The city of Seattle filed a motion in opposition to a filing last week by attorneys for the Sonics that, if granted, could push back a trial between the city and the Sonics over monetary damages involving the KeyArena lease another six months.

The city’s lawsuit seeks to compel the Sonics to live up to their KeyArena lease requiring the team to stay through September 2010.

Last week the Sonics filed a counterclaim for declaratory relief, requesting Judge Marsha Pechman provide a monetary figure for the city’s damages should the team receive a decision that allowed the Sonics to move to Oklahoma City this season to avoid another trial to resolve the financial issue.

However, in the city’s filing on Wednesday, attorneys for the city argue that the team’s request "dramatically expanded the scope of this litigation," by asking the court to decide the issue of damages.

=> Read more!

Apparently winning 74 percent of your games is not good enough to keep your job in the NBA.

As first reported by ESPN’s Marc Stein, the Dallas Mavericks let Avery Johnson go today.

Johnson’s Mavericks fell to New Orleans in a disappointing five games after picking up veteran guard Jason Kidd in a midseason deal with the hope of making a deep playoff run.

Johnson is not the only coach feeling hot under the collar, as Phoenix’s Mike D’Antoni and Denver’s George Karl also are on the hot seat after first-round departures.

Both coaches have been successful coaches and won a lot of games in the league, but this is what happens when you don’t meet owners’ lofty expectations. Sometimes it’s easier to get rid of the coach than to make roster moves with hefty salaries involved.

This story from Bloomberg wire services seems to point to the fact the Hornets may be staying in New Orleans long term.

The New Orleans Hornets will break even at worst after preseason projections of a $20 million loss, team owner George Shinn said.

The Hornets last night eliminated the Dallas Mavericks in the opening round of the National Basketball Association playoffs, advancing to face the defending champion San Antonio Spurs.

Sellout crowds and an invigorated fan base will help the Hornets at least break even this season, Shinn said during an interview with Bloomberg Radio’s “On the Ball” that will air this weekend.

“We’ll be right at a break-even point,” Shinn said. “When the season started, we were budgeted to lose about $20 million. That is slowly evaporating.”

Shinn also said officials from the team and state are negotiating a long-term contract for the Hornets to remain in the NBA’s smallest media market, which is recovering from Hurricane Katrina.

=> Read more!

According to league sources, Seattle rookie Kevin Durant will be named NBA rookie of the year. The Sonics will have a press conference to announce the award on Thursday.

Durant finished ahead of Atlanta's Al Horford and Houston's Luis Scola to become the first Sonic to win the award.

Durant led all rookies in scoring (20.3 ppg.), free-throw shooting (87.3 percent) and assists (2.4 apg.). And Durant became just the third teenager in league history to average 20 points a game for a season, joining Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James.

Durant will travel from Washington D.C. to Seattle for Thursday's press conference.

In news involving the Sonics future location, Seattle law firm Byrnes & Keller accepted a summons regarding former Sonics owner Howard Schultz's lawsuit against the current ownership group on Tuesday, and will represent Sonics chairman Clay Bennett and the rest of the ownership group. Byrnes & Keller also is representing Bennett's group in the lawsuit vs. the city of Seattle.

Bennett's group has 20 days to respond to the complaint.

The Sonics finished final lease negotiations with Oklahoma City that include having Oklahoma City in its name should the team move there.

And here's an interesting article on the new revenue sharing package owners passed during the NBA Board of Governors meeting in New York, and how it could affect small market teams.

In what looks like another minor victory for the city of Seattle, a U.S. District Court judge in New York ruled that attorneys representing the city can dispose NBA Commissioner David Stern, according to a report in The Oklahoman.
Federal court Judge Loretta Preska also ruled that the league must hand over internal documents about the Sonics relocation to Oklahoma City to the city. Read more here and I'll have an update later.

The city of Seattle released more emails that seem to suggest the NBA may have suspected the Sonics breached its good faith agreement with former Sonics owner Howard Schultz. Here's my story from today.

Here's the city's filing in New York City. And here is the NBA's response.

And here are the emails along with the other exhibits the city submitted. The city and the NBA will meet in federal court in New York to settle the dispute on Monday.

The same judge presiding over the city’s of Seattle’s case against the Seattle SuperSonics ownership group regarding the Keyareana lease will oversee a recent lawsuit filed by former Sonics owners Howard Schultz against the Oklahoma City-based ownership group.

Schultz lawsuit, filed on Tuesday, was reassigned to federal court judge Marsha Pechman on Wednesday. Judge Robert Lasnik initially had been assigned the case.

Pechman also will oversee the city's lawsuit against the Sonics regarding the KeyArena lease, with the trial starting June 16.

Also Lester Munson, ESPN legal analyst, was on KJR Dave Mohler’s show this morning, and said that Schultz had a better than 50 percent chance to win his case. Listen to that conversation here.

The Wages of Wins Journal rates this year's Sonics team among the worst teams in league history, according to their statistical analysis.

Those boys from the Seattle Weekly stay busy. Here they document Seattle Sonics players returning to Boeing Field from the team's last game of the season in Golden State, a 126-121 victory.

It's worth checking out.

If you’re looking for some legal “x’s and o’s” analysis to clarify today’s lawsuit filing by Schultz, I suggest you read this article written by ESPN legal analyst Lester Munson.

Memphis Grizzlies’ owner Michael Heisley addresses his team’s future in this article from the Memphis Commercial Appeal, saying that he has no plans to move the team from the city located on the banks of the Mississippi River.

Here's an excerpt

"I've never talked about moving. We have a long-term, contractual commitment to the city," Heisley said. "There is no way this team is going to move. I've never talked about moving. How am I going to move the team when I have a contract not to move the team?

"This is Memphis' team. The people in Memphis and surrounding communities own this team. If you love basketball, you're a fan of the team when it's winning and when it's rebuilding. You might not be a fan of Mike Heisley, but you're a fan of the team. Because it is your team, you can complain and suggest. A fan of the team doesn't just go when you win a championship.”

At the end of this story by Tim Sorenson of the Charlotte Observer, Soresnon proposes that George Shinn, owner of the New Orleans Hornets, and Bob Johnson, owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, swap cities.

Shinn moved his team from Charlotte to New Orleans after a love affair with Shinn and the citizens of Charlotte turned bitter at the end.

It appears the same thing has happened with Johnson in Charlotte, with fans there running out of patience with the Bobcats’ struggles.

From Sorenson:

What if Shinn and Bob Johnson were to trade cities? What if Shinn brought Chris Paul and the Hornets to Charlotte and Johnson brought his Charlotte Bobcats to New Orleans?
Charlotte is the better market, of course. So why would Johnson trade cities?

Johnson is losing millions. If the Bobcats similarly fail to attract fans in New Orleans, he could opt out of his lease -- unless the NBA intercedes. If the NBA does not, Johnson could move his team to a welcoming city such as Las Vegas.

The proposal probably is too outrageous. Shinn might have no interest and Johnson might not.

But why wouldn't they?

Here's a copy of the lawsuit filed today by Howard Schultz.

I had a chance to talk with Seattle deputy mayor Tim Ceis about Schultz filing, along with a couple other things, and here’s what Ceis had to say.

REACTION ON SCHULTZ FILING THE LAWSUIT

“I definitely think he’s working in concert with what we’re doing. Having Howard back on the team working with us is great. We’re very appreciative of what he’s doing and how he’s asserting his right under the sales agreement with the Sonics. So yeah, we’re very enthusiastic of his strategy.

“You know Howard Schultz. He wouldn’t be in this thing unless he thought he could win.”

REACTION ON NBA OWNERS VOTING TO APPROVE THE SONICS RELOCATION LAST FRIDAY

“The decision of the board of governors was a foregone conclusion. It did not change our strategy at all. We have always been focus on the litigation in June. We’ve always felt that is what gives us leverage to get a good result from Bennett and the NBA for the people of the city and the region. We don’t think that changed anything at all.”

Ceis also said he found Bennett’s response amusing that his words were misconstrued regarding the emails cited in the city’s filing to seek release of financial records from the NBA. During the press conference last Friday Bennett said regarding his email that he was a “A man possessed" in working to get an arena deal done Seattle, not Oklahoma City.

ON THE IMPORTANCE OF AN ARENA PROPOSAL IN SEATTLE

“A financial plan for the arena has always been critical. I don’t think it will have a material affect on the lawsuit. It’s not part of our strategy, but it’s certainly has an affect on our ability to get a positive outcome on having a franchise in the future. There’s no doubt about that.”

ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE JUNE 16TH LAWSUIT

“That gives us leverage to get an outcome for the region that has an NBA franchise here. If we just allow the team to go, there’s absolutely no guarantee that we’ll see a franchise in this area ever again.”

ON RON SIMS AND PETE VON REICHBAUER’S COMMENTS THAT THE CITY SHOULD GIVE UP THE LAWSUIT AND TAKE A BUYOUT FROM THE SONICS

“Neither one of them are close to the situation. So I appreciate their view, but this is about enforcing a lease and the rights of the taxpayers we represent, and we have an obligation to do that. If there is going to be a positive outcome to this, and we’re hopeful there will be, we’re all ears. Until we hear something from the NBA that changes our mind, we are headed toward that court date.”

Last week, Richard Yarmuth, an attorney with Seattle-based law firm Yarmuth Wilsdon Calfo, said former Sonics owner Howard Schultz wanted to rescind the July 2006 sale of the team. That lawsuit was filed today. Here's the story from AP:

Former Seattle SuperSonics owner Howard Schultz has filed a lawsuit to undo his sale of the team to an Oklahoma City-based group led by Clay Bennett, saying Bennett lied to him by promising to keep the NBA franchise in Seattle.

The lawsuit, filed late Tuesday in U.S. District Court, seeks to deprive Bennett’s group of “the fruits of its deception” by rescinding the sale, and described Bennett’s actions as “fraud.”

Bennett’s Professional Basketball Club bought the team from Starbucks Corp. Chairman Schultz in July 2006, and Bennett publicly insisted he planned to keep the Sonics in Seattle. In reality, the group was eager to try and move the team to Oklahoma all along, according to internal e-mails revealed in litigation between the city of Seattle and the new ownership group.

The NBA’s board of governors voted last Friday to approve the Sonics’ move to Oklahoma.

Reached Tuesday evening, a spokesman for Bennett declined to comment.

A few quick links before I head back to Seattle.

Chris Sheridan of ESPN compares the relocation of the Hornets from Charlotte to New Orleans in 2002 to the Sonics leaving Seattle for Oklahoma City, and it’s not good for fans in Seattle.

Folks in Oklahoma City ready for the Sonics arrival.

The Associated Press covers the story here.

Here's the full transcript from today's press conference

COMMISSIONER DAVID STERN: You know, we've just concluded two days of meetings of the NBA Board of Governors. It was a very productive meeting. There was a fair amount of reporting that had to be done with respect to the season which we just completed, the exciting basketball that we finally had a chance to talk about; new teams in the playoffs, the exciting race in the West, and the increase in our television ratings across all of our networks, local regional sports networks and local over the air stations. It was the first time in a long time that we were up across the Board in all five categories.

You know, we spent some time briefing the owners on our China initiatives and the opportunities for extraordinary growth in retail and arenas and progress being made with respect to negotiations and discussions about a league in China at some time in the future.

We had a relatively extensive report on NBA Digital, which is going to be run out of Atlanta in a joint venture with Turner Broadcasting, which will include NBA TV, which is being programmed with Turner talent and Turner expertise; NBA League Pass and NBA.com and NBA Wireless all under the name of NBA Digital, which is going to have extraordinary resources behind it, compliments of Turner.

We passed an enhanced revenue sharing program for our teams last year, and the program currently expired was $30 million a year of additional revenue sharing beyond what we do, and for the next three years, it will be $49 million, and that was passed by a large margin.

And finally, the NBA Board of Governors approved the move of the Sonics to Oklahoma City pending resolution of the litigation that is now pending to determine whether the Sonics are required to play out the remaining two years of their lease; or, whether they are authorized by the court to fulfill the terms of the lease by making a payment of rent without playing out the remaining two years of the lease.

You know, we think that the support for the NBA demonstrated by the fans, government leaders and business community of Oklahoma City over the last three years has been extraordinary, and that the Board of Governors expressed confidence that the level of local support will result in success for the relocated franchise in Oklahoma City whenever that is.

I'm happy to take questions.

Q. What was the vote today, and if there were some people who didn't vote in favor, what were their concerns?

COMMISSIONER DAVID STERN: Actually the vote was 28 in favor and two against; the two teams that voted against it were Dallas whose principal owner is Mark Cuban, and Portland, whose sole owner is Paul Allen.

Q. And their concerns?

COMMISSIONER DAVID STERN: I think that Mark's concerns have been expressed in the media and about market size and the like and, you know, that's it. Portland simply voted no and did not express any expressed itself, but we knew they were going to be voting no.

=> Read more!

Some responses from Sonics chairman Clay Bennett culled from the new conference this afternoon.

ON WHAT SEATTLE MUST DO FOR THE NBA TO STAY:

“It’s my opinion that until such time that there is a unified, visionary committed business and political leadership focused on this issue, it’s going to be very tough. Seattle is a great city, with great fans. There is a great history. Seattle should potentially be a future opportunity for the league. But a modern building must be built to attract a team.”

ON WHAT WENT WRONG INITIALLY WITH HIS DEALING WITH THE CITY OF SEATTLE:

“I think about that a lot. And when I go back I recall my first meetings and we were not engaged, we were not connected. Right on the heels of our purchase I-91 comes down the pike. And that was certainly as strong as a political statement relative, as it is a statement and view on public financing clearly meant to affect our process.

“So it was just almost one struggle after another. In that context I think back to Margarita Prentice and Eric Pettigrew, courageous people that did believe in us and tried to help us. And other local leaders that did try to engage with us. We felt at certain times we did have some credible movement, but we were just challenged every step of the way.”

=> Read more!

NBA officials have said the press conference could be pushed back to as late as noon Pacific time. Apparently there still some things to work through.

I tried to post this earlier but was unsuccessful but here's my conversation with Brian Robinson earlier today.

NBA TV and nba.com will carry the press conference live. Last I've been told by NBA folks is the press conference will take place between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. Eastern Time, which means about 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. back in the Seattle area.

NBA Commissioner David Stern and Sonics chairman Clay Bennett will speak during the press conference.

I talked to Mark Rupp, a representative of Gov. Chris Gregiore's office who works in Washington D.C. and is here to represent the governor. Rupp said he has not had a chance to speak with anyone from the NBA, but that Gregoire still believes it is important to keep a team in Seattle.

I also spoke with Brian Robinson of Save Our Sonics, who is not being allowed in the hotel because he doesn't have media credentials. Robinson said he thought it was important for a representative of Sonics fans to be here so the NBA understands its decision affects fans in Seattle.

I’m here at the owner’s meeting at the St. Regis Hotel, and it sounds like they’re putting a wrap on things and will have a press conference to discuss the vote on the Sonics relocation application, among other things, in the next hour or so. But again, that’s not an official announcement by the league.

Several local media outlets are here, including KIRO-7 and KING-5, along with myself and Percy Allen from the Seattle Times.

And the Sonics fans have a representative here as well, as Brian Robinson of Save Our Sonics made the trip, outfitted in Sonics gear, and is hanging around outside the St. Regis Hotel.

Gov. Chris Gregoire also has a representative here.

I think the announcement that the press conference coming early means what most of us thought all along – that the ownership decided to approve the relocation application pretty handily, with the stipulation of what happens in federal court on June 16 between the City of Seattle and the Sonics regarding the KeyArena lease agreement.

I’ll post audio of David Stern’s conversation after the press conference, along with a response from Sonics chairman Clay Bennett if he is available, and other folks affected by the decision.

The NBA Board of Governors meeting was supposed to begin this morning, but actually will not start until later this evening, with owners arriving at the St. Regis Hotel here in New York City around 5 p.m.

There is an agenda for the meeting, which will take place this evening and tomorrow morning. The owners have scheduled a 2 p.m. press conference to discuss any action that takes place during the meeting. There will be no media availability today, but there’s plenty of media folks milling about the hotel waiting for the owners to show up.

Three things we know the owners will address is the Tim Donaghy referee scandal, revenue sharing and the Sonics application to relocate to Oklahoma City.

Right now, there’s a lot of stretch limos lined up in front of the hotel, with guys looking like they may have played a bit part in “Goodfellas” leaning on the hoods of cars and smoking cancer sticks.

I actually have some news to report, but it’s basketball related. The NBA hasn’t released it yet, but Kevin Durant has won the Western Conference rookie of the month again, this time for the month of April. That means Durant won rookie of the month every month this season accept for February, when Houston’s Luis Scola won the award.

Durant’s career-high, 42-point effort in the last game of the season couldn’t have hurt.

I didn’t get a chance to post this last night, but here are post-game interviews from Earl Watson and P.J. Carlesimo.

And I’ll talk to Seattle General Manager Sam Presti about the team’s off-season plans today. I’ll have an update from the ownership meeting and from Presti later this afternoon.

Seattle rookie Kevin Durant teased Sonics fans tonight, showing them what they might see next season with a career-high 42 points, and earning his first double-double of the season by grabbing 13 rebounds.

With the win the Sonics finished the season 20-62, and with a little bit of momentum heading into next year.

Check out the box score here.

Durant said he had some extra motivation because his grandmother Barbara Williams, who rarely attends games, flew in to see the game, and he wanted to provide her something extra special.

Listen to Durant talk about the game here.

Seattle coach P.J. Carlesimo says the game shows his team has hung tough all season

That's it for now. I'm heading to New York and will provide regular updates on the meeting with the owners once I get there on Thursday.

Seattle leads 43-27. Kevin Durant needed 18 points to average 20 points a game on the year, becoming just the third teenager to accomplish the feat in a list that includes Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James. With 9:59 left in the half Durant already has 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting.

Jeff Green has 13 points for Seattle. The Sonics ares shooting 70 percent from the floor.

Probable starters for the Sonics are Earl Watson, Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Nick Collison and Johan Petro.

Probable starters for Golden State are Stephen Jackson, Al Harrington, Andris Biedrins, Baron Davis and Monta Ellis

If Durant scores 18 points tonight, he’ll finish the season averaging 20 points a contest, become just the third teenager in the NBA to accomplish that feat, joining Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James.

Most of the focus on the pregame talk tonight was on what the Sonics need to do during the offseason to get better.

Seattle coach P.J. Carlesimo talked about the importance of building on the continuity established after this season, with the Sonics having the same coach for a second season for he first time in four years.

Carlesimo also said the Sonics could have a similar nucleus of players back, or they could have a much different team with the draft picks and possible trade opportunities available this summer.

“Our expectations are going to be more. We’re going to want to do more. A lot will be shaped by what we do with all of our draft picks. If we have five or six, first or second-year players next year, that’s going to make it challenging again.

“If we’re able to, however over the summer, make the team young and a little seasoned at the same time, it will be interesting. So I just think a lot questions will be determined by what happens over the next couple months, and before we start in October. I think our roster could be very, very similar, or it might be markedly changed. I’m not looking for one of the other, but I think there’s a potential for that to happen.”

Carlesimo talked for awhile. Listen to the full conversation here and here.

I also talked to Damien Wilkins, who said developing consistency is the key for next season. Wilkins also said the off-the-court stuff has been a distraction this season.

“We think about it, see it and talk about it from time to time. But it’s like this -- it’s hard to really focus on playing the game of basketball and winning when all this stuff is going on. When you don’t know where you’re going to go.

“When you’ve got real estate agents waiting for you after the game with business cards from Oklahoma City and meetings with the owner about moving, it’s hard to win and play basketball when all of that is going on.
“And it has been (a distraction). We shouldn’t be dealing with that stuff, and seeing it as much as we’ve been seeing it, but we are.”

ESPN senior writer Lester Munson, a Chicago attorney and journalist, says Howard Schultz plans to file a lawsuit against Clay Bennett to get the team back is a long shot.

Seattle general manager Sam Presti gave the Detroit Pistrons permission to talk to Sonics assistant general manager Scott Perry.

According to the Detroit Free Press, the Pistons are in talks Perry, who worked in the Detroit front office before he took the job with Seattle last summer.

Perry is interviewing to replace vice president of basketball operations John Hammond, who was recently hired as the general manager of the Milwaukee Bucks. According to the Free Press, a deal could happen quickly and Perry could be a Piston again by the weekend.

Washington State senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell drafted a letter in support of keeping the Sonics in Seattle. Like Gov. Chris Gregoire, the two senators ask NBA commissioner David Stern to delay the relocation vote. Check it out here.

All the buzz the past few days has been on Howard Schultz announcement that he plans to file a lawsuit against the current ownership group over breach of contract because he believes the failed to live up to a “good faith, best effort” stipulation that was part of the agreement in the July 2006 sale.

Opinions vary on whether this move is a publicity stunt by Schultz or a legitimate issue that could help keep the team in Seattle.

However, the case would seem hard to prove in court because of the subjective nature of good faith stipulations, and proving whether someone acted in good faith or not could be difficult.

I talked to Sid DeLong, a professor at Seattle University Law School who has taught contract law since 1989, and he had this to say about “good faith, best effort” stipulations.

“If a buyer makes a contractual promise without intending to perform it, the seller can sometimes rescind the sales contract on grounds of promissory fraud,” DeLong said.

“If the buyer intended to perform at the time of the contract, then changed his mind and breached, the usual remedy would be money damages.”

Whether Schultz has a chance to win in court or not remains to be seen. However, I believe if he does file it will help in Seattle’s efforts to try and keep the team because it adds another element that the current Sonics ownership group will have to answer to.

State and local politicians also stepped into the fray, sending a letter to NBA Commissioner David Stern asking that he postpone the vote by owners to relocate the team to Oklahoma City.

Gov. Gregoire released a letter asking NBA Commissioner David Stern to postpone the vote by owners to relocate the team to Oklahoman City.

So did Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels.

ESPN’s Outside the Lines will air a special on the situation in Seattle throughout the day today. I'll post a link to the video when one is available.

And if you haven’t viewed it already, take a look at the special TNT put together on Save Our Sonics effort to keep the team in Seattle here and here.

Bill Simmons picks Kevin Durant as his Rookie of the year for these reasons provided at the bottom of this column.

Somehow, Durant evolved into a legitimate scorer after the All-Star Break (21.3 points and 47 percent shooting) even though defenses were keying on him and he weighs about 120 pounds. Check out the sidebar to the right -- he's well ahead of Nowitzki and KG and right there with LeBron and Melo, right? When his 3-point shooting comes around (a safe bet) and he moves to forward and starts getting easier baskets (especially off offensive rebounds), he's going to average 30-plus a game. And it's going to happen sooner than you think. Like, potentially next year.

Durant gets extra credit for his performance in Seattle's last (and potentially final) two home games. In a revenge performance against a Denver team that desperately needed to win, Durant hit game-tying 3s in regulation and OT -- the last one was a 35-foot bomb in which Durant was so far away, you couldn't even see him celebrating when the half-court camera followed the shot into the basket) -- and finished with a career-high 37 points. And then, in an emotional season finale against Dallas, KD scored the go-ahead and clinching baskets in the final minute, celebrated like he just won the championship and admitted he almost cried afterward.

Read the entire article here.

ESPN’s David Thorpe anoints Kevin Durant the rookie of the year here. Jeff Green finished 18th.

It’s been awhile, but I thought I would offer some links to stories that pertain to Seattle and what is happening here.

If it was the last game in Seattle, you couldn’t have scripted a better ending.

Listen to conversations with Nick Collison and Jeff Green after Seattle’s 99-95 win over Dallas Sunday night.

Listen to other Sonic players talk about Sunday’s game at KJR’s Sonics page here.

Watch highlights from the game here.

Here’s an interesting story from the New Orleans Times-Picayune that talks about the competition between the Hornets and Saints for government funds. The story asks if New Orleans can support both teams financially.

The New York Daily News reports that former Seattle Sonics general manager Rick Sund is one of two final candidates for the New York Knicks general manager position. The other is former Philadelphia Sixers president Billy King.

An editorial in the Memphis Commercial Appeal advocates that the NBA owners defer on the vote to relocate Seattle to Oklahoma City.

Yahoo Sport’s Adrian Wojnarowski talks about the rookie of the year candidates here.

And he also discusses the Sonics tenuous situation in Seattle here.

Another sign that change is coming, the Sonics are not accepting renewals from season ticket holders for next season because of the uncertainty of where the team will be next season.

Here's the letter they are sending out to season ticket holders.

Over the last several games, we've received inquiries from Season Ticket Members regarding our plans for the 2008-09 season ticket renewal and we want to take a few minutes to address that topic with you. Typically, this time of year we initiate a renewal campaign for the upcoming season. However, with the current uncertainty surrounding the team's status about playing in Seattle for the 2008-09 season, we feel the prudent course of action is to wait until this matter is resolved before presenting you with renewal information.

In the interim, please be assured your status as a Sonics Season Ticket Member is protected in the event we play the 2008-09 season in Seattle. By postponing the timing of your renewal, your seat status and account priority number will remain intact should the team play in Seattle. Although we may accept deposits for new accounts at a later date, no new seats will be assigned until after a renewal campaign begins and we would, as always, provide you the first opportunity to confirm or change your seat location at KeyArena.

We recognize this is a tough and unprecedented period of time and sincerely thank you for your continued support.

Best regards from your Sonics Retention Team,

Here's the full transcript of the conversation with NBA Commissioner David Stern on questions about Seattle arena situation

Q. You said back in August you were satisfied that the Seattle ownership group had been honest throughout with their intentions. Has anything changed in your feeling in that regard?

COMMISSIONER STERN: No. Is there a follow up?

Q. Have you ever I know you've said that you don't believe that the Seattle people's feelings is because of that particular owner, that they wouldn't give money to Howard Schultz. Did you ever talk to Clay Bennett about maybe selling the team if maybe that was different. If a different ownership group could have worked something out there?

COMMISSIONER STERN: Well, actually, I think it's fair to say that extraordinary efforts were made to seek ownership interest when Howard sold the team, including from people who became involved in the effort, the recently unsuccessful effort to get the state to extend the sales tax for purposes of retiring arena debt. So I think it happened already.

There was no one that was interested in buying the team including the very people who stepped forward at the last minute to participate in the arena renovation.

Q. I want to get your reaction to the release of the emails that seem to indicate that while Clay Bennett was indicating to you and to the public at large that there was no intent at that time to move the team, amongst the ownership group there seemed to be thoughts or action to move the team to Oklahoma City. Your reaction to that, and, also, is that something that you could or would act upon?

COMMISSIONER STERN: I haven't studied them, but my sense of it was that Clay, as the managing partner and driving force of the group, is operating in good faith under the agreement that he made with Howard Schultz.

His straight and narrow path may not have been shared by all of his partners and their views, but Clay was the one making policy for the partnership.

Q. Irrespective of anything, who is to blame for what's happened there? As you reach out strongly to Asia, how distressing is it to you that you're about to lose a city that is a major part of the pacific rim and has a large Asian population, and is a good outreach to Asia?

COMMISSIONER STERN: I would say that we don't ever like to lose a city, and we don't like to leave a city that is as robust as Seattle. But the Asian cities that we're tending to focus more on have names like Shanghai, Beijing, and Hong Kong and Guangzhou. So, it's disheartening simply to leave the city as it would be to leave any city.

But in respects to Asia, there are many cities that are jockeying for that title, so to speak, but we have actually even moved past that and are dealing much more forcefully. My guess is that a year from now we'll probably have close to 200 people in different Asian cities. That's NBA employees.

Don't know if you're aware of this story, but NBA Commissioner commented for the first time on the emails the City of Seattle released last week in a conference call today. Here's a quote.

“I haven’t studied them but my sense of it was that Clay, as the managing partner and the driving force of the group, was operating in good faith under the agreement that had been made with (previous owner) Howard Schultz,” Stern said on a conference call today. “His straight and narrow path may not have been shared by all of his partners in their views, but Clay was the one that was making policy for the partnership.”

And you can read the entire story here.

There's a lot of people milling around that you don't normally see during the year with the potential of this game being perhaps the last one in Sonics history.

However, everyone that I've talked to remains strangely optimistic that the team will be around for at least for another year.

Who knows? Maybe there's a lot of people out there in denial.

On the court, the only change in Seattle's lineup is Johan Petro for Francisco Elson. So Earl Watson, Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and Nick Collison will start alongside Petro.

Starters for Dallas are Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Josh Howard, Dirk Nowitzki and Erick Dampier.

ESPN is in town doing a piece for Outside the Lines. They talked to Brian Robinson of Save Our Sonics, and I also grabbed Brian for a few minutes to get his take on this possibly being the last game of the year.

Like everybody else, Brian believes the team will still be around. Listen to the conversation with Brian here.

Dallas owner Mark Cuban also made the trip with his team, and addressed the Seattle-area media, basically saying again that he will vote against the Sonics relocating at the owners meeting in New York. You can listen to the conversation with Cuban here.

Kevin Durant offers his thoughts on the final home game of the season here.

And listen to P.J. Carlesimo's pregame conversation here.

San Antonio, Texas – After 21-years as the play-by-play announcer for the Seattle SuperSonics, Kevin Calabro worked his last game for the franchise on Friday against the San Antonio Spurs.

Maybe.

Calabro said he will not work Sunday’s Sonics game in Seattle against Dallas because he already committed to do the San Antonio at Los Angeles Lakers game for ESPN radio. Calabro works five to six games for ESPN radio during the season, and he also usually works several playoff games if Seattle doesn’t make the playoffs.

And Seattle’s final regular-season game at Golden State is supposed to be broadcast by ESPN, although the network dropped the game Friday, leaving the game available for Fox Sports Northwest if the network wants to pick it up.

Calabro says his contract is up in October, and he does not intend to move with the Sonics should they relocate to Oklahoma City for next season.

“If this is it, I wanted to thank the fans because you don’t do this for 21 years if the fans aren’t in your corner and don’t like what you’re doing and don’t appreciate you as a person,” Calabro said. “I know there’s a lot of people out there that feel like they’re friends of mine, but we’ve never met. That’s kind of the special nature of what we do. So I wanted to make sure if this was it, to let them know I appreciate them welcoming us into this community and being a part of it for 21 years.”

In an organization that has gone through three ownership groups, eight coaches and hundreds of players over the past 20 years, Calabro has been the one constant for the Sonics, and is considered one of the best in the business at what he does.

“It’s the one out-front presence that’s hasn’t changed,” Calabro said. “And I’ve always realized that and appreciate that, and knew that I’ve got to bring a little more to every game because I know people are depending on you.”

Calabro said he never considered relocating with the team to Oklahoma City.

“This issue has been difficult for everybody, and me too because obviously I’m paid a good wage to do what I do,” Calabro said. “So I’ve tried to stay out of the issue as much as I can, but obviously my preference is to stay in Seattle. Actions speak louder than words. I’ve got 21 years of equity in the 14th largest market, so my feeling is I should be able to cobble together a living there.

“I also love the NBA, and I want to continue to work in the NBA. It just won’t be in Oklahoma City.”

Calabro said if the Sonics do move next season he’ll go through a cooling period before deciding his next move. However, Calabro’s betting he hasn’t worked his last Sonics game.

“I’m just thinking that this will not be the last game,” Calabro said. “Everybody is making it out to be, but I’m approaching this as it will not be the last game. But I’m letting the fans know that if this is it, I appreciated it.”

Tracy McGrady is on the inactive list for Houston tonight, resting his sore left shoulder. Luther Head will start in place of McGrady.

Starters for Seattle are the same, with Earl Watson, Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Nick Collison and Johan Petro.

For Houston, Rafer Alston, who missed three games with a strained hamstring and did not play against the Sonics in Seattle a week ago, will start at point guard tonight. Head will start for McGrady, along with Shane Battier, Luis Scola and Dikembe Mutombo.

Carlesimo said it will be important for the Sonics to get easy buckets in transition, get to the free-throw line and hit the boards offensively for easy putbacks because of the Rockets' effectiveness on defense.

Carlesimo said he’s unsure what the summer plans will be for his trio of young centers: Robert Swift, Mouhamed Sene and Johan Petro. Although regarding Swift and Sene, Carlesimo said the most important thing is the two get healthy after suffering knee injuries.

Carlesimo and the Sonics will make their first trip to San Antonio on Friday. Carlesimo said it will be a different feeling being on the other sideline.

“I’ve never coached in that building on the other bench, so it will be a very different feeling,” Carlesimo said. “But again when you go in, and you’re in the other locker room it’s just not the same.”

Listen to the full conversation with Carlesimo here.

The News Tribune reporter Wendy Carpenter caught up with Matt Griffin, spokesperson for the private investment group headed by Steve Ballmer that recently announced along with the City of Seattle it was pulling its deal to revamp KeyArena.

Here’s what Griffin had to say.

“First of all, in all of our conversations we've had with mayor (Greg Nickels), we've been impressed with his leadership.

“It seems clear now that when Olympia passed it back to the city, it probably died then. But we didn't realize that at the time.

“(Nickels) has called me in the last week, and asked if I keep an open mind. We’ve left it as there is no plan (moving forward) but we'll keep an open mind.

“I haven't talked with the other investors (since the city's announcement Tuesday) but it doesn't matter whether it's in the next two weeks, or two months.”

ON WHAT DO GRIFFIN AND THE OTHER INVESTORS DO NOW?

“I go back to my day job, and we'll continue to keep an open mind.”

Also, 3 Shades of Blue, a blog that follows the Memphis Grizzlies, interviewed Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley. The interview includes Heisley talking about what happened with the Grizzlies in Vancouver that led to the team moving to Memphis, and what the current situation is with the team right now. It’s definitely worth a read, and offers an interesting look into how NBA owners think.

Here’s our story by reporter Wendy Carpenter on Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels announcement that the deal to remodel KeyArena is done.

Wendy also was nice enough to provide a transcript of Nickels’ press conference, which you can find below.

On the court in Dallas the Sonics played solid for three quarters but faltered in the fourth.

I talked to Nick Collison after the game and he emphasized the Sonics continuing to be professional and playing hard throughout the end of the season. Listen to that conversation here.

Nickels’ press conference transcript.

=> Read more!

Seattle SuperSonics General Manager Sam Presti announced today second-year center Mouhamed Sene suffered a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee during last Friday’s Idaho Stampede game at Bakersfield of the NBA Development League. The extent of the injury was revealed in an MRI performed yesterday. The team is in the process of scheduling surgery.

Sene appeared in 13 games for the Sonics this season, averaging 2.3 points and 1.2 rebounds in 4.8 minutes per contest. Sene also appeared in 27 games for the Idaho Stampede this season, averaging 12.4 points and 9.0 rebounds in 28.2 minutes per game. The 10th overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, Sene has appeared in 41 regular season games in his two seasons with the Sonics and holds career averages of 2.0 points and 1.2 rebounds.

Dallas – He may be the only NBA owner that votes this way come April 18, but Dallas Mavericks owners Mark Cuban reiterated Tuesday evening before his team’s game against the Seattle SuperSonics that his preference is for the team to stay in Seattle.

“My prejudice is against having a Dust Bowl division in this part of the country because I don’t think in the big picture that helps the NBA,” Cuban said. “I think the big market helps the NBA.”

However, Cuban said if presented with new information that shows the Sonics move to Oklahoma City serves the league well he could be swayed.

=> Read more!

David Bean of B2 Inc., talked about his group and its proposed entertainment facility that could host an NBA and NHL franchise, in light of the city and a private investment group headed by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer pulling the plug on a $300 million proposal to rebuild KeyArena.

Bean is the senior director of WongDoody Communications in Seattle, a public relations firm, and worked as president and general manager of the Tacoma Rainiers from 1995 to 1996.

Bean said his group, which includes partner, former Sonics Fred Brown, has met with an engineering group and are pursuing a feasibility studying on their proposal, which could total $1 billion. They plan for the feasibility study to be completed in two months.

Bean and Brown’s vision is the Emerald City Center, an Epcot-like exposition center and sports arena with a retractable roof.

=> Read more!

Gov. Chris Gregoire released this statement after the city's announcement this morning.

"While I am disappointed that funding could not be found to renovate KeyArena., I am proud of the local ownership group that came forward, especially because those individuals have lived and worked in the community for years.

“As with the Seattle Storm, I am committed to keeping an NBA team in Seattle, and I want that team to be the Sonics. The current team owner, Clay Bennett, indicated to me that he will not sell the team. That does not mean that we should give up. I am continuing to work with community stakeholders, local officials and the Legislature to explore options for the future.”

Here's our updated story. Reporter Wendy Carpenter attended the press conference, and I'll post more information here as it becomes available.

That's what is being reported this morning. I have no confirmation of that, but the city has scheduled a press conference for this morning to make an announcement on the KeyArena proposal.

It sounds like the city was unable to come up with the $75 million it needed to make the $300 million project whole, and now will take a step back.

If this is the case it will be interesting to see what happens with Fred Brown and David Bean's $1 billion proposal to build a state-of-the-art facility that could host an NBA and NHL team. Will that gain steam now, or will support waver for the project as well?

Stay tuned. I'll have more later as I learn more.

After getting drilled twice by Denver the Sonics get a big, double-overtime win over the Nuggets on Sunday night at KeyArena.

Kevin Durant (37 points, nine assists, eight rebounds) and Jeff Green (35 points, 10 rebounds) both had career highs in points, and Durant made clutch 3-pointers at the end of regulation and in overtime to keep the game going.

Listen to Durant and Green talk about the win here.

Damien Wilkins also returned from a personal leave the proud father of a baby boy, Jayden Lamont Wilkins, his first child. Jayden is seven pounds and 20 inches long, and was born Wednesday morning.

Jayden and mother Traci are healthy and back in Atlanta resting.

Wilkins talks about being a father here.

Former Sonics coach George Karl also made what perhaps might be his last coaching appearance in KeyArena,although Karl remains positive a solution will come about that keeps the Sonics in Seattle. Karl wore a tie with the Space Needle painted on it in honor of the Sonics.

Mike Guardabascio of The Sporting Life parachutes in for the Denver game and offers his take on the Sonics situation.

Watch highlights from the game here.

Ron Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal talks to Memphis Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley about the team’s future.

He asks Heisley about the potential sale of the team and this is what Heisley had to say.

Selling the Grizzlies appears to be on the back burner, too, at least for the moment. Heisley spoke publicly for the first time since the local ownership group went public with the dilution of its minority share and an “offer” to purchase the team.

The local group’s 30-percent stake dropped to 5.8 percent when they failed to make a capital call. Instead, the limited partners reportedly offered $300 million to buy the team.

Heisley wasn’t interested.

“An offer is made up of a lot of things,” he said. “There are various terms in the offer. There’s how definitive the offer is. There are set-offs against the price that’s put down. Without getting further into it, I’d just like to say the offer wasn’t satisfactory.”

Meanwhile, arena improvements for the Ford Center in Oklahoma City will begin in June.

The Sonics officially announced that Eddie Gill was not re-signed after his 10-day contract expired.

To fill out the 15-man roster, the Sonics signed 6-foot-7 swingman Ronald Dupree to a 10-day contract.

The 27-year-old last played in the NBA for the Detroit Pistons earlier this season. But most recently, he played for the NBA Development League’s Tulsa 66ers, where he averaged 17.2 points and 5.9 rebounds.

Dupree played three different years for Detroit, and also has played for Minnesota and Chicago. Dupree has a good relationship with Sonics assistant general manager Scott Perry, from Perry's time in Detroit. Dupree also played for Sonics assistant Ralph Lewis when Lewis was the head coach of the Huntsville Flight in the NBDL, and he knows Seattle head coach P.J. Carlesimo from his days in San Antonio.

Dupree is an energetic player who can defend and score. Seattle may use Dupree some in games with Damien Wilkins still out on personal leave. But mostly the Dupree signing is another opportunity for the Sonics to get a look at another player they might be interested in having on their summer league squad, or inviting back to fall camp.

Listen to a conversation with Dupree here.

Seattle’s Francisco Elson also is familiar with Dupree, who dunked on Elson’s head in an exhibition game when Elson played for Denver in 2003. Take a look.

Seattle also sent center Mouhamed Sene back down to the team’s D-League affiliate, the Idaho Stampede. Sene will play the last five games of the NBDL season for the Stampede, along with the team’s playoff run.

Carlesimo said he believes sending Sene down is the right thing to do because the young center will continue to get more meaningful playing time for the Stampede.

Carlesimo said he did not play Sene that much while he was in Seattle because he needs to evaluate Elson and Donyell Marshall before the season ends to see what the organization will do with both players. Elson’s contract ends at the end of this season, and Marshall is signed through the 2008-09 year.

Listen to Carlesimo talk about Sene here.

B2 Inc. partners Fred Brown and David Bean were on KJR touting their project yesterday and today. Listen to Brown’s conversation with Groz and Gas here.

And listen to Bean talking to Dave “Softy” Mahler here.

Another game, another loss for the Sonics as they head toward a franchise record for futility this season.

Seattle’s chances for another win this season look bleak. They face playoff contenders in the last seven games, including Houston and Dallas twice, along with Denver, Golden State and San Antonio.

Seattle coach P.J. Carlesimo talks about the game here.

Seattle native and University of Arizona product Marcus Williams was recently picked up by the Los Angeles Clippers and played seven minutes in his first professional game in front of family and friends.

Los Angeles Clippers forward Elton Brand also played for the first time this season, finishing with 19 points and five rebounds in 26 minutes. Listen to a conversation with Brand here.

Check out this story from Crosscuts if you’re looking to get a better understanding on state Speaker of the House Frank Chopp and how he wields his power in Olympia.

This is a good Q & A with Bobcats' majority owner Bob Johnson, who talks about the struggles of his franchise and why he has yet to sell the naming rights for the arena his team plays in.

Charlotte is one of the teams that is struggling with attendance, but it does not sound like Johnson has plans to sell the team.

Here’s my story today on the new arena proposal presented by Fred Brown and Dave Bean on Tuesday, called the Emerald City Center.

For some reaction to the proposal, listen to Elise Woodward and Ian Furness of KJR talk about the proposal with Seattle Times’ columnist Steve Kelly here. Both Furness and Kelly were at the press conference on Tuesday.

Also, I talked to Brian Robinson of Save Our Sonics about the proposal after the meeting on Tuesday, and you can listen to his comments here.

Kevin Durant earned his fourth Rookie of the Month honor for March on Tuesday. Listen to Durant talk about the award here.

Seattle coach P.J. Carlesimo talks about Durant’s season here.

The big news in the NBA today is the New York Knicks have finally made a move in its front office, hiring former Indiana Pacers' CEO Donnie Walsh as its new president and making Isiah Thomas just the coach. There is a possibility that Walsh could retain Thomas as the coach for next season.

I don’t usually link to articles from our competitors, but if you have not read this piece I thought I should make you aware of a Seattle P-I article that sheds some light on when state lawmakers knew about the proposal to remodel KeyArena.

That’s all for now. I’ll have more from KeyArena tonight when the Sonics take on the L.A. Clippers.

This is the vision of a partnership between former Sonic Fred Brown and Dave Bean, senior director of Wongdoody Communications. The duo, called B2 Inc., presented their very preliminary plans for what they are calling the Emerald City Center, a facility that could house both an NBA and NHL team.

You can view other pictures of the project, along with details of the plan at the group's website.

The group has performed no feasibility or marketing study on this proposal, the cost of which they believe could reach over $1 billion. However, they say they have some commitments from private investors, and believe they can do the project without public funds.

During a 45-minute presentation, Brown and Bean said they have identified five sites they would like to pursue for the development.

Their ideal site would be at Pier 46 on the water in downtown Seattle, near Safeco Field and Qwest Stadium. However, a shipping container facility currently sits there, and the group has not talked about securing the site with the Port of Seattle.

The group also identified the Seattle Center as a site, along with three other sites in the area near Safeco and Qwest.

Brown said the group has talked to Seattle mayor Greg Nickels, along with Gov. Chris Gregoire and the NBA about the proposal. Brown said the group made the announcement now because they want the NBA owners to know there is a proposal out there that could meet the NBA's needs before the group votes on the Sonics' application to relocate to Oklahoma City on April 17th.

Both Brown and Bean were hammered with questions by the media regarding financing the building, but could not produce specific details.

However, they believe the private investors are out there to fund the facility, and Bean said he told Nickels the group probably has a better chance of getting $1 billion in private investment than the city does of securing $75 million public dollars.

You can listen to Brown's introductory marks here. Bean talks about the proposal here.

Today at 11 a.m., a local investment group is supposed to announce plans for a new privately financed arena in downtown Seattle, although public relations contacts for the group would not confirm if this arena would be capable of housing the Sonics.

From what I understand, this group is separate from the private investment group headed by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer that is working with the city on a $300 million proposal to revamp KeyArena with the hope of keeping the Sonics.

The city of Seattle also has no connection with this new investment group, called B2 Inc. That's all I know now, but I'll update the blog with new information after the press conference, along with audio from the meeting.