Settlement With Sonics May Be Seattle's Top Option For New Team
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Arena Negotiations Could Hold Key To Seattle
Eventually Landing Replacement NBA Team |
King County (WA) Exec Ron Sims and Councilmember Pete von Reichbauer said that Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels "would be wise to consider a negotiated financial settlement" in the city's lawsuit to keep the Sonics in town through the end of its KeyArena lease, which expires in 2010, according to Greg Johns of the SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER. NBA Commissioner David Stern Friday at the press conference announcing the approval of the Sonics' relocation bid to Oklahoma City indicated that "any legal fight would slow the city's chances of getting a replacement team." Von Reichbauer said that the situation "requires more diplomacy and less dart-throwing." Sims added, "I would just hope we'd adopt a longer-term approach. If we beat them up (in court) for two years, the league will never look favorably on this community. After they leave, it will be decades before anybody pays attention to us again because the league will not be forgiving." Sims cited the "Cleveland Browns strategy," in which the city of Cleveland accepted a legal settlement in '96 to keep the team's name when Browns Owner Art Modell moved the team to Baltimore. Sims said of the Sonics, "You're not going to stop them from moving. That's just a fact. But what we can say is, here's a huge history and a lot of good will. This is a Sonics town. We want the Sonics" (SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 4/19).
DEAL COULD HELP LAND NEW TEAM: In Oklahoma City, Darnell Mayberry wrote a settlement is a "position that likely is Seattle's best chance at seeing the NBA return promptly after the current franchise relocates -- perhaps the most important chip in any potential negotiations." Stern did not "rule out placing an expansion team in Seattle to replace the Sonics as long as Seattle officials get a successor to KeyArena." Stern: "We're mindful that if Seattle had a first-class arena, that would really be good for their prospects" (DAILY OKLAHOMAN, 4/20). Additionally, the NBA's relocation committee in its report on Sonics Owner Clay Bennett's proposal indicated that Seattle is a "viable NBA market, but it gave unfavorable marks to Seattle because an aging KeyArena limits the Sonics' ability to compete economically" against the Seahawks and Mariners (SEATTLE TIMES, 4/20). In Seattle, Art Thiel writes even if litigation "provides life support for two more years, the Sonics now seem dead to us. ... But is pro basketball truly dead here? No. Not at all" (SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 4/21).
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Stern Says Approach To Hornets' Relocation
Much Different Than Current Sonics Situation |
UNLIKE HORNETS SITUATION: Stern noted that his approach with the Hornets' relocation from Charlotte to New Orleans following the '01-02 season was "much different, as the NBA promised Charlotte an expansion team to play in a new arena two years later after city leaders promised 'to move mountains' to make things work" (SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 4/19). ESPN.com's Chris Sheridan wrote when Stern announced the Hornets' move, he "left the clear impression that the NBA was eager to return" to Charlotte. But one "striking difference" between the Hornets' news conference and the one to announce the Sonics' decision was the "lack of any hopeful words for the fans of Seattle who are about to lose a civic asset that has been around for 40 years." A source who attended the NBA BOG meeting said that there "seemed to be little enthusiasm among the owners to move forward with any kind of an expansion plan" (ESPN.com, 4/18).
NEGOTIATE NOW: In Seattle, Steve Kelley wrote under the header, "Seattle Needs To Negotiate For New Team While It Holds Position Of Power." Kelley wrote the city, the state of Washington, "civic-minded movers and shakers like the Steve Ballmer group should sit down with Bennett and find a long-term solution that works for Seattle." The city also should "demand the promise of another team from the NBA" (SEATTLE TIMES, 4/20). SPORTINGNEWS.com's Sam Smith wrote Seattle would "figure to reap a windfall from the Sonics' owners to drop the litigation and allow the move next season." Smith: "What David Stern wants, David Stern gets. The game is over. No one apparently told Seattle the score. It's like any team: You don't risk letting a player leave as a free agent and getting nothing" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 4/18).
NAME STAYING IN SEATTLE? Bennett said of allowing Seattle to retain the Sonics nickname, "Certainly, I think at the end of the day, I believe the name should probably stay. ... [I] like the notion of creating our new Oklahoma name or new Oklahoma City name in colors and marks. I think that's a really exciting opportunity" (SEATTLE TIMES, 4/19).
GEOGRAPHY LESSON: The DAILY OKLAHOMAN's Mayberry today cites sources as saying that the league will not "realign any divisions or teams to accommodate the relocation of the Sonics to Oklahoma City." Regardless of when the team moves, it will stay in its current division, which includes the Jazz, Trail Blazers, T'Wolves and Nuggets. League officials "think an Oklahoma City team can work in the Northwest Division" (DAILY OKLAHOMAN, 4/21).
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