Sonics and Seattle settle

I've been wondering if they'd settle since the experts I've been reading have said the decision was going to be a close one.

Details still to come, but I'm guessing with a settlement that OKC gets basketball next season.

Regardless of my opinions of the whole ordeal, add the Sonics to my list of teams Kirk can go to. ;)

3 months ago wjb1492 Comment 19 comments 0 recs |

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I guess it's pointless to be angry about the whole ordeal

But, I feel terrible for anyone who has grown up in Seattle and rooted for the Sonics their whole life, only to have them ripped away by an owner, with the blessing of the commissioner. I actually liked Key Arena, I’ve been there 3-4 times and it’s a legitimately loud and fun atmosphere, basically the antithesis of the cavernous UC.

by Ozzie Montana on Jul 2, 2008 7:05 PM CDT 0 recs

I feel bad for Seattle fans as well,

and in general I don’t like teams moving around. Even more generically, I don’t like the whole model of corporations playing cities off of one another to the detriment of citizens.

But in this case, I also benefit personally from getting a local team, and that makes it challenging to get too upset about the whole thing. Having grown up in the pacific northwest (although as a Blazers rather than Sonics fan), it’s definitely a little bittersweet.

If nothing else, taking Rose will at least piss off Pat Riley.

by wjb1492 on Jul 2, 2008 7:22 PM CDT up 0 recs

It's just such a dumb move for the league

to abandon the 14th highest media market for the 45th.

We need to get this Seattle expansion team up and running soon, so the other teams can pass off their bad contracts!

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by your friendly BullsBlogger on Jul 2, 2008 7:57 PM CDT 0 recs

whoops

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_television_stations_in_North_America_by_media_market

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by your friendly BullsBlogger on Jul 2, 2008 7:57 PM CDT up 0 recs

Not that it makes up the entire difference,

but they’ll get Tulsa with this as well, which is 60th and which just happens to have the formerly Sonics NBDL team.

If nothing else, taking Rose will at least piss off Pat Riley.

by wjb1492 on Jul 2, 2008 8:09 PM CDT up 0 recs

I don't understand the fascination with OKC

I’ve never been there so I won’t crap on the city. I just hope they take the Sonics in with as much fervor as they did with the Hornets. Seattle has some legit fans that are no doubt going to be VERY pissed off at Stern.

by Ozzie Montana on Jul 2, 2008 8:26 PM CDT up 0 recs

I was there in early May

for the first time and I left with a good impression of OKC. Very clean, nice people, not as hick as one might expect, a lot of young people for some reason (maybe because of the air force base?), and an entertainment void that likely could support a basketball team if you include the larger communities around OKC. I liked what I saw of Seattle too, but my Seattle friends don’t care for basketball. Not sure how the average person in Seattle feels about things, but it seems like the Sonics have a promising future. Sad that the city that road it out with them won’t be seeing the results.

Everything I post is speculation. I have no insider information nor ideas deemed concrete enough by those who are self-elected to regulate post content.

by cranscape on Jul 2, 2008 8:41 PM CDT up 0 recs

It's both the base and being the largest city near two universities.

Norman is just next door, and Stillwater is roughly an hour away. There are also several smaller colleges nearby.

I think the team will be fine – Kevin Durant and Nick Collison are both coming back to Big 12 country, so there’s some built in familiarity with at least those 2 players.

If nothing else, taking Rose will at least piss off Pat Riley.

by wjb1492 on Jul 2, 2008 9:40 PM CDT up 0 recs

that hasn't really worked in Charlotte

they tried Jeff McInnis and everything

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by your friendly BullsBlogger on Jul 2, 2008 10:11 PM CDT up 0 recs

Well, OKC does have the history of supporting a team with the Hornets.

While Charlotte has a history of not supporting NBA teams. I know that more goes into a successful team than drafting local college heroes. At a minimum, Clay Bennett has shown a willingness to spend money so far.

Obviously nothing is certain, but there is a ton of support in Oklahoma for the team right now.

If nothing else, taking Rose will at least piss off Pat Riley.

by wjb1492 on Jul 2, 2008 10:45 PM CDT up 0 recs

Charlotte has a far better track record of supporting basketball than OKC

The Hornets were the league leaders in attendance for several years during their initial inception. People always come out to support a quality product, letting the team go to hell with a stupid owner was not a great way to endear fans towards the end of their tenure.

They have Durant, who isn’t that hard to market. The rest of the team is horrible, though. I wonder how much support will there be after the initial hoopla of having an NBA team wears off.

by Ozzie Montana on Jul 2, 2008 11:30 PM CDT up 0 recs

My bad, then.

I don’t remember Charlotte ever being supportive of their team, but I lived on the West coast during the early years of the first incarnation so I wasn’t playing much attention to Eastern Conference teams. I just remember the team leaving, and what has happened this time around.

Obviously what the team does on the court will play some role in how much support they get – it’s just impossible to know what the team will look like when they try to improve, since that has not been the goal the last year or so.

If nothing else, taking Rose will at least piss off Pat Riley.

by wjb1492 on Jul 3, 2008 12:17 AM CDT up 0 recs

I'm sure Sonics players have to be thrilled

I saw where Richard Jefferson is supposedly upset over having to play in Milwaukee next season. Oklahoma City makes Milwaukee look like Paris. They now have no chance of ever signing a star free agent, so they better draft well.

by Big D on Jul 2, 2008 8:26 PM CDT 0 recs

Have you even been there before?

I liked what I saw of OKC. Seemed like a very young city along with Tulsa and a lot of investment has gone into the area. There is a short list of obviously great basketball cities out there and while OKC probably won’t ever be near the top of that list, it isn’t any worse than some of the other smaller market cities.

Everything I post is speculation. I have no insider information nor ideas deemed concrete enough by those who are self-elected to regulate post content.

by cranscape on Jul 2, 2008 8:47 PM CDT up 0 recs

And we know at least one of its citizens

any town, big or small, would love to call its own.

Dum spiro spero! (While there is life, there’s hope!)--Leon Trotsky

by alec on Jul 2, 2008 9:04 PM CDT up 0 recs

Huh?

Dr. Phil?

Everything I post is speculation. I have no insider information nor ideas deemed concrete enough by those who are self-elected to regulate post content.

by cranscape on Jul 2, 2008 9:58 PM CDT up 0 recs