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.

Other sites of interest:

Hoopshype.com

Sonicscentral

SuperSonicssoul

Blazersedge

Blazersblog

BehindtheBlazers

Barrett'sBlazerblog

Blazerbanter

ThunderRumblings

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Keeping an eye on the NBA and Seattle's efforts to get back into the game
Friday, June 20th, 2008
Posted by Eric Williams @ 06:22:58 pm

In his daily wrap up after a day in court, Paul Lawrence, lead attorney for the city, brought a surprise guest with him -- Seattle Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis.

Both addressed reporters in the interview room set up at the U.S. Federal Courthouse in Seattle. Ceis said he was pleased with how the case was going and looked forward to a good conclusion. I posted the first part of the two's interview down below, but you can listen to the full conversation here, here, and here.

Also, if you're interested in viewing an exhibit from the case, click here, to view an email from Wally Walker about the private investment group's plan to keep the team in Seattle.

Tim Ceis: From the city’s perspective we’re very pleased with how the case is going. We were hoping we would wrap up the testimony today. But we didn’t so we’ll have to come back on Thursday. So we’ll be here to wrap up things on Thursday and hear closing arguments. But we’re very, very pleased with how the case is going, and we’re looking forward to a good conclusion.

=> Read more!

Categories: NBA
Posted by Eric Williams @ 01:14:26 pm

There's been a little bit of an uproar over Paul Lawrence, lead attorney for the city, asking U.S. District Court judge Marsha Pechman for the opportunity to allow Wally Walker to talk about his background with the Sonics in order to have it on the record for a future appeal.

Some saw Lawrence's statement as an admission of the city conceding the case, and that they are now focusing on the appeal.

However, the comment could just have been easily construed as Lawrence's attempt to have a clean record for whichever side ends up appealing after the decision by Pechman.

Aaron Wolff, a local attorney involved with Save Our Sonics, said the comment made during a jury trial could be viewed as an admission of defeat, however judges understand the request as an effort to make sure the record is clean in case of an appeal, and did not view Lawrence's actions as an admission of defeat.

Whatever your take is on Lawrence's action, there no disputing the fact that Wally Walker's testimony will be difficult for the city to overcome.

Defense attorney's for the Sonics painted a clear picture of Walker's involvement with Slade Gordon, Steve Ballmer and Mike McGavick in an orchestrated effort to keep the team in Seattle long term, which included a plan to "drive a wedge" between the NBA and the ownership group.

You can view the poisoned well Powerpoint here.

Walker talked briefly after his testimony, which you can listen to here.

In the cross examination, Lawrence tried to create distance between the city and this plan put together by McGavick. In the document the city is mentioned as a third party that the group needs to try and work with.

However, attorneys for the Sonics provided evidence which seems to suggest that Walker was acting as a consultant for the city at the time the poisoned well plan was in place. Also, Slade Gordon, an attorney for K & L Gates, was retained by the city during the plan's inception.

In cross examination Walker said that from July 19th through September he was meeting with Gordon to discuss plans to build a privately funded arena in Bellevue, which Ballmer ultimately decided was not a good idea.

Matt Griffin, spokesperson for the private investment group led by Ballmer, will be on the stand after the break. Seattle city council member Nick Licata is expected to follow.

Walker's stated objective, according to an email from McGavick, was to drive a wedge between the Clay Bennett's Oklahoma City-based ownership group
Categories: NBA
Posted by Eric Williams @ 10:04:40 am

Paul Taylor, attorney for the Sonics, is now presenting into evidence the "Poisoned Well Plan", a powerpoint document created by K & L Gates attorney Slade Gorton and presenting in a meeting with Wally Walker, Gorton, Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer in an effort to coax Balmer to pursue ownership of the Sonics as a way of keeping the team here long term.

The main objective was to make the Oklahoma City-based ownership group sell the team by "separating the NBA from the Oklahomans while increasing the exposure of each."

Categories: NBA
Posted by Eric Williams @ 09:48:29 am

Attorneys for the Sonics called former Sonics executive Wally Walker to the stand this morning.

The first line of questioning by Attorney Paul Taylor to Walker delved into the Sonics successive failures to secure funding from state lawmakers in Olympia for a $200 million proposal to remodel KeyArena.

Taylor also used documentation to shows Walker's disappointment in the city's lack of effort in helping the Sonics secure funding in their final push in Olympia in 2006.

Taylor then moved on to talk about Walker's role as a consultant in helping the city and the law firm representing the city, K & L Gates, keep the Sonics in Seattle beyond the current KeyArena lease term.

Taylor showed documentation that Walker was retained for his services in Sept. 21 of last year by the city. However, emails by Walker show he may have been acting in that capacity as early as August of last year.

Taylor also presented evidence that Walker had access to a "poison well" document that shows an elaborate plan put together by K & L Gates attorney Slade Gorton to force the current ownership group to stay in Seattle and lose money so that Sonics Chairman Clay Bennett's group would be eventually willing to sell the team to a local ownership group.

Categories: NBA