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

Category
Calendar
July 2009
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
 << <   > >>
      1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30 31  
Archives
XML Feeds
What is RSS?
Misc
Who's Online?
  • dianano Email
  • mocarob Email
  • MKCCMedia Email
  • BrettinBonneyLake Email
  • Larry LaRue Email
  • Guest Users: 633
Keeping an eye on the NBA and Seattle's efforts to get back into the game
Wednesday, July 9th, 2008
Posted by Eric Williams @ 02:26:00 pm

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.

Categories: NBA 23 comments

COMMENTS:

SharkHawk @ 16:37 - Wednesday, July 9th, 2008 Email
Screw the NBA. Why are they getting involved? Because they know that there is a very good chance that at the very least they will come out of this suit looking horrible.

Now they are going to claim that the suit is dropped or Seattle will NEVER get a team and blah blah blah. You suck Stern. You are a slimy, conniving, weasely piece of crap. I don't want another team. I don't want to steal the Grizzlies from Memphis. You put the team there and you should have to live with it. You chose to award that city a team. Deal with it. Let the rest of your billionaire's club cover the cost. They can do the same thing when the Oklahoma City Sonics falter as well.

I can't wait for the day the NBA goes the way of the Ford Pinto and the McDLT sandwich. With Stern at the helm that day can't be too far off.
paazin @ 17:24 - Wednesday, July 9th, 2008 Email
Please!! Schultz is expecting the world to believe that he was hoodwinked by Clay Bennett, an Oklahoma businessman who comes from an area where the NBA is a hit, and was just going to keep the team in Seattle? And somehow no other buyer in the area was interested? Schultz is doing this to CYA, cause he knew he screwed the pooch and Starbucks is paying for this.
moo @ 18:39 - Wednesday, July 9th, 2008 Email
Q: How do you spell slime?
A: D.a.v.i.d. S.t.e.r.n.
moo @ 18:40 - Wednesday, July 9th, 2008 Email
Where are our Senators, threatening anti trust investigations & legislation? Certainly worked with Baseball & steroids..........
docpepsi @ 23:29 - Wednesday, July 9th, 2008 Email
Clay Bennett is so in bed with David Stern. If asking for a 550 billion palace to use as an arena and not agreeing to pay at least half qualifies as a good faith effort then I got some oceanfront property to sell you in Oklahoma!
jegggo @ 01:16 - Thursday, July 10th, 2008 Email
Why does anyone care? The greatest thing that has happened to Seattle in quite a while is Clay Bennett taking these losers far far away! Other then Seattle politicians there is one less team to embarass the city. The unfortunate part is we still have two loser teams still here. Thank you Clay Bennett The city of Seattle thanks you dearly. And as far as Howard Schultz is concerned Thank you as well for selling these losers to an out of state fool, the citizens of Seattle have been fools for to long, So with that said Go Oklahoma City Bombers ahh I mean Oklahoma City Sonics.
toughguy5128 @ 09:05 - Thursday, July 10th, 2008 Email
I think it's funny! It reads as the NBA believes they are above the actual law with their "bi-laws" and "constitution".

“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.

that is my favorite portion of the article! What a joke! Stick it to them Schultz!!! Make Slime ball Stern cry and pee his pants!
SharkHawk @ 11:05 - Thursday, July 10th, 2008 Email
I'll tell you are moo.... they are on vacation. Bennett is buddies with el Presidente, and like the rest of his clan he gets a free pass.
FBGHooper @ 11:38 - Thursday, July 10th, 2008 Email

Hello jegggo,

Do you really believe "we still have two losers teams still here"?

Seriously?

How many times have the Seahawks won the NFC West in a row now? Including a Super Bowl appearance and an overtime loss that could have put them in another NFC title game?

Perhaps I misunderstand. Are you working under the premise that there are 31 loser teams each year in the NFL. Is this Ricky Bobby logic? If you're not first, you're last?
jegggo @ 13:19 - Saturday, July 12th, 2008 Email
FBGHooper

Seriously! I do think we still have two loser teams here and I will explain why I think so. Have you seen what the Mariners are doing lately? Have you seen what the Mariners have done in the past? I rest my Case there. The Seahawks? It is of my opinion that anything less then the Championship of any sport is not to be considered a winning year, because truly that is what all teams play for a Championship,unless you are of the belief that winning the NFC West (which is the equivolent of the pantywaist division of the NFL) is winning then so be it. Remember when the Seahawks lost in the SuperBowl it just made them a first place loser. So by all account in my mind yes there are still two losing teams in Seattle. Till the Mariners win the World Series, and The Seahawks win the Super Bowl they will always be losers. Oh of course unless you measure winning by just having a year over 500. If this is the case then yes you have winners here in Seattle NOT!
littlelamb @ 22:15 - Monday, July 14th, 2008 Email
Hey jeggogo, by all accounts and your own standards, I would assume you too my friend are a loser.
djknay @ 10:02 - Friday, July 18th, 2008 Email
There are many people like jeggoff who think that the Sonics are coming back when they get better. WRONG! It's for better or worse just like a marriage. Sports franchises are not about our team against their team it's about our city against their city and the pride that accompanies winning or improving a franchise. It's civic pride and people like jeggoff have none and we won't ever change those people. Just think of all the collateral job loss, revenue loss, taxes lost around Key arena that just left too. Without professional sport franchises we wouldn't have organizations like the Detlef Schremph foundation which has raised more than $9 million for local charities and cancer research. Remember that jeggoff when you or someone you know gets stricken with cancer.
yankinta @ 11:15 - Monday, July 21st, 2008 Email
So now that the Sonics are gone, will we be able to watch the Portland Games on TV?

They should be a great team and I'm excited to watch B Roy.
PnwHockeyFan @ 23:44 - Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008 Email
jeggogo people like you are the biggest loser! Now go crawl back under that rock you crawled out of- I hate bandwagon fans like you! Yes the Mariners are a disappointment this year- and every year since Lou left the team. But I can not believe your dumb enough to call the Seahawks losers! I hope you don't have any kids- if you do I feel sorry for them- they'd be better off without you!
PnwHockeyFan @ 23:46 - Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008 Email
One more thing-
GO SEATTLE STORM!!!! The Storm will win a WNBA trophy this year!
GO SEATTLE THUNDERBIRDS! All the way to the Memorial Cup!
Go SEATTLE SEAHAWKS! Lets get a Superbowl ring for Holmgren!
and get the heck out of this state jegg! We dont need fans like you!
docpepsi @ 22:06 - Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008 Email
I hope Portland Trailblazer games get broadcast in Seattle now! The Blazers got some Seattle blood eh!
Frankly @ 20:25 - Monday, August 4th, 2008 Email
Wow! I sure hope "Jegggo" turns out to be my sons little-league baseball and pee-wee football coach. He sure sounds like he's got the right attitude and sportsmanship that all kids should learn and live by. "Gee coach Jegggo, tells again how much we suck!"
docpepsi @ 19:03 - Thursday, August 28th, 2008 Email
I'm still pushing for the Blazers to do what they gotta do to get their games on TV in the former Sonics area!
moo @ 18:15 - Friday, August 29th, 2008 Email
Howard Shultz just finished ruining my day.
Kevindot1 @ 13:31 - Sunday, August 31st, 2008 Email
Any news on this dead subject lately? Is the Schultz lawsuit is a go?
BigPurpleDawg @ 06:20 - Monday, September 1st, 2008 Email
tnt keep up with the story
djknay @ 09:20 - Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008 Email
This story has ended. Can we delete this please and move on with our lives? Thanks!
MichaelD98409 @ 01:37 - Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 Email
Jeez, I heard on the radio last nite on KJR that Elise thinks Howard Shultz is a slime because he withdrew the case and announced it at 4:30 pm last Friday????

HEY TNT, TAKE THE DAMN STORY DOWN FROM THE WEB PAGE!!!!

GET UP TO DATE! YOU REMIND ME OF THE BELLINGHAM HERALD (oops, that's right your parent company owns it too)

You guys need to be UP TO DATE on stories on this site... of course the same thing happens with other stories too, they show up on the TNT a week after The Times or PI

Comments are not allowed from anonymous visitors. Please login or register to comment.