Oak View Group is "denying" any involvement with a reported Warriors-Kings NBA preseason game planned for KeyArena, according to Geoff Baker of the SEATTLE TIMES. The denial is "understandable, but also ridiculous" given how OVG CEO Tim Leiweke has been friends with Warriors President & COO Rick Welts "going on about two decades." Leiweke has "oft-stated he 'can’t get ahead of commissioners' so he wouldn’t want his name tied to a game most will automatically view as a showcase to lobby the NBA." But it would be "foolish to believe Leiweke didn’t approve this," given the $1.25B "gamble he and his hockey owner partners are making that they’ll have KeyArena remodeled in time" for the '20-21 NHL season. The October date for the NBA game "leaves time to complete the arena within 20-to-24-months and meet the NHL schedule." But it is "cutting things close." The game "likely boils down" to Welts, a Seattle native, "wanting to do some good, while helping Leiweke in the process." The NBA "likely isn’t coming" to Seattle for a "good five years, wanting a couple of NHL seasons to observe how KeyArena handles revenue sharing with the city and new tenant hockey club." Five years is a "long time," so playing the game in Seattle "breaks that up and keeps NBA interest heightened" (SEATTLE TIMES, 2/24).
