Hornets will leave, but Sonics will come

Buy up that Hornets memorabilia, Oklahoma City.

All of it's about to become collector's items.

Sure, the New Orleans Hornets still call Oklahoma City home, and Seattle Sonics still call the Pacific Northwest home, even though their new owners call Oklahoma City home. (Got all that?) But after an ownership group headed by Oklahoma City businessman Clay Bennett purchased the Sonics on Tuesday, it's difficult to believe all of this will end any differently.

The Hornets will go back to New Orleans.

The Sonics will come to Oklahoma City.

Could be in a year. Could be two. But eventually, the moving vans will arrive in Oklahoma City, some ferrying the Hornets out, others carrying the Sonics in.

It'll be a sad day for many Oklahomans who've grown attached to the Hornets. Your first love, after all, is always the strongest. Your heart does the thinking, not your head.

So, let's stop for a moment and think.

Would losing the Hornets and gaining the Sonics be so bad?

Bidding adieu to Chris Paul will stink. It's not only that the kid is a certifiable stud but also that he is a guy everyone loves. Men want to be him. Women just want him. And kids, well, they think he's second only to Santa Claus.

He's a hoops star, a sex symbol and a teddy bear all rolled into one.

Already, though, Oklahoma City has seen how quickly things can change with an NBA team. Speedy Claxton is gone. Ditto for PJ Brown and J.R. Smith. More players will come and go. It's the nature of the beast.

So, losing the Hornets means losing CP3.

It also means losing an owner who has no local ties beyond really liking the locals' money, who has a history of goofiness and who is as unpredictable as a Tasmanian devil. Watching George Shinn in action is good fun, but he leaves something to be desired when you're wanting stability.

With the Sonics and the Bennett-led ownership group, stability would be one of the biggest positives for Oklahoma City. Bennett's previous involvement with the NBA came with the San Antonio Spurs, for which he once sat on the board of directors.

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