Hooped Up

SuperSonics owner Clay Bennett could end up paying $75 million to move the NBA franchise to Oklahoma City this year, and he won’t be taking the team’s name or colors with him.

Bennett agreed to settle a lawsuit with the city of Seattle, bringing an end to a contentious relationship that resulted in a trial in which the judge was due to issue her ruling Wednesday.

“We believe this is a fair and appropriate resolution to the litigation involving the Sonics and the City of Seattle,” Bennett said. “We are pleased that the uncertainty is lifted for our players, staff and Oklahoma City fans who can now make plans for the immediate future.”

Bennett announced that the settlement calls for a payment of $45 million immediately, and would include another $30 million paid to Seattle in 2013 unless the state Legislature in Washington authorizes at least $75 million in public funding to renovate KeyArena by the end of 2009 or Seattle obtains an NBA franchise of its own within the next five years.

Press Release

Derrick Rose is going home, and a record crowd of freshmen are following him to the NBA. The Chicago Bulls selected Rose, who grew up on the city’s South Side, with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft Thursday night, choosing the Memphis guard over Kansas State forward Michael Beasley.  Below are the rest of the NBA draft results.

Round 1 NBA Draft Results

Second round results after the jump Read the rest of this entry »

Sonics owner Clay Bennett on Wednesday predicted a bleak final two seasons if the team is forced to play out its KeyArena lease.
Wrapping up his testimony in a federal trial over whether he can break the lease before it expires in 2010, Bennett noted he is “not real popular” in Seattle and said the dark cloud hanging over the Sonics would make it difficult to sign players and sell tickets. The Sonics say they will lose $60 million in Seattle if required to play two more seasons here. The team predicts a profit of $17 million over that period if it’s playing in Oklahoma City.

Seattle Times

This will be an interesting off season to say the least!

Sonics forward Chris Wilcox was arrested on Saturday in North Carolina and charged with two counts of carrying a concealed weapon, Percy Allen of the Seattle Times is reporting.

“Chris has made us aware of the situation,” Sonics spokesman Tom Savage said. “We are in the process of gathering more information and we’ll have further comment at the appropriate time.”

It is believed that Wilcox was a passenger in the car, with the driver also charged on the same charges.

Seattle Times

Who ya got? The Thunderbirds, Barons, Outlaws or Thunder

With The Oklahoman’s NBA Team Name Contest now whittled down to the Final Four nicknames — Thunderbirds, Barons, Outlaws and Thunder — opinions still vary on what the team should be called. But some, like Moody, are among a growing segment who thinks black and gold could work as the team colors no matter the nickname or mascot. “It’s just different,” said Moody, who designed the black and gold “Oklahoma City Barons” jerseys that appeared on the cover of The Oklahoman’s sports section on April 14 as one of hundreds of reader-designed jersey submissions. But unlike the Pittsburgh Steelers, whose team colors are athletic gold and black, the color scheme used for the popular Barons design is varsity gold and black, closer to the shade found in Notre Dame and George Washington’s school colors.

Oklahoman

Sucks to be a Sonics fan right now in Seattle!

PJ is toast and these reports just sell papers.  In the new city they move to (Oklahoma) PJ just won’t cut it as a draw at the box office.  There are to many other good coaches that could make a young roster like the Sonics rise next season.

Sonics general manager Sam Presti addressed the media at the team’s practice facility Thursday and did nothing to dispel rumors that head coach P.J. Carlesimo’s job may be in jeopardy. Presti said he and Carlesimo would sit down and evaluate the roster and coaching staff, but the GM did not come close to saying Carlesimo will coach the Sonics next season. While it was widely assumed Carlesimo had a long leash during the reclamation project, his status is uncertain.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer

We all no that the Supersonics already have one foot on the bus out of town and that bus ticket reads “destination: anywhere but here”.  Last night the Supersonics let there fans miss them less, with a mega loss by fitty-two to the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets put up 168 total points in this beat down thriller, that left current Seattle Supersonic fans to think  for a moment that they were trapped in an online game of NBA 2k8.  Hey at least they covered the spread!

Kenyon Martin had this to say after the game.

“A lot of people are going to think it’s a misprint,” Martin said. “A lot of people will think there’s no way they scored that many points. It’s unbelievable. There are no words for it.”
USA Today

Hooped Up

The Seattle SuperSonics and Oklahoma City have reached a preliminary agreement on a lease at the Ford Center pending NBA approval of the team’s move. The deal calls for the SuperSonics to pay the city $1.6 million annually for use of the building and reimburse $409,000 a year to replace revenue from naming rights for the arena.

AP/Tacoma News Tribune

In a blockbuster, three-way trade involving Cleveland, Chicago, Seattle and including 11 players, the Cavaliers acquired center Ben Wallace from the Bulls and forward Wally Szczerbiak from the SuperSonics, two players to possibly get James and the Cavs through the Eastern Conference and back to the finals.

Cleveland general manager Danny Ferry, unable to finalize major deals in the past, pulled off a colossal one in the final hours before Thursday’s 3 p.m. deadline.

The Cavaliers sent guard Larry Hughes, forwards Drew Gooden and Cedric Simmons, and guard Shannon Brown to Chicago for Wallace, one of the game’s top inside enforcers, and forward Joe Smith.

Cleveland acquired the sharpshooting Szczerbiak and guard Delonte West from Seattle for forwards Ira Newble and Donyell Marshall.

The Cavaliers will also get Chicago’s second-round pick in 2009. The SuperSonics will receive guard Adrian Griffin from the Bulls.

SI

In an effort to bolster their frontline, the San Antonio Spurs acquired Kurt Thomas from the Seattle Supersonics for Brent Barry, Francisco Elson and a 2009 first round pick.

The Spurs needed to make a move to keep up with conference rivals Phoenix, Dallas and Los Angeles.

“I think the landscape of the West has put a premium on interior defense,” Spurs general manager R.C. Buford said. “Now with the trades of recent days, that’s only improved.”

At age 35, Thomas provides the Spurs experience and consistency in the paint. His presence should benefit Tim Duncan. Thomas will likely draw the assignment of guarding the opposing team’s best post player.