As part of ongoing discovery in the suit involving the Sonics and the city of Seattle over terms of the KeyArena lease, an April 2nd transcript of Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels being deposed was released by attorneys for the Sonics on Monday.

During the deposition, asked if he believed a solution to keep the Sonics in town was more likely to occur if the Sonics were forced to stay until 2010, Nickels said absolutely.

According to the suit, Nickels also gave purposefully non-responsive answers when asked if the city pursued a strategy of enforcement of the specific performance clause in the KeyArena lease so the Sonics would lose money and perhaps be more willing to sell to local owners.

In a filing on Monday attorneys for the Sonics stated they would withdraw a request for the judge to decide a specific number for the team to buy its way out of the lease if it delayed the June 16th trial.

However, the Sonics also argue that the city does not want a specific monetary number determined because it works against the city’s argument that it is entitled to specific performance.

Check out Nickels' deposition here. And look at the Sonics latest filing here.