HUGE NEWS! Clay Bennett & Co. buy Supersonics!

[HOT ROD]

The sky's beginning to fall down on the Seattle Supersonics. ...

From the Seattle PI.

Seattle falling off sports map
Last updated July 3, 2007 11:18 p.m. PT

By ART THIEL
P-I COLUMNIST

Rashard Lewis. Ray Allen. Nate McMillan. Jack Sikma. Detlef Schrempf. Mike Hargrove. Jamie Moyer. Gil Meche. Steve Hutchinson. Spencer Hawes.

No wonder we almost broke the ribs of Ken Griffey Jr. with our weepy group hug.

Does any A-list sports talent want to work in this burg?

Ichiro Suzuki, let's see your hand up.

Please?

News that Lewis practically leaped out of his shoes to agree to a deal with the Orlando Magic on the first day of NBA free agency was the latest in a long line of departures that suggest Seattle is drifting toward becoming the downtown Kazakhstan of big-time sports. INSERT: LOL

Obviously, reasons and circumstances are as varied as the athletes. Some had choices, others didn't. Turnover is a standard fixture in these sports. Besides, plenty of athletes are happy to be here. Willie Bloomquist, for example. Probably.

So an all-inclusive conclusion isn't logical.

But it's hard to dispute that the recent burn rate for top-tier local sports figures has been faster than tax money for a Halliburton no-bid contract.

The Sonics' implosion is generating the highest casualty rate. They have been on a rolling, two-year financial collapse, thanks to the 2005-06 season in which the old ownership plotted its exit, and the 2006-07 season in which the new ownership plotted its exit.

The Sonics may still get some value for Lewis in a sign-and-trade deal. But if they don't, it's the full A-Rod -- nothing in return for the premier player of his free agent class.

It's not easy to have that happen twice in the same sports market. Unless one considers that it's happened three times in Seattle. The Seahawks' Hutchinson received more money than any guard in NFL history from Minnesota, and the Seahawks received nada.

That's the sort of civic sporting whiff that has kept Seattle championship-free in the major sports since 1979. All leagues attempt, with varying success, to promote enough parity so that every team may someday find a route to the top. Seattle teams keep getting lost.

This sort of mediocrity is a little more understandable in places like Kansas City, Milwaukee and Cincinnati, smaller markets that lack the Fortune 500 companies and large private wealth that can indulge franchises as objects for dilettante amusement. INSERT: OK??? So if Seattle is soooo rich, then why is it happening Art?

Despite the extraordinary explosion of cash in the Puget Sound region, starting with the 1986 public offering of stock in Microsoft, Seattle and its landed gentry often still act like it's a sawmill town short on trees. INSERT:LOL!!! and they like to call OKC - hick. ... Sawmill town. lol.

Then again, the Mercer Mess has been so since the 1960s, so there probably is no precedent for presuming we can get out of our own civic way.

Paul Allen is one guy who is willing to deal, but unfortunately for local sports fans, he bought into the one sport with a hard salary cap for players that is the least influenced by reckless wealth of an owner.

He's spent well for coaches such as Mike Holmgren of the Seahawks and McMillan of the Trail Blazers, but the limits on NFL player spending and rules on revenue sharing explain in part why the sport works in places like Green Bay and Jacksonville, and why the NBA, in contrast, can fail in Seattle and Vancouver. INSERT: Hey, dont try to lump Vancouver into Seattle's failure. Vancouver lost the grizz because the NBA never developed the market. Fan attendance was fine all along but there was nothing to get excited over, esp for a new market/country, when Brian Big Country Reves (from Oklahoma by the way) was all Vancouverites had to cheer about. The owner sucked and that is why the Vancouver franchise moved. Seattle's is moving because Seattle sucks.

Even in the NFL, Seattle managed to wait nearly 30 years for its first Super Bowl appearance. Up until the 2005 postseason the club's pile of playoff wins stood at a neat and tidy three.

Another example of Seattle futility revealed itself this week with MLB's announcement of the rosters for the All-Star Game.

The current Mariners lost to the former Mariners, 6-2.

Three times as many ex-Mariners are in the game (Griffey, Meche, David Ortiz, Alex Rodriguez, Carlos Guillen and Brian Fuentes) than current players (Ichiro, J.J. Putz). And for those stars who departed via trade, nothing remains on the current roster from those transactions. That's just one explanation for how the Mariners remain one of five MLB teams never to have made the World Series.

The impression is that while Seattle sports are, in fact, a collective big dog, the moguls prefer to run with the Chihuahuas.

Another example of thinking small: Although bonuses and other payments may alter the complete comparison, it is likely that the highest-paid athlete in town is Wally Szczerbiak, one of the two players acquired from the Celtics in the Allen trade last week.

Now with his third team in two seasons, Szczerbiak, partly due to injuries, was able to start just 19 games for one of the NBA's worst teams, yet is owed $26 million by the Sonics for the next two seasons.

Go ahead. I'll wait while you remove your index finger from your throat.

The killer irony is that the main, if not only, reason Allen and Lewis will not be on the team next season is because owner Clay Bennett doesn't want to pay their high salaries, which are a little more than Szczerbiak's, but would in either case go to more productive players in the franchise's most important season.

The fact that Lewis' pal, Allen, was jettisoned for a rookie destined for Lewis' spot was all he needed to know about the Sonics. After the draft-day deals, there was no way Lewis was coming back to Seattle.

At least Lewis' decision was based on simple, comprehensible facts such as money and team prospects. No such concrete data explain the decision of Hargrove to abdicate his post as manager of the Mariners.

Never in the 107 years of major league baseball checked by the Elias Sports Bureau has a manager departed voluntarily after an eight-game winning streak. Why am I not surprised it happened to a team in Seattle? Even when things are going good, badness is just a sweep by the Kansas City Royals away.

While conspiracy theories abound regarding the reasons behind his resignation Sunday, I have yet to hear the real one:

He was following the crowd.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

P-I columnist Art Thiel can be reached at 206-448-8135 or artthiel@seattlepi.com.

© 1998-2007 Seattle Post-Intelligencer

This was just too funny but sad also. Seattle will be just fine with two teams only. Get over it guys.

[Easy180]

I read that today...Thought it was great timing as the classy gtpace poster on there had just ranted about big stars not wanting to play in OKC...Umm looks like big stars don't want to play in Seattle either dude

Funny stuff

[HOT ROD]

^ lol.

[Watson410]

>>> Sounds like someone's a little upset the Sonics are leaving Seattle.... (and hopefully moving to OKC)


SEATTLE -- Hall of Fame coach Lenny Wilkens resigned Friday as the vice chairman of the Seattle SuperSonics, completing a rapid decline of his role in the organization.



Wilkens
"My passion for this city and this franchise has never wavered, but I feel that my position within the organization did not develop the way that I thought it would," Wilkens said in a statement.


Wilkens became the Sonics' vice chairman last November, taking on the role of adviser on basketball operations to owner Clay Bennett and also working in community relations.


His role temporarily expanded in late April when the team reassigned general manager Rick Sund and fired coach Bob Hill. Wilkens was put in charge of the search to fill both positions, and was promoted to president of basketball operations.


That promotion wasn't without confusion. Wilkens announced his new job on a Seattle sports radio station; the team briefly denied that Wilkens had been promoted before confirming the move.


When the Sonics hired Sam Presti as their general manager on June 7, Bennett announced that Presti held authority on all basketball-related decisions, and Wilkens would resume his role as vice chairman.


Wilkens has not been seen at any Sonics-related events since Presti was hired.


Wilkens' "insight into basketball and the Sonics' legacy in Seattle helped us greatly as we retooled our basketball operation," Bennett said in a statement. "He has been an important resource and connection to the community as we continue in our efforts to secure the future of the Sonics in Seattle."


Bennett's proposal to use public money to fund the majority of a $500 million new suburban arena failed to even make it to a vote in the state Legislature last spring.


Bennett appears to be slowly distancing himself from those who have past history with the Sonics. Wilkens' resignation is added to the loss of assistant coach and former player Jack Sikma; and the selection P.J. Carlesimo as head coach, instead of Dwane Casey, a former Sonics' assistant.


Seattle has also had major front-office turnover, with assistant GM Rich Cho the only significant holdover from the previous staff.


"I am extremely competitive, I'm driven to win and I have a deep passion for the game. I wish the Sonics well in the future," Wilkens said.


Wilkens, the NBA's career victory leader, coached the Sonics to their only championship in 1979. He spent 11 seasons as a player-coach or coach of the SuperSonics, part of his 32 seasons as an NBA coach. He has a career mark of 1,332-1,155

[HOT ROD]

Hi everyone.

I was reading the Seattle Times online version when I noticed something. Take a look at the front page of the site. The Seattle Times

Scroll down the front page to the Sports headline area (about mid way down the page).

Notice that you see a link on the r/h side for the city's sports teams; and notice that you ONLY see Seahawks/Mariners/High School. NO SONICS.

I could SWARE that Sonics used to be there also as a link (since it is a pro major league team now based in Seattle), but not anymore. I wonder if this is a sign, that the Seattle Times are already writing off the Sonics. That is very very good sign/news for Oklahoma City, if Seattle's top newspaper no longer thinks of the Sonics as belonging to the city. .....

[metro]

Not sure if that "signals" anything HOT ROD. As much as I would like it to, the AP would be all over it if the Seattle Times knew more than the rest of the AP. If you look at the tabs at the top of their page, click on Sports. The Sonics and Storm tabs are still there.

[HOT ROD]

Right, but in the sports area of the main page - Sonics used to be listed since it is one of the 3 major league teams here, along with the Seahawks and Mariners. Now its not, Im not the first to point this out by the way.

The Seahawks are not in season right now yet are still shown, so that is not the reason the Sonics are not there. I dont think the Seattle Times know anything more than anyone else but I think they are writing off the Sonics if nothing else, which is good for OKC.

[metro]

True, but either way, the Sonics and Storm still have a tab on the Seattle Times website, so I wouldn't say they've written off them completely. Football is almost here and baseball is obviously in season. NBA is the furthest away from starting, perhaps this is why? I have no idea. I'm just ready for the next tidbit given to us from the NBA or Bennett.

[Pete]

Things are looking VERY good!!!


Bennett: No arena plan by Oct. 31 means Sonics will move to OKC
By John Rohde
Staff Writer


If a suitable arena project in greater Seattle is not approved by Oct. 31, Seattle SuperSonics chairman Clay Bennett has said he intends to file for relocation to Oklahoma City on Nov. 1.


After a year and a day after leading a new ownership group to buy the team — and getting "no traction" toward building a new arena — a frustrated Bennett is calling for prompt action from the political, business and civic leadership of Seattle, King County and the state of Washington.

"Basically, I'm pounding the table, reiterating everything we've said to date," Bennett said.

On Thursday, Bennett requested a meeting with Seattle mayor Greg Nickels to reaffirm his city will lose its team unless an acceptable multi-purpose facility is approved within the next 15 weeks.

In a deal publicly announced July 18, 2006, Bennett's group purchased the Sonics and Storm for $350 million. As part of the transaction that closed on Oct. 31, 2006, a one-year deadline was set to develop a suitable replacement for KeyArena, which is the NBA's smallest facility.

On April 16, the Washington state legislature formally tabled a proposal that would have publicly helped fund a $500-million arena in the Seattle suburb of Renton, where Bennett purchased a 21.2-acre parcel of land.

Approximately $350 million would have come from tax money, most of it from tourism taxes already in place.

"We were disappointed with the results at the Legislature and further disappointed at the lack of progress since the end of the session," Bennett said in a statement released Thursday morning. "We now invite the leadership of the Seattle area to re-engage on this issue."

Bennett re-emphasized his group's priority is to keep the Sonics — and the WNBA's Storm — in the Seattle area.

"However, this can only be achieved through the development of a new state-of-the-art, multi-purpose facility," Bennett's statement read. "The issue is clear and simple, does the leadership of the region wish to retain its professional basketball teams? If so, serious productive discussions must commence at once. If not, as owners we must consider all of our options in regaining the financial viability of the business."

[Easy180]

Time is precious for sure....................

But come on let's time warp to November already!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Pete]

I think this Bennett quote is very significant because it's the first time he's publicly stated that he will move the team to OKC without an arena deal in Seattle.

And we all know there will not be any such deal... I can't see anything changing in the next 3 months.

[Luke]

Are there any active pro-Sonics groups (with any kind of influence) in Seattle to make a deal like this happen in the next 3 months?

Seems like the Sonics are slipping through the fingers of Seattle into OKC's lap!

[betts]

I'm happy to see Kansas City and Las Vegas out of the picture. The implication is that Clay Bennett thinks we are a viable city for the NBA, an idea with which I agree.

[BDP]

Does anyone know what Bennett actually said about moving the team to OKC? The first line in the article reads like a summation or paraphrase. I'm just wondering if there were any caveats to his statement about relocation, other than building an arena in the Puget Sound.

[metro]

I'm happy to see Kansas City and Las Vegas out of the picture. The implication is that Clay Bennett thinks we are a viable city for the NBA, an idea with which I agree.

They never were, it was politically correct rhetoric.

[JWil]

I think this Bennett quote is very significant because it's the first time he's publicly stated that he will move the team to OKC without an arena deal in Seattle.

And we all know there will not be any such deal... I can't see anything changing in the next 3 months.

I think this is just another pre-designed moment in this whole transition from Seattle to OKC. This was probably designed to be the official "three month warning" period where Bennett officially starts talking about leaving Seattle all the time. Up until now, he was very much throwing quotes out about being hopeful to work something out in Seattle.

My bet is that, from this point forward, there won't be much positive Seattle talk coming from Bennett from this day forward.

This is a big moment and a great day for NBA fans in OKC.

[Luke]

I would think its the nail in the coffin for Seattle. If I was a Seattle fan and some Okie owner had just said that, I'd be like "get outta here then, punk!"

Hopefully, they will!

[SonicsFan93]

After reading all this, and being a Seattle resident, I have to give my two cents. I have witnessed both the Mariners attempt to leave and the Seahawks actually pack up and move to Los Angeles for a month. There were two things in common with both these issues. They both tried to leave, and we had to take them both to court. Seattle's Mayor (Greg Nickels) seems to have no problem with taking Clay Bennett to court for him to honor the Key Arena Lease. If I were an Oklahoma City resident, I wouldn't get my hopes up for getting the Sonics. I hope you in Oklahoma City get an NBA team, but just not the Sonics!

[Pete]

I think the biggest difference is that the NBA commissioner has already agreed that Seattle can't keep the team if a new arena deal isn't reached and that Seattle seems to have a lot less interest in keeping the Sonics than the other two teams, which is why they are both presently occupying expensive new publicly-subsidized homes.

The worse case is that the Sonics still pay rent at Key even if they move. That wouldn't be so horrible since OKC can offer them a great deal on the Ford Center, which is already in place and paid for.

[Easy180]

Slightly different spin on the meetings in Seattle

Sonics | Sonics owner wants to reopen talks for KeyArena | Seattle Times Newspaper

[Luke]

Interesting take...

That article completely left out Bennett's desire to have action taking place by Oct. 31st or a relocation to OKC would be looked at.

[Pete]

The Oklahoman also removed the article I had posted above.

Since Bennett's family owns that publication, perhaps he asked to have it removed since it may have come across as too negative in Seattle?

[Intrepid]

The Oklahoman also removed the article I had posted above.

Since Bennett's family owns that publication, perhaps he asked to have it removed since it may have come across as too negative in Seattle?

When I go to newsok.com, the story is front page news, same story you posted earlier.

[Pete]

It was down for a while...

And they changed the headline, which now reads:

"Bennett restarts arena talks, puts Seattle on notice"

[Doug Loudenback]

When I go to newsok.com, the story is front page news, same story you posted earlier.

As of 3:18 p.m. CST, it's still there ... NewsOK: Bennett restarts arena talks, puts Seattle on notice -- If there is no plan, Sonics chairman says he'll apply for OKC relocation Nov. 1