relationship. Like a marriage. You don't walk away from it thinking only of your self. You don't have the right to be that selfish.
If David Stern won't recognize that he is in a position to insist/assist all parties to behave with basic common decency. Then he will prove to have been a total failure.
darincroft @ 05:33 - Saturday, November 3rd, 2007 Email
No loss to me. NBA basketball is boring. The sonics are particularly boring.
bonesbarry @ 05:49 - Saturday, November 3rd, 2007 Email
Then why do you bother posting, loser?
bonesbarry @ 06:35 - Saturday, November 3rd, 2007 Email
How could the nba allow this beast to steal our sonics? Everything he's done since buying the team has made me physically ill. Remember how he did lenny, sikma, and det?? Look at the jerk coaching the team for f sake! I've never thought I would say this, but I long for the days of sad sack vin baker and his contract and in your face mediocrity surrounding gary payton. Doesn't the nba's approval hinge on the ownerships willingness to make a "good faith effort" in negotiations with the city? I'm having a hard time understanding how grossly overpaying for a franchise entitles them to turn around and hold the sonics for ransom unless the city drops $500 mil on another arena. They new the lease was garbage when they bought the team!! If good ol' clay really thought that was going to fly he's a bigger fool than I had thought. I hope clay does get his arena, and i also hope he gets squished under the decrepid viaduct when that bad boy hits the deck....didn't that used to be the land bridge before the last iceage? So let's see....you want to move the team from one of the most breathtaking cities in the world and stuff it into america's armpit? And you say, there is local ownership willing to lose money, hand over fist for the next few years to ensure the city of keeping their team?? Dont think so....Here's hoping the nba isnt being run by by the same kind of morons who run the sonics. And heres to Sam Perkins bouncing a starbucks off clay's gravity defying dome on his wagon ride back to the rest of the biblethumpers down in the red states where he belongs. DONT GIVE UP ON THIS TEAM, THATS WHAT THEY ARE COUNTING ON.
chawktim @ 09:34 - Saturday, November 3rd, 2007 Email
The difference between Bennett and Smulyan and Behring is that Smulyan and Behring were in Seattle long enough to show what a illegitimate "good faith effort" supposedly looked like. In fact I would even say that as bad as they were at managing their teams, they didn't come to Seattle with the intent to move the teams. (That doesn't mean they would not have been open to that idea). Bennett on the other hand has no idea what a "good faith effort" looks like and he has been intent on moving the Sonics from day 1.
mattharber46 @ 09:41 - Saturday, November 3rd, 2007 Email
eric....

so a serious question. what can we do? I mean, there is not link to the owners, the commish or the people that are important in this deal. i want the sonics to stay in seattle BAD, but i detest the thought of caving to clay bennett's ridiculous demands, accusations, lies and threats. he hasn't been fair, hasn't been truthful, and has always had an agenda which included never giving the seattle area a fair shake unless they bent to his will of an unrealistic proposal. if we were to build him his arena, the value of the franchise he buys goes up dramatically. why would i want to do that for this a**hole? i dont. i refuse to. bring me another owner that cares about this area and I will be more than happy to be taxed a dollar on my meal for an arena.
Eric Williams @ 10:36 - Saturday, November 3rd, 2007 Email
Mattharber46: You have to look at the bigger picture. Buying tickets to go see the Sonics is showing your commitment to the team, not Mr. Bennett. And the more people that buy tickets and go to games, the more the NBA realizes that Seattle is a good NBA market that is committed to the Sonics being here long term.
Same thing with the arena. Building a new arena -- whether it's publicly or privately financed -- benefits our area long term.
Mr. Bennett's doing what he has to do to show people here locally that he means business. He and business partners are from Oklahoma City, of course they want to move the team there. Now it's up to politicians, business people, and fans to join forces and put a concerted effort together that keeps the team here.
So if you're a Sonics fan, it's important to continue to go to games, to continue to talk to your local representatives about the importance of having the Sonics in your community, and to continue to hold people like Gov. Chris Gregoire's feet to the fire.
marksa @ 13:49 - Saturday, November 3rd, 2007
Couldn't have said it better myself Eric.

Key Arena actually had a higher attendance percentage than OK city last season and its important for that number to stay in the high 90's. Going to games this season isn't about winning now its about doing our part to watch this team win in the future.

I will be at every Sonics home game this season and I hope to see 17,000+ at every on to go along with chants of "Save our Sonics"
DoctorEvil @ 01:45 - Sunday, November 4th, 2007 Email
I totally agree, Eric. Boycotting or giving up on the team because of Bennett is HELPING him in his evil plan to steal the team. We need high attendance and and an energetic show of outrage at the threat of losing the team. Force the NBA to realize it would be foolish to let the team leave this area.
Strawdog @ 09:48 - Sunday, November 4th, 2007 Email
Eric, I would take issue with one comment: "building a new arena-- benefits our area long term".Economic statistics show clearly that the public does not get the money back from publicly financed projects like this. Personally, living in Gig Harbor and being a fan, I would like to keep the Sonics in state, but am unwilling to pay one penny of my tax dollars to keep them. Should the people of King county and Seattle want to have their taxes increased to pay for new arena, great.
Eric Williams @ 14:35 - Tuesday, November 6th, 2007 Email
Strawdog: You're right. The public does not get money back directly from projects like this. But having the Sonics here does generate tax money in terms of tourism dollars and businesses in the Seattle area benefiting from people coming to watch the games.
There's also a buzz created nationally by having a NBA franchise in your city. Again, I don't think you can put a value on that, but it adds to the wealth of entertainment opportunities available in the Seattle area.

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