Seeking to protect the league’s interests in Howard Schultz’s bid to regain control of the Seattle SuperSonics, the NBA on Tuesday filed a motion to intervene in the former principal owner’s lawsuit in U.S. Western District Court in Seattle.

Schultz filed suit in April against the Oklahoma City-based ownership group, led by team chairman Clay Bennett, seeking to undo the $350 million sale of the team.

Schultz claims in the lawsuit that Bennett’s group never intended to keep the team in Seattle and cites internal e-mails revealed in litigation between the city of Seattle and the new ownership group as evidence of the intentions of Bennett and his partners.

Schultz’s lawsuit cites breach of contract, fraud and negligent misrepresentation. It seeks to rescind the sale of the team on the grounds that Bennett and his partners did not live up to a “good faith, best efforts” provision in the sale agreement to spend 12 months trying to negotiate a new arena deal in the Seattle area.

Hours before an expected ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Marsha Pechman last week, the city and the Sonics agreed to a settlement that could bring $75 million to the city and allowing Bennett’s group to break its lease with KeyArena and move the team to Oklahoma City.

However, when the city agreed to settle its case against the team, the settlement included no provision to dismiss Schultz’s lawsuit.

Should Schultz continue his court action and win, Wednesday’s settlement goes away and Bennett could be forced to return the team to Seattle, while city would be forced to refund the $45 million payment it received in the settlement.

The two sides in the Schultz suit are scheduled to meet in front of Pechman, the same judge who presided over the KeyArena lease case, at the U.S. federal courthouse in Seattle on Friday.

A motion filed by Ralph Palumbo of the Summit Law Group, a Seattle law firm representing the NBA, claims the Schultz suit skirts the league’s constitution, putting the franchise’s stability at risk.

“These claims for relief are fundamentally inconsistent with the most basic rules and regulations governing the operations of the NBA and its member team, which do not authorize or permit ownership transfers without the express approval of the NBA,” Palumbo states in the filing.

The motion goes on to argue that the Schultz group, operating as Basketball Club of Seattle (BCOS), seeks relief from the Bennett group’s Professional Basketball Club (PBC) that is barred by league bylaws.

“The NBA therefore has a strong and compelling interest in the outcome of this matter and moves to intervene as a matter of right.”

The Schultz lawsuit seeks to put the team in a trust and have it sold to Seattle-based owners. However, according to the league’s filing, the NBA’s constitution states that if a receiver is appointed for a team, the league’s Board of Governors has the right to place the team in the control of NBA commissioner David Stern.

In another motion filed on Tuesday, NBA general counsel Richard Buchanan, requests an oral argument on the matter for Aug. 1. Buchanan states in his filing that according to Article 5 of the NBA constitution “no membership … may be [sold, assigned] or otherwise transferred in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, except in accordance with and subject to the … provisions of this Article 5.”

Buchanan goes on to state that this clause in the league constitution contains several procedures that must be followed in order to transfer the ownership of an NBA team, including an application to the commissioner, detailed information about the proposed transfer and approval by the Board of Governors.

Tim Frank, a spokesperson for the NBA, declined to comment. Richard Yarmuth, an attorney representing Schultz in the lawsuit, also declined to comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This is from the Associated Press:

The federal judge in the court battle between the city of Seattle and owners of the SuperSonics won’t say how she would have ruled.

U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman was set to announce her decision last Wednesday, but on that day the two sides announced they had reached a settlement allowing the NBA club to relocate to Oklahoma City without delay.

The Oklahoman newspaper left a message asking the judge asking how she would have ruled had there not been a settlement. Pechman replied through a law clerk that she would not answer that question.

Seattle had sued the Sonics to try to enforce the remaining two years of the Sonics’ lease to play at Key Arena.

With the settlement, Pechman’s ruling became moot.

The Oklahoma City Sonics begin play in the Orlando Summer League today at noon our time. I'm not sure with what has transpired in the last week how many people are interested in what happens in Orlando, but if you want to watch via webcast click on this link.

As far as the blog goes, I plan to continue posting for the next few months, following the Howard Schultz trial and any other news that happens regarding funding for a new arena in the Seattle area. or on moving another team here. With that in mind, Matt Griffin, spokesperson for the private investment group looking to bring an NBA team back to Seattle, spoke to Mitch Levy on KJR this morning. Listen to that conversation here.

Also, several national columnists commiserated on the Sonics moving to Oklahoma City, including ESPN's J.A. Adande, CBS.Sportline's Ray Ratto, Yahoo's Johnny Ludden,, Fox Sports Mike Kahn, and New Orleans Times-Picayune's John DeShazier.

Thanks to Joe Barrentine and Victor Yoshida, here's a slideshow on the Sonics:

This was sent out by the team late Wednesday afternoon:

The City of Seattle has agreed to settle its lawsuit against the Professional Basketball Club, LLC after both parties reached an agreement that terminates PBC’s lease at KeyArena and allows the team to relocate immediately to Oklahoma City, PBC Chairman Clay Bennett announced today. The settlement agreement was signed by Bennett and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels.

"We believe this is a fair and appropriate resolution to the litigation involving the Sonics and the City of Seattle. We are pleased that the uncertainty is lifted for our players, staff and Oklahoma City fans who can now make plans for the immediate future,” Bennett said.

=> Read more!

Here is NBA Commissioner David Stern's response to the settlement between the City of Seattle and the Seattle SuperSonics.

NEW YORK, July 2, 2008 – NBA Commissioner David Stern has issued the
following statement:

“We are pleased that the Sonics and the City of Seattle have settled their
litigation. While the decision has been made to relocate the Sonics to
Oklahoma City, the NBA continues to regard Seattle as a first-class NBA
city that is capable of serving as home for another NBA team. In order for
this to occur, a state-of-the-art NBA arena must be funded and constructed
in the Seattle area, a subject that has been extensively debated -- but not
ultimately acted upon -- by local political and business leaders over the
past four years. We are pleased that the City remains committed to
addressing this fundamental requirement for the return of NBA basketball to
Seattle and we hope that other elected officials critical to a solution
will support the City’s efforts.

“We understand that City, County, and State officials are currently
discussing a plan to substantially re-build KeyArena for the sum of $300
million. If this funding were authorized, we believe KeyArena could
properly be renovated into a facility that meets NBA standards relating to
revenue generation, fan amenities, team facilities, and the like. Assuming
the funding can be committed, the league is willing to work with the City
on the design and construction of the re-build to facilitate this result.
Under these circumstances, if an opportunity arose in the future for an NBA
team to be located in Seattle, we would support that team playing its home
games in a re-built KeyArena, if it wished. However, given the lead times
associated with any franchise acquisition or relocation and with a
construction project as complex as a KeyArena renovation, authorization of
the public funding needs to occur by the end of 2009 in order for there to
be any chance for the NBA to return to Seattle within the next five years.

“We are pleased that Steve Ballmer has expressed the continuing willingness
of his group, Seattle Center Investors, managed by Seattle developer Matt
Griffin, to be a part of the solution for returning NBA basketball to
Seattle. The NBA will keep SCI and the City informed if opportunities
arise in the next five years for franchise sale, relocation and/or
expansion. Under the circumstances outlined above, the NBA would be happy
to return to the City of Seattle.”

According to a source with knowledge of the situation a settlement has been reached between the City of Seattle and the Seattle SuperSonics ownership group, just hours before an expected announcement by U.S. District Court Judge Marsha Pechman. Details of the settlement were not immediately available.

According to the source, the two sides have been in talks for three weeks, and discussions heated up within the last few days. The City of Seattle is expected to make an announcement at 5 p.m. at City Hall. I'll have an update when more information becomes available.

KING-5 is reporting that Pechman will give her ruling at 4 p.m. even if the sides work out a settlement.

Russell Westbrook may see more floor time at point guard than he expected to begin the season. The Sonics announced late Tuesday that veteran point guard Earl Watson fractured his right thumb on his shooting hand, and could miss up to four months. At the latest, that would put Watson's return at the end of training camp.

Watson suffered the injury while playing basketball in Los Angeles, and is scheduled to have surgery on Thursday in Los Angeles.

"We are confident Earl will work hard towards a healthy and timely recovery and look forward to getting him back on the court," Seattle general manager Sam Presti said in a prepared statement.

Watson averaged career highs in points (10.7), assists (6.8), rebounds (2.9) and minutes (29.1) last season. Over his seven-year NBA career, Watson has averaged 7.4 ppg, 4.5 apg and 2.2 rpg.

The Seattle SuperSonics announced the team’s roster for the Orlando Pro Summer League, which runs from July 7-11. Sonics draft choices Russell Westbrook, D.J. White and DeVon Hardin will compete in the weeklong league. The team’s other draft pick, Serge Ibaka, will return to Spain to compete professionally there, and will not play in the summer league.

Seattle played in the Las Vegas Summer League and the Salt Lake City Revue last year. But Sonics brass decided to play in Orlando instead this summer, which is not open to the public and is shorter than Las Vegas.

Jeff Green is a surprise addition to the roster. Both Green and Kevin Durant were expected to sit out summer league play this season. Green and Durant also have been selected to play on the U.S. Select team that will compete against the U.S. Olympic team in Las Vegas in preparation for the Beijing Summer Olympics. Read more about the Orlando Summer League here.

Name No. Pos. HT/WT Birthdate From
Russell Westbrook 0 G 6-3/190 11/12/88 UCLA
Devin Green 2 F 6-7/210 10/25/82 Hampton
D.J. White 3 F 6-9/250 8/31/86 Indiana
Mykal Riley 5 F 6/6/185 7/14/85 Alabama
Ndudi Ebi 8 F 6-9/200 6/18/84 Westbury Christ.HS
Aaron Bruce 11 G 6-3/185 12/19/8 Baylor
Ronald Dupree 12 F 6-7/210 1/26/81 LSU
Jeff Green 22 F 6-10/235 8/28/86 Georgetown
Ronnell Taylor 23 G 6-5/200 7/26/82 UAB
Justin Williams 30 F/C 6-10/260 5/12/84 Wyoming
Brian Randle 42 F 6-8/220 2/8/85 Illinois
Nick Lewis 44 F/C 6-10/235 4/20/83 San Diego
DeVon Hardin 50 C 6-11/250 6/3/86 Cal.