Look, we all know its not smart to move the 13th largest marketfor the 45th and smallest. David Stern is tryin to show cities that no matter how stupid, he will move teams if cities dont pay. But i dont think he can bluff again now. The league cant withstand another move like this.

Donald how would you react if the Sooners had 5 years of losing, Plus CLay did everything he could to ruin the fans support for the team.

"Why not just get OKC a NBDL team?" They just gave Tulsa the NBDL team, the "Tulsa 66ers"

Philip wrote: "Seattle defaulted on providing a venue that meets current NBA standards." FALSE, obviously you missed it when the judge verified that Seattle was under no obligation to keep improving the Key to meet whatever the current NBA standards are. OKC however is required to do just that, or OKC is in violation of the lease (and we don't have anyway to pay for it...we are on the hook for this for the next 15 to 30 years).

congratulations to the people in the great state of oklahoma! don't mind the whining seattle people,if they had shown half as much love for their team as they now claim to have the team would still be there. i too live in a small market and the spurs have had a fair amount of success. congrats again and let's hope we can build a great rivalry!

"I still cant believe that somebody moved a team from the 12th largest market to the now SMALLEST market in the NBA."...Pretty easy explanation really...The owners...They all live here

I still cant believe that somebody moved a team from the 12th largest market to the now SMALLEST market in the NBA. The NBA loses alot of prestige with this move. Why not just get OKC a NBDL team? That makes alot more sense then moving a team from the 12th largest market to the 45th and smaller market than any other NBA team! Plus, Oklahoma???? Give me a break!

You still don't get it, Phil. The Bennett group didn't default on anything. They made all the lease payments and even paid off the remaining debt on the arena. Seattle defaulted on providing a venue that meets current NBA standards. Seattle has a terrible credit rating with the NBA. Cities with terrible credit ratings don't get new teams. The NBA will get along just fine without Seattle.

I'm a huge Sonic fan and a former season ticket holder, but after what the NBA just did to this city I fail to see how building a new arena for these people makes any sense at all? The NBA screwed Seattle, not vice versa. Pompous David Stern scolding Seattle about not building him a new arena when they just got a new arena, is like a murderer scolding the victems family for not leaving more knives on the table.

David Stern and the NBA has terrible fiscal credit at this point. Banks don't loan funds to people who default on leases and loans. Nor should Seattle grant credit terms to the NBA, now that the NBA has defaulted on their lease. That's not how business works. If a client defaults on a lease, the clients credit gets dragged through the mud and the client rarely gets another chance, unless that client puts up big bucks as collateral.

The NBA is putting up no collateral, nor anything really, and they demand we build them a new facility BEFORE they will return. So in other words, a league with terrible credit and a business with a client base that is very angry with them, is demanding full credit terms? Give me a friggin break. If the NBA wants this market, they'd best plan on self funding it while doing about twice the effort on marketing than they normally would have to do. You can't screw over your client base and expect that same client base to support you as if nothing happened.

The NBA has a terrible credit rating in this city, as of Wednesday. People with terrible credit don't get new loans.

"You saw how the referees guaranteed that the finals would be the Celtics and the Lakers"...How do you explain all the recent San Antonio finals appearances and titles then?

T from Seatown, I don't know if you will read this post. You mentioned that even Mavericks owner Mark Cuban did not support the relocation of Sonics to OKC. Did you ever stop to consider that Cuban doesn't want any local competetion for his team. He is only 175 miles south of us, not a tremendous distance for us OKies. I know lots of people that have made the trip to Dallas to see the Mav's play, not necessarily because the liked the Mav's, but because they wanted to see the best talent in the NBA play in person. It only makes sense that Cuban wants that Oklahoma money coming south of the Red River into his bank account. Now that we have a team here, that money will stay in Oklahoma. So don't give me that bull about Cuban. His reasons for not wanting a team in OKC are financial. As for the history of the team, I favor leaving it in Seattle. I don't want the banners, the trophies, the colors, the name, anything. We will build our own history. When the Ford Center becomes obsolete, we will build another one. If our coach cannot win, we will hire a better one. If our players cannot compete (but I think they will be able to improve and compete) we will get better ones. We Okies know the price of success and will pay it. In the last ten, years, we have sent both men's teams from OU and OSU to the NCAA basketball final four. We have sent women's teams from OU and OSU to the final four for OU and the elite 8 for OSU. We have won a national championship in NCAA football for OU, and OU competes for a national championship almost every year. OSU football has been struggling, and we have rebuilt both the basketball and football venues from scratch and I am confident that the Pokes will be competing for the Big 12 championship. I am confident that within a few years, the new NBA team in OKC will be in the playoffs and competing for an NBA championship. That's our way.

As long as David Stern is the head of the NBA OKC will never see a finals ploayed there. You saw how the referees guaranteed that the finals would be the Celtics and the Lakers. Stern says that referees don't determine the outcome of basketball games in the NBA but I don't know what he has been watching. All the boss has to do is tell the refs that they make sure that there is real foul commited by the team you want to be the winners and you get a one-sided game. I feel sorry that OKC gets another Memphis Grizzlies or any other team that plays in a small market.. Stern will never allow (because of the TV money) the small market team in the finals. Can you imagine a finals of Charlotte and Utah? NEVR HAPPEN and Clay you can take that to the bank. Best of luck OKC. Just don't let Wally Walker anywhere near your team.

Larry your right, I live in TX. Have for the last 30 years. For 40 years before that I lived in OK. I Still have family in OKC. I don't know how they voted but if I still lived in OKC I would have voted for it. I'm also not an NBA fan, it looks more like a tattoo contest than an athelitics event. The only b-ball game I've been to in the last 30 years was when OU played in Dallas in NCAA regional a few years ago. I heard about the 100 mil before the trial, but I don't know when and what was offered. I don't think Washington ever got far enough along to talk about it. Who cares where the money would come from? My guess would be that Bennett was willing to contribute in Washington because he knew he would have to, in OKC he didn't have to, that's not hard to figure. As I said before I learned in the 6th grade to not believe politions, that would include mayors. I would be quite happy had none of this ever started but I do believe it will add money to the OKC area and if it does, that will be good.

Don wrote: "I know at this time the truth is of no interest to you but Bennet and his group offered to put 100 mil into a new arena." Unfortunately that isn't the truth (although that is what he claimed in court). Evidence showed he didn't commit and even told his people to steer talk away from any specific number the ownership might be willing to contribute. The rumored owner contribution wasn't even out of their own pockets. IF Bennett was willing to contribute in Seattle why wasn't he willing to contribute anything here? Curious but did you believe the lies coming out of the Mayor's office here? If you live here (screen name suggests TX), did you vote for the Ford tax increase? Just curious.

To T in Seatown. Your biggest problem is you believe everything that comes out your Mayor's office. We may not be as wise down here as you folks are but I learned in the 6th grade to not believe a politition.
I know at this time the truth is of no interest to you but Bennet and his group offered to put 100 mil into a new arena. The fact that your coffee man couldn't get an arena deal done in Seattle in four years doesn't count either. He thought he had found some boobs from Oklahom to sell the team too and then Settle could bleed them for a couple of years and buy the team back for a song. I wonder how dumb he thinks those boobs are now? Bennett and his group said in the begining they would have to have an arena deal in one year or they would look for other places to go. The fact that city councilmen and legislators worked against getting a deal done for an arena doesn't count either does it? Your billionairs from Microsoft could have done something to get an arena deal done when your coffee man had the team but they didn't. That doesn't count either does it? You can stack up all the lies from Bennet and his group and they would be so far behind the coffee man an other politions in Seattle it wouldn't be funny. No, don't try to tell me about the integrity you boys have because the coffee man is far behind Bennet in that dept. Just remember the next time you want to take some yokal for a ride be sure he's not from OKLAHOMA.

but the NBDL is in Tulsa now, that won't work

Look, why dont you guys give back the NBA team, and get a NBDL team. Thats a little more realistic. Happy 4th, 85 and dry. I love that it doesnt rain in the summer here!

Clay Bennett was transparent from day one; everyone knew from day one that he and his pack of lying hyenas had no intention of keeping basketball in Seattle. From his first press conference - to his last he has been dishonest. It's a shame that the entire state of Oklahoma is now being linked with these kinds of morals. Southern hospitality, integrity and graciousness must be reserved to those south of Oklahoma, because even up here in the far reaches of the Northwest a man's word means a lot. Obviously not the case in Oklahoma. Even the Dallas Mavericks owner, from the great state of Texas was the only owner not swayed by Clay's buddy David Stern, and voted to have the Sonics stay in their rightful place. By the way - Why did David Stern not have to testify?

Our politicians were skeptical of Clay's efforts from the beginning, and made working with him almost impossible. He demanded a half billion dollar building be built for him, the most expensive basketball arena in the USA, but was unwilling to contribute to the cause. Very noble of him; would have gone a long way to show his sincere commitment to the region if he had.

Seattle is very progressive, but things don't get done overnight. It took some time but we did build a brand new baseball stadium, one of the finest, at a very high price tag - but it was a joint public & private partnership. Seattle constructed a tremendous football stadium, state of the art, but yet it too was a private / public subsidized venture. When the Sonics wanted to completely remodel / rebuild Key Arena 12 years ago it got done and was also a private - public partnership. These buildings were all built with public and private monies - where as Clay Bennett would not offer any contribution to the cause to get the ball rolling.

Seattle will get a new basketball arena with Ballmer's future ownership group coming forward and offering to pay half the cost of the building, Bennett never offered to pay a dime because he never wanted to keep the team in Seattle as the emails so aptly point out. The Oklahoma hero whose lies and deceiving acts must make you all very proud.

Lets put it this way, in straight talk - which might be foreign to Oklahoman's alike, Seattle is still paying off the new Qwest Stadium, Safeco Field, and the newly remodeled Key Arena (144 months old); it would be like a home owner having not one, but three mortgages at the same time, and then be asked to tear down one of those homes and rebuild it again, at an even far greater cost; and then given a small window of time to accomplish this feat. We have a proven record of getting projects like this done – but his timetable was unrealistic – and his motives transparent and insincere. Hard to work with someone when you don’t believe a word out of his mouth. The city of Seattle was not going to be held at ransom by a group of ‘shysters’, which is exactly what they were. Yes Oklahoma you can be very proud to call Clay Bennett one of your own.

David Stern spoke highly of Key Arena upon his first visit in 1995, but then deemed it unsuitable for his product less than 10 years later. 10 years is all an arena gets these days. How long will the Ford Center be good in the eyes of Stern & Bennett.

Now Key Arena is not the Taj Majal but it is no dump; but unless you are a wealthy luxury box owner it is a fabulous place to watch basketball, intimate with great sight lines. It is a terrific basketball arena - but it is NOT a large shopping mall with 100 high priced luxury suites, & 75 restaurants, that is demanded these days. It’s a basketball arena - home of the Seattle Sonics for a better part of 41 years.

Now a days we have congressional inquiries and trials into whether a player uses steroids or not; and then there are ongoing trials into the ensuing perjury that occurred from those events. Should Clay Bennett not be held to the same standards? The senate inquired on behalf of the people, against players cheating; should they not do the same when a owner steals a 41 year old franchise from a community and then perjures himself repeatedly on the stand. Yes this is a man Oklahoma can be proud of.

The community of Seattle has 'always' supported this team. Clay Bennett’s idea of a “Good Faith Effort” was to strip it of all its marquee players, and trade away any player that could make them competitive - Seattle fans still showed up in the stands. Would Oklahoma show up at Oklahoma football games and support a man who was trying to take that football program to - say Montana? Well -Seattle did. Even when Clay Bennett managed to put the worst product Seattle has ever seen in its ‘41-year history’ - they did not play in front of 7,000 fans. Though he tried in vain, he never could completely disengage the Seattle Sonic fan base; while getting rid of all fan favorites, even coaches with long ties to Seattle basketball and the community - just the opposite thing you would do if you were trying to build fan support for a new arena.

Seattle will get another franchise - but we won't rip one out of somebody else's community. We have had polls in Seattle - and overwhelmingly people voted up here that we would not want to be granted a team if it meant stealing one, and all its history from another city. I guess you can say that is where people from Oklahoma and Seattle differ - its called morals; look it up in the dictionary if you don't understand what it truly means.

Though you successfully stole our team - you cannot buy a team's history - it is Not something you purchase - it is something you live; something that is woven into the community, into the people that shared the fond memories - not something you buy. Make your own history and then rightfully celebrate it. Don't make mock NBA Championship trophies and banners that have absolutely no meaning to you. Remember a NBA team does not make you a big city, any more than Los Angeles losing the Rams made them a small city. Oklahoma will still be Oklahoma – with just another entertainment value available.

I was in Oklahoma for the first time a week ago, and met many nice people when I was there; and came away with the feeling they were happy to get a team but they did not agree with how they were getting one. From what I saw of the area - I have no idea how Oklahoma plans on supporting an NBA team - past the 3-5 year novelty phase, at which point your hero will be asking for a new arena to be able to compete - even though Ford Center looked adequate.

Most of you from Oklahoma know an injustice was done - and for you to stand for this injustice and not voice your opinion - makes you no better then Clay Bennett. I have read that Clay is regarded as a hero now, while most of the United States reserve that term for the likes of our ‘honorable’ fighting troops, policemen and the like. For any of you to consider him a hero for what he has done - only shows your lack of integrity & values - for he has painted your state, your region with a brush of dishonesty, and unscrupulous behavior that will far outlive your short NBA lives.

T - SeaTown

Philip, I would rather be a "blind hypocrite" (please show where I have been a hypocrite about any of this) than someone who blindly supports all of this even when they are presented with the facts (the spin, half-truths and yes, in some case out-right lies from the Mayor's office, the Chamber, Bennett et al and even the Legislature).

Philip, While I may be on the "losing side" please refute any of the factual information my opinions/conclusions have been based on.

Philip wrote: "...You know good and well that the same arena proposals were on the table when Shultz sold the team..." Yes of course I do, I said as much in my post "There were at least THREE Key arena upgrade proposals made to the former owners that were still on the table for Bennett..." Slow down...read...comprehend...learn.

Philip, I was correcting factually incorrect information, that is all...re-read the post if you are confused.

Bobby, Edmond wrote: “...if at that point the NBA says that we have the worst facilities in the entire country and they are detrimental to the franchise it will be up to the people of Oklahoma to decide if we want to step up and provide adequate facilities or do we want to lay down like seattle did and let the team move elsewhere.”
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It was brought out in court by the judge that Seattle was under no obligation to continuously improve the Key to whatever the changing demands of the NBA might be. Bennett doesn’t have that problem here, as it states in the lease that OKC is required to keep the Ford (or whatever it ends up being named) up to whatever the NBA standards are.

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“The City will be responsible for paying all Capital Improvements: general maintenance and repair costs reasonably necessary in order to ENSURE THAT THE ARENA CONTINUES TO BE A FIRST-CLASS NBA ARENA. The Arena Lease will provide for a capital improvement fund for the Arena, which will be funded by (a) a $1.5 million deposit by the City on completion of the Arena Renovations, and (b) the NAMING RIGHTS REVENUE PAYABLE TO THE CITY during the Term as provided in I.G.2 above. Provided, however, if the City is required to provide temporary facilities pursuant to II.F below, the required deposit on completion of the Arena Renovations will be $1.0 million.”
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This isn’t going to be nearly enough money. The Ford was designed and built to NBA and NHL standards just over 5 years ago. In hat time it has been determined that the Ford needs $100 million in upgrades to meet the current NBA standards. Even though OKC is bound by the lease to continue to make these upgrades we don’t have a means to pay for it. The naming rights money the team has been so “gracious” to let the City keep getting from the current agreement with Ford, is essentially returned back to the team for the improvements and only amounts to $400,000+ a year (the City gave away approx $90 million to the team, which would have come close to paying for the improvements).

Can't blame you for wanting a team. We have the worlds worst gov and she blew it for us. I hope you love this team like we loved. Enjoy what you got. Some of the best times of my childhood were with the sonics. my first game in 82' at the Kingdome I saw Kaream drop 43 on my Supes. I childhood was filled with great memories of Tom Chambers, Dale Ellis, Sikma, Lenny Wilkens, Gus Williams, Downtown Freddie Brown, x-man and later The Glove (the best ever!), The Reign Man, Big Smooth, Det, The Schef, mac-10 ("he's in a nother time, he's in a diffrent place" sorry oklahoma thats not soemthing you would get that's between me and all the other supes fans with tears in their eyes right now). I'm 34 and I just cried. you broke my heart OKC now treat her better. You can have the team but the memories are ours. I was there was GP tossed up that half court pass that Kemp slammed down. I was there when the Mailman couldn't deliver. I was also there when they let that bozo Walker fire George Karl, trade Kemp, drafted center after center from france. I was there when Shultz destroyed this once great team and traded GP. The first camp i ever went to was a sonics camp I think I was 8. I wont be a OKC basketball (no name yet, make it a good one) fan. But I still hope you beat those Lakers. I hope you hate them like I did. BEAT LA BEAT LA sorry thats our memory.