According to league sources, the NBA will not realign any divisions or teams to accommodate the relocation of the Sonics to Oklahoma City. Whenever the team lands in Oklahoma, either next season or in 2010, it will continue in its current division, which includes Utah, Portland, Minnesota and Denver.
Although Oklahoma City is geographically closest to Southwest Division teams — Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Memphis and New Orleans — the league isn't interested in undoing the system's current balance by adding a sixth team to the division. The 30-team NBA has six five-team divisions.
Realigning Memphis or New Orleans to add Oklahoma City to the Southwest Division also isn't an option, sources said, because of how well the division's current structure works. On a smaller scale, the league also wants to avoid an Oklahoma City team joining the Southwest Division mix and creating a glut of divisional teams competing in such close proximity.
Mavs owner Mark Cuban, one of two owners who opposed the Sonics' relocation request last week, has said too many teams in the Texas and Oklahoma region is bad for the league.
"There's not enough TV weight,” Cuban said earlier this month before the Sonics played the Mavs in Dallas. "There's not enough demand from a TV perspective from outside that little area. It's nice, but when you've got San Antonio versus Dallas, which you'd think is a great marquee matchup, no one outside our area (cares). That's bad. You don't expand the market at all.”
The league last approved realignment in 2003 to accommodate the expansion Charlotte Bobcats for the start of the 2004-05 season. New Orleans moved from the East to the West, and Charlotte was placed in the East. That's also when the league went from two divisions per conference — Atlantic and Central in the East and Midwest and Pacific in the West — to its current six-division structure.
But league officials think an Oklahoma City team can work in the Northwest Division. Although Seattle is much closer to Portland and Salt Lake City than Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City is much closer to Denver and Minnesota than Seattle. So, in effect, keeping the team in its current division would offset distance issues.
From a competitive standpoint, division placement only marginally matters. NBA teams play divisional opponents four times apiece (two home games/two away games) and other in-conference opponents three or four times each. Teams play non-conference opponents twice each season (one home game/one road game).
The NBA does, however, place importance on division winners, rewarding those teams with an automatic top four seed.
Utah, for example, finished as this season's fourth seed despite Houston and Phoenix finishing with a better record. The No. 5-seeded Rockets, however, hold home-court advantage over the Jazz in the playoffs.
That said, a Northwest Division placement could bode well for Oklahoma City's prospective team considering the heavyweights in the Southwest Division.
But, there's no telling if the NBA will tweak the current playoff system as some enthusiasts prefer — or when the balance of power will transfer from the Spurs, Rockets, Hornets and Mavericks to the up-and-coming Blazers, Wolves and already formidable Jazz and Nuggets.
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Ah Phil, such unabashed idiotic ignorance could give people ideas about Seattle that are as woefully misguided as your charming little assessment of Oklahoma City.
Speaking as one from Seattle ...... why are you all the Seattlites so hung up on "this team" instead of an expansion franchise? Frankly .... the Sonic colors suck. (ie: Minnesota has a far better look than the Sonics ever will).
But here's the real issue. Green & Durant are mere kids. By the time those two become valuable veteran players that could actually make a run at a title, both their contracts will be up. The chances of either of them resigning with an Oklahoma team whose sole tourist attraction is tumbleweeds, probably is not high. So the ultimate revenge for Seattle? Get an expansion team, and then make absolutely certain that neither Durant or Green resign with Oklahoma. Offer them half the planet if that's what it takes. Good ole Clay is left with a loser team and all of them thare plans a'dashed. And how can we afford to do this? Because by then we have that new bigger and better stadium that the NBA just HAS TO have, plus a market that is four or five times the size of that there hand-car-wash infested imbred Oklahoma.
Although they do have them thar nice lookin dresses on them women-folk. All plaid & buet-i-ful. Why shucks.
Did the toothless hillbillies really just put the wood to Microsoft? A Seattle columnist is referring to Oklahoma as the Raiders. I kinda like it. We have the Sooners (cheaters) and the Raiders (pillagers) and Seattle sucks!
I agree.. Who knows what would have been acceptable
to Frank Chopp?
For what it is worth (lol, not a lot)
Qwest Field cost $300 million and Paul Allen
contributed $130 million plus cost overruns.
Safeco Field cost $517 million and the public paid
$340 and the Mariners paid the rest. The Mariners
had a $200 million debt when Safeco Field opened.
The agreement was that all profits went to paying down
that debt. Once that debt was settled, then the
public would share 10% of the profits each year. The debt is down to $53 million and the Mariners made 17
million last year.
Jill, I agree with you. Bennett has the right/necessity to propose what pencils out for him and his group.
The way I look at is Bennett spent $350
million to buy the Sonics.. That is an investment
and when/if he decides to sell he will make a profit.
At least so far the values of franchises in all sports
have kept going up. He will probably make a handsome
profit on that transaction. He doesn't have to pay
a dime on the multi-million dollar upgrade to Ford
Center. And, it sounds like he has a sweatheart lease at Ford Center to rake in most/all of the
profits each night from concessions etc ...
Is there a link stating that Bennett was kicking in $100 million for the Renton arena? I keep reading he expected the public to pay for the whole thing..
Ok, it is getting late and I haven't hugged a tree
yet.. lol Good night ..
chris in OKC. It seems Bennett's Group may have turned down an offer for a Privately financed Arena by one of our area's developers. The proposal apparently led to the mysterious fourth partner either voluntarily withdrawing or being forced out. I'm sure we will hear more of this in the next few weeks.
BREAKING NEWS: Seattle Post-Intelligencer is reporting that Slade Gorton is focused on securing a replacement team in contradiction to Stern's claim that a "scorched earth" strategy is being employed. If the NBA can guarantee Seattle a replacement team, the Sonics would not be held to their lease and the team could be playing in OKC next season...What do you think OKC, would you urge the NBA to offer a guarantee to Seattle in order to have the NBA in OKC next year. Remember, the Ford Center only has 5-10 years before it needs to be replaced. The clock is ticking, you better get your moneys worth.
Portland Chris...It will be interesting to see if the lawsuits bring out sufficient negative PR to make the following votes not such a slam dunk. Would love to see Stern go under oath...
Baseball did the same thing. Camden Yards changed the playing field and what had been fine ball parks suddenly became obsolete. Everyone had to have the retro park...now after several billion dollars of remodeling and demolition, Camden Yards is back to drawing in the teens, because of lousy teams. The lesson is...in the long run it is the game that counts. Shakespeare had it..."the plays the thing".
The Key was fine and better than most in what it's primary function was...to put on a basketball game. Stern prefers to focus on the ancillary aspects...T-shirt shop and restaurants, etc. An example of the broken business model of pro sports.
Just to highlight the most intriguing passage of the previous post: the New Orleans Hornets reminded the Board of the Article 7 provision before the owners vote on Friday. No other team made any submissions regarding the Sonics' application.
An interesting situation surrounding the BOG meeting last Friday:
The Sonics requested approval for location for the 2008-09, '09-10 and 10-11 seasons f the team is unable to resolve the KeyArena lease litigation this summer. The NBA's counsel told the relocation committee that Article 7 of the NBA Constitution does not permit approval of a relocation application for seasons other than the season following the application (in this case the '08-09 season).
The Board approved the move for next season and if the Sonics renew its application for either of the '09-10 or '10-11 seasons, the Board should approve the renewed application unless there's a major change in the circumstances.
It is interesting to note that the New Orleans Hornets reminded the Board of the Article 7 provision before the owners vote on Friday. No other team made any submissions regarding the Sonics' application.
Let me be the first to say that I am impressed that okies know how to use computers and access the Internet. That being said, some of y'all need to look up the definition of a "troll" as it relates to online discussions.
Where Chopp, Nickels, etc. made their mistake was in not offering anything. Even worse than not offering anything, they played into Bennett's hands by failing to even bring a proposal to a vote. Thus they gave Bennett the opportunity to say he was the only party who actually offered to put money on the table. Had they offered even a pittance, it would have shown there was at least the possibility of a future agreement. That wouldn't have likely stopped relocation before the 2010-2011 season, but it would have made it a lot tougher for Bennett to ask for arbitration when he did.
MartzMimic, Oklahoma City - Apr 21, 2008 at 10:24 pm
Have you noticed how the trolls' predictions tend to fall short of reality? We hear the common refrain, "we knew that was going to happen. You just wait until... (add whatever dimming glimmer of hope they're clinging to)"
MartzMimic, Oklahoma City - Apr 21, 2008 at 10:18 pm
Roger,
I couldn't find the link to the site you requested.
However, here is another link where Bennett reportedly
says he is concerned about OKC's viablility as a
long term home to the NBA because of a lack of
broadcasting revenue.
Mickey the Spurs have played in AT&T Center for only 5 seasons,(formerly the SBC Center). They do surprisingly want a venue tax of $75 million to go to the voters for approval. Initially in 2007 that number was as high as $175 million in technological upgrades etc., but that number has gone down to $75 million.
But there is your magic number boys and girls, 5 years, yes 5 seasons and we need $75 million more.
Of course, Jill is right on the mark but add to that, that there is no reason to believe that Frank Chopp would have agreed to it or that the city/state could have come up with their 225 million. Even on the longshot they did, they would have expected enough revenue to pay back their investment and that would have been a deal breaker in lease negotiations. If Seattle had held the same line with the Seahawks and the Mariners, they would have lost them too.
Bill said, "If he was really serious about staying in Seattle he should realized that his offer was going to have to be somewhere in the range of a 50/50 split between public and private financing." Bill, the problem was that Bennett spend $350 million on the team. If he spent another $225 million, his investment would be over the half billion dollar mark. The average NBA team makes $10 million a year. That would given him an annual return on his investment of less than 2.5%. It works in the NFL with their huge television contract and revenue sharing, but not in the NBA. He was going to stay in Seattle with a publicly funded arena, because that's the only way he could get even a minimally acceptable return on his investment. A 2% return on a half billion dollar investment is virtually philanthropy, and most billionaires are generally only philanthropic with that kind of money in their home cities.
Jill, www.okcthunderfans.com - Apr 21, 2008 at 9:32 pm
"Roger, Bennetts best option was to realize that Seattle probably was not going to support a 100% public subsidized new arena"...He offered up to $100 mil...It's really difficult to downplay the true effect of I-91...We all know why it was passed
Roger,
Bennetts best option was to realize that Seattle
probably was not going to support a 100% public
subsidized new arena. If he was really serious about
staying in Seattle he should realized that his offer
was going to have to be somewhere in the range of a
50/50 split between public and private financing.
Perhaps he could have been more agreeable to having
a discussion about upgrading Key Arena, but he took
that off of the table right away.
My opinion is I-91 didn't prevent Bennett from working
a deal with Seattle. Bennett just decided he wanted
a brand new arena with 100% public funding and that
proposal just didn't fly with the legislature
(or with I-91 within the Seattle city limits)..
Seattle was recently granted an expansion
franchise with Major League Soccer. The majority
owner is Joe Roth (founder of Revolution Studios in
Hollywood) and the minority owners are comedian
Drew Carey and Paul Allens Vulcan Sports. I-91
hasn't caused them any problems and they will be
playing at Qwest Field in Seattle starting next summer.
"This sports team owner is about to take y'all for a big ride and it will be very very expensive."...Cool...I love rides...Can't wait for it...Thanks for the advice
"Philip of OKC, Bennett has already gone on record that Ford Center will be obsolete in 5 - 10 years and in order to remain competive in the NBA, OKC will have to build a brand new state of the arena"...Do you have a link to that quote?...Can't say I've seen Bennett saying the Ford will only last another 5 to 10 years
"If the game was just beginning in April 2007 I'd like to know where this game was ? It certainly wasn't being played in the Seattle area..."...Well since the state told him to shove it and Seattle passed I-91 (helped his exit btw) and took the city out of the equation what were his options...I mean aside from the massive $4 million pledge from the Shoots...Your gripes would be much more legit if Bennett had to actually turn down something over the past 2 years
One more thing, since you guys are closer and might have been there. Why does San Antonio now need a 200 million dollar upgrade in their Arena for the Spurs to stay and be competitive? Isn't there Arena almost brand new?
Has any one else wondered what Bennett, his partners and Stern think now? Don't you ever wonder if they would have had a crystal ball that said Seattle would fight rather than cave in if they would have gone ahead and tried to do the deal? Or tried to ram it through instead of trying to be a bit more subtle? Ever wonder if Bennett has cussed out David Stern for getting him and his reputation for honesty and business acumen involved in this sleazy deal?
Bennett put on a charade of trying to get a new arena
for Seattle from Nov of 2006 thru April of 2007 when
his plan was denied by the politicians.
He pretty much disappeared from the Seattle scene from
April 2007 thru Oct. 2007.
So, you might say he only worked to build an arena
plan for 6 months, instead of the year that Howard
insists they agreed to.
Hmmmm, Bennett also wrote an e-mail in April 2007
saying that I am a man possessed. The game is just
beginning boys ...
If the game was just beginning in April 2007 I'd
like to know where this game was ? It certainly
wasn't being played in the Seattle area...
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But here's the real issue. Green & Durant are mere kids. By the time those two become valuable veteran players that could actually make a run at a title, both their contracts will be up. The chances of either of them resigning with an Oklahoma team whose sole tourist attraction is tumbleweeds, probably is not high. So the ultimate revenge for Seattle? Get an expansion team, and then make absolutely certain that neither Durant or Green resign with Oklahoma. Offer them half the planet if that's what it takes. Good ole Clay is left with a loser team and all of them thare plans a'dashed. And how can we afford to do this? Because by then we have that new bigger and better stadium that the NBA just HAS TO have, plus a market that is four or five times the size of that there hand-car-wash infested imbred Oklahoma.
Although they do have them thar nice lookin dresses on them women-folk. All plaid & buet-i-ful. Why shucks.
to Frank Chopp?
For what it is worth (lol, not a lot)
Qwest Field cost $300 million and Paul Allen
contributed $130 million plus cost overruns.
Safeco Field cost $517 million and the public paid
$340 and the Mariners paid the rest. The Mariners
had a $200 million debt when Safeco Field opened.
The agreement was that all profits went to paying down
that debt. Once that debt was settled, then the
public would share 10% of the profits each year. The debt is down to $53 million and the Mariners made 17
million last year.
Jill, I agree with you. Bennett has the right/necessity to propose what pencils out for him and his group.
The way I look at is Bennett spent $350
million to buy the Sonics.. That is an investment
and when/if he decides to sell he will make a profit.
At least so far the values of franchises in all sports
have kept going up. He will probably make a handsome
profit on that transaction. He doesn't have to pay
a dime on the multi-million dollar upgrade to Ford
Center. And, it sounds like he has a sweatheart lease at Ford Center to rake in most/all of the
profits each night from concessions etc ...
Is there a link stating that Bennett was kicking in $100 million for the Renton arena? I keep reading he expected the public to pay for the whole thing..
Ok, it is getting late and I haven't hugged a tree
yet.. lol Good night ..
The Key was fine and better than most in what it's primary function was...to put on a basketball game. Stern prefers to focus on the ancillary aspects...T-shirt shop and restaurants, etc. An example of the broken business model of pro sports.
The Sonics requested approval for location for the 2008-09, '09-10 and 10-11 seasons f the team is unable to resolve the KeyArena lease litigation this summer. The NBA's counsel told the relocation committee that Article 7 of the NBA Constitution does not permit approval of a relocation application for seasons other than the season following the application (in this case the '08-09 season).
The Board approved the move for next season and if the Sonics renew its application for either of the '09-10 or '10-11 seasons, the Board should approve the renewed application unless there's a major change in the circumstances.
It is interesting to note that the New Orleans Hornets reminded the Board of the Article 7 provision before the owners vote on Friday. No other team made any submissions regarding the Sonics' application.
I couldn't find the link to the site you requested.
However, here is another link where Bennett reportedly
says he is concerned about OKC's viablility as a
long term home to the NBA because of a lack of
broadcasting revenue.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/2003727405_webbennett30m.html
But there is your magic number boys and girls, 5 years, yes 5 seasons and we need $75 million more.
Bennetts best option was to realize that Seattle
probably was not going to support a 100% public
subsidized new arena. If he was really serious about
staying in Seattle he should realized that his offer
was going to have to be somewhere in the range of a
50/50 split between public and private financing.
Perhaps he could have been more agreeable to having
a discussion about upgrading Key Arena, but he took
that off of the table right away.
My opinion is I-91 didn't prevent Bennett from working
a deal with Seattle. Bennett just decided he wanted
a brand new arena with 100% public funding and that
proposal just didn't fly with the legislature
(or with I-91 within the Seattle city limits)..
Seattle was recently granted an expansion
franchise with Major League Soccer. The majority
owner is Joe Roth (founder of Revolution Studios in
Hollywood) and the minority owners are comedian
Drew Carey and Paul Allens Vulcan Sports. I-91
hasn't caused them any problems and they will be
playing at Qwest Field in Seattle starting next summer.
for Seattle from Nov of 2006 thru April of 2007 when
his plan was denied by the politicians.
He pretty much disappeared from the Seattle scene from
April 2007 thru Oct. 2007.
So, you might say he only worked to build an arena
plan for 6 months, instead of the year that Howard
insists they agreed to.
Hmmmm, Bennett also wrote an e-mail in April 2007
saying that I am a man possessed. The game is just
beginning boys ...
If the game was just beginning in April 2007 I'd
like to know where this game was ? It certainly
wasn't being played in the Seattle area...