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.