Kiss the NBA Goodbye, Seattle!

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Stern says if Clay Bennett leaves Seattle and moves the team to OKC, the NBA will likely never return to the city...Damn shame, too.
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NBA Commissioner David Stern warned on Thursday that if the SuperSonics leave Seattle he sees no way the league would ever return to the city.

"I'd love to find a way to keep the team there," he said. "Because if the team moves, there's not going to be another team there, not in any conceivable future plan that I could envision, and that would be too bad."

At a news conference following his announcement that the 2009 All-Star Game would be held in Phoenix, Stern criticized the city of Seattle and the Washington legislature for its handling of the issue of funding a replacement for Key Arena.

Stern repeated earlier criticism of the mayor and city council for promoting a measure overwhelmingly passed by voters that requires any funds to help build an arena earn money at the same rate as a treasury bill.

That measure simply means there is no way city money would ever be used on an arena project, Stern said.

TEAMCOWBOYS
Winning is the only option...
 
:lol:
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This was bound to happen eventually. Everyone knew this was coming a mile away.
Team New York
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Someone sounds excited... Its never a good thing to have a team move. Now all your teams are going to get heated about having to come all the way out to the NW to only play one game... And the would have been best rivalry in the comming years is getting broken up. There would have been some great Oden vs. Durant type games.
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If LA could survive wihout the NFL.....

Seattle could survive without the NBA....
Los Angeles Dodgers​
6 World Series Championships​
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Once again, this isn't news. You do realize this is how Stern strong arms cities into funding new arenas. It's all lawyer speak. Plus, he said that Seattle wouldn't get a new team. That means the Sonics have to leave in the first place, which they aren't.
Keep the Sonics in Seattle​
KEVIN / & JEFF/ & Wally / & Chris / & Luke / & Earl / & Damien / & Nick / & Johan
 
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That means the Sonics have to leave in the first place, which they aren't.
TEAMCOWBOYS
Winning is the only option...
 
I really hope the Sonics don't move. It seems that the pacific northwest is toxic for NBA teams...
When your girl don't call you when you beep her
and you hit it and her thing feel deeper...
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So the city is going to crack and foot the bill for a new stadium?
Keep the Sonics in Seattle
KEVIN / & JEFF/ & Wally / & Chris / & Luke / & Earl / & Damien / & Nick / & Johan
 
We'll see...Bennett bought the team and everyone knew his intentions. I haven't really kept up with the whole lawsuit thing, so maybe you can fill in some more on that. But I don't really see what he can be sued for, so long as he fulfills the current Arena lease I don't see how the city/state has much of a case. You can't sue someone for being stubborn or difficult in negotiations. And it doesn't appear as if David Stern has any intentions of trying to keep the team in Seattle unless a new stadium is built. He wants a team in Oklahoma City as well, so the league isn't going to be an obstacle...
TEAMCOWBOYS
Winning is the only option...
 
its gonna be called the OKC Outlaws from what i heard :smh:
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Team Pacific Northwest​
 
But then I ask this of you, NBA fans (which I know there are a lot of on this board): it seems like there are a number of people on this board who are squealing with glee over the Sonics' situation. I ask why? Is it honestly in the best interest of the NBA to have a historically successful team leave a city after 40+ years? Do you really think the NBA is better off in OK City, an incredibly smaller market? What about Durant vs. Oden in the I-5 rivalry for years to come? The NBA would lose a huge marketing opportunity that was cemented by this year's draft.

Is the NBA better off with Seattle out of the picture forever?
Keep the Sonics in Seattle​
KEVIN / & JEFF/ & Wally / & Chris / & Luke / & Earl / & Damien / & Nick / & Johan
 
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He wants a team in Oklahoma City as well, so the league isn't going to be an obstacle...
Keep the Sonics in Seattle
KEVIN / & JEFF/ & Wally / & Chris / & Luke / & Earl / & Damien / & Nick / & Johan
 
so if they move, are there gonna be 6 teams in the southwest division and only 4 teams in the northwest division?


...it is what it is.
 
I still have NO idea why Oklahoma City deserves a team over St. Louis... :smh:
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:smh:
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Im not a sonics fan but i gotta agree that the sonics need to stay in seattle. 40 years is too much history to flush down the toilet... Keep the Sonics where they belong, up north...
 
a damn shame, seattle deserves a team, but they'll get used to it
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But if the team isn't profitable, then what are they to do?
Keep the Sonics in Seattle
KEVIN / & JEFF/ & Wally / & Chris / & Luke / & Earl / & Damien / & Nick / & Johan
 
^ I feel you, but if he's gonna be losing money anyways, I don't see a problem with him choosing where he's going to do so. Long-run, OKC probably wouldn't be a more profitable endeavor than Seattle. Initially though, they'll make more cash in OKC simply off the novalty of having a professional franchise in the state and the new arena. They'll sell out games every night like they did last year with the Hornets. Durant and Jeff Green, plus another likely stud centerpiece next season will bring cash off jersey and memorabilia sales. It'll be like Seattle in that if they're winning, people will flock. If not after a couple of years, the excitement of the team will wear off and they'll be in the same situation...

Again, I don't want to see the Sonics move, but I'd rather Seattle lose a team than Stern expand the league again. If they get a new arena built up there, Seattle would be just fine in terms of revenue, all things considered looking forward. But Key Arena is a dump, and while the city is talking about upgrades and handing out free land, deep down you still know it ain't gonna work without them helping build a new facility. Seattle is selling a good percentage of their tickets every night (middle of the NBA pack last year), but Key is so damn small they can't make money without selling out every night...
TEAMCOWBOYS
Winning is the only option...
 
^^^ Yeah, I'm not a Mariners or seahawks fan (hence why I rag on them so much here). But I love the Sonics. They're the one team I claim total allegiance to, through thick and thin. If they left town, I'd probably be inconsolable.
Keep the Sonics in Seattle​
KEVIN / & JEFF/ & Wally / & Chris / & Luke / & Earl / & Damien / & Nick / & Johan
 
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