Scribes

I'll attempt to avoid being too maudlin with this post (Lord knows there has been more than enough anguish to go around this past week), but allow me to offer a few words of praise from a website that has been forced to hand out kind words as often as the Bush Administration hands out art endowments.

Sonic fans are quite lucky to live in a city with three major dailies. Luckier still, we've been blessed for the past couple of years with writers who have never stopped investigating the neverending Sonics-to-Oklahoma story. Unlike The Oklahoman, which forces its writers to check objectivity at the door, in Seattle we have writers who rarely miss a chance to explore a story from all angles, even angles that are detrimental to the city in which they reside.

While some Sonic supporters have castigated these writers (Percy Allen at the Times, Gary Washburn at the PI, Eric Williams at the TNT) for not being all-out supporters of the team while it was in Seattle, those, like me, who appreciate a free press have not. The three main beat writers have also been supported by people like Jayda Evans, Jim Brunner, and Greg Johns, who dug into this story and illustrated it for their readers. I, for one, am appreciative of their efforts.

In many cities, those paragraphs of praise would be the end of it. But a complimentary story on the media in Seattle would not be complete without offering thanks to the man who has provided more memories than anyone in Sonic history — longtime play-by-play man Kevin Calabro.

Calabro gives his devoted listeners a rare combination: a love of the game teamed with a fantastic voice and a unique style. For more than an entire generation, it was KC who taught us to "get on that magic carpet and ride" and to "get on up for the downstroke." Bob Blackburn may have been the Abraham of Sonic broadcasters, but Calabro was the Moses.

While still attending college, I travelled up to Seattle for Christmas break one year, and with friends in tow, attempted to get to a Sonics game. Like all early-20s endeavors we were long on intentions and short on execution. Having missed the opening tip, we were driving in a frenzy through Seattle looking for a bar to watch the game. Calabro kept us up to date on the car radio, as he has for so many others over the past decades. At one point, Shawn Kemp rose up and threw down what must have been an especially memorable dunk.

"Oh, Reignman!" Calabro intoned, "Nobody do the voodoo like you do!" It was a singular moment that drew a massive cheer from our overcrowded car, and it was a moment that stays with me to this day. A great broadcaster is more than just a voice on the radio or television, he is a friend sitting alongside you, a representative for you at the game.

Thanks, KC, Percy, Gary, Eric, and all the rest. You've made being a Sonic fan more enjoyable. I hope there's more to come.

Hypocrisis

Part and parcel with yesterday’s settlement is an assumption that no expansion teams are in the NBA’s foreseeable future.

Meaning, of course, any team bearing a Seattle Sonics’ jersey in the future will be doing so because another city’s NBA dreams have gone up in flames.

Leading yours truly to wonder: Is it worth it? After spending the past few days (well, months, really) bemoaning our fate and dispensing venom in every direction at the evil which is relocation, are we ready to be the league leaders in hypocrisy?

Color it however you like, but taking a team from another city makes us no better than the good people of Oklahoma City, and makes Steve Ballmer no better than Clay Bennett.

(Well, actually, Ballmer has yet to buy a team in another city, start the relocation process before the ink had dried on the contract, call himself a man possessed to not relocate, and then indulge in lascivious emails with the league commissioner. Perhaps he wouldn’t be as low as Bennett.).

As I was saying, do we want to prey upon the bones of another city’s misfortune? Personally, I’m leaning to the “No” side of that question, and it’s not that difficult to see why.

I’ve utilized the divorce analogy before for this situation; with Seattle as the mother, PBC as the father, and Sonic fans as the child. Well, to carry that metaphor to its logical conclusion, luring a team here from another city is the equivalent of your recently divorced mom wearing a halter top to your t-ball game, hoping her cleavage is enough to convince your friend’s dad to abandon his wife.

It’s all well and good for you to have a new dad, but what about your friend, who now has to hope that his mom is as good at flirting as your mom?

Okay, it’s a messy analogy and we’re beginning to paddle into some unseemly, oedipal waters at this point, but I think my point is clear: after enduring the past year and a half of turmoil and heartache, do we really want to be the ones causing that same pain to another group of people?

I’m sorry, but I wouldn’t want to be a party to that. And that is why, to my way of thinking, the only solutions to this whole sorry situation are either a victorious Howard Schultz lawsuit or an expansion team.

Any other answer is just too hypocritical for me to swallow.

Moving Along

drawin': Raf / writin': Pete

Amount of money spent by Clay Bennett to move the Sonics to Oklahoma City:

City of Seattle, June 2008: $45 million
Additional money, 2013: $30 million
Relocation fee: $30 million
Losses, 2007-08 season (est.): $20 million
Losses, 2006-07 season (est.): $20 million
Moving fees (est.): $15 million
Legal fees (est.): $2 million

Add it all up and you come to a total of $162 million.

Why is this important? Because the cost of renovating KeyArena is now pegged at around $300 million, but, back when the team was sold, Howard Schultz was looking to spend about $225 million to renovate the building. After purchasing the team, Bennett indicated – repeatedly – that he had no interest in contributing any of his own money to the project (which eventually morphed into a completely new arena in Renton, at a price tag of $500 million).

And yet, Bennett has now committed more than half of that total just for relocating his new toy to Oklahoma City. If Bennett had just offered two-thirds of that figure - $100 million – while in Olympia fourteen months ago, yesterday would never have happened, and the state would have easily passed the bill to either build a new facility or renovate KeyArena. Further, by indicating that he was interested in helping the team, the miserable attendance figures of the past two years would have been considerably better.

Instead, Bennett kept his money in his pocket, because all along he had no interest in doing anything to keep this team here and a major interest, obviously, in getting a team for Oklahoma City.

$162 million goes a long, long way in this world. Apparently, though, just not in Seattle.

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Loss of Innocence

A lot of words and tears will be spilled in the next days and weeks as all of us seek to describe what has happened to the Seattle Supersonics. After 41 years of heartache and happiness, 41 years of Kemp and the Glove and Gus and DJ and all the rest, trying to distill the emotions of what transpired will be difficult, if not impossible. But allow me to offer up a small window into how I'm feeling this afternoon, though.

When I was a boy growing up in Seattle, one of my most prized possessions was a special edition of the Seattle Times from 1979, the year the Sonics won their (can we say only now?) NBA title in Seattle. It was chock full of anecdotes, statistics, game recaps, and other bizarre tidbits of information. In those pre-computer years, it was a delightful mishmash of stories, obviously put together by editors and writers who were just overjoyed to be doing the work.

As the years passed, the newspaper yellowed. I've moved quite a bit since leaving Seattle; first Oregon, then Southern California, now Vancouver. Somehow, that newspaper always managed to tag along with me. Every so often, maybe once or twice a year, I'd open it up and read through the stories again and it never failed to make me smile, to put an extra hop in my step.

Now, though, I don't know if I could bear to read it; that special section became a little less special today. Not because I was convinced the Sonics would never leave, but because a small part of me hoped they wouldn't. That small part of me that scoots to the edge of my seat when the Sonics are involved a close game; that small part that makes me pick up and phone Raf or Paul when the Sonics do something extraordinary; that small part of me that imitates Xavier McDaniel when I'm shooting hoops by myself.

After what happened today, that small part of me isn't doing so well right now.

Team Leaving

Well, it appears that $75 million is the magic number.

The City of Seattle accepted a cash payout of $75 million from the PBC to allow the Sonics to leave their home of 41 years and move to Oklahoma City. That amount may or may not be repaid by Clay Bennett, et al if the city were to receive another team in the Sonics' stead.

As you would imagine, more to come.

Judge's Statement

Here's what Judge Marsha Pechman had to say via statement regarding today's ruling:

The parties have settled the case. Details of the settlement will be released by the parties.

Roughly translated:

Because neither side was capable of coming to an agreement until their game of chicken had both cars teetering on the edge of the cliff, I was forced to preside over this nonsense for a whole week when I could have been watching Judge Judy DVDs instead. Thanks alot.

Settlement in Works?

I saw this first on the Daily Oklahoman, and my first thought was, "Well, there isn't a grain of salt big enough to take with that sketchy story." A settlement? Sure, it's nice to ponder, but the attribution in that story was rather light.

Now, however, we have some more information. From The Seattle Times:

"It looks like [a settlement], but I'm afraid what little I know is sworn to secrecy until after the mayor's press conference," said [Seattle City Councilmember Jean] Godden.

From the PI:

"A spokesperson for City Attorney Tom Carr said their office was not aware of [the settlement]and was not planning any comment until a scheduled 5 p.m. press conference by Mayor Greg Nickels."

Wait and see.

Dear Marsha

cartoon: Raf / words: Paul

Dear Marsha,

I know you're probably pretty busy today, with your big Seattle vs. Sonics decision coming up this afternoon, but I just wanted to drop you a quick note to tell you thanks for all your hard work. Going into it, you probably thought it was going to be an open and shut case. You and me both, sister!

I mean, a lease is a lease, right? This should have been like an uncontested, open-court dunk from the Reign-Man. Instead, the city looked more like a drunken Squatch, fumbling, stumbling and bumbling its way into a humiliating self-check on the rim. "Poisoned well?" Ouch.

But I'm hoping you can see past the feeble attempt by the home team (we Seattle sports fans should be used to that) and see the bigger picture: Clay and his boys entered into a lease they had no intention of honoring. If you decide for Team Bennett, it's basically telling them that if you've got enough money, then the rules don't apply, further emboldening other fat-cat corporate scumbags to do the same thing.

Now, I know I'm a little biased here. I can recite every SuperSonics roster since 1978. I have an Xavier McDaniel action figure. I not only remember Vincent Askew, but I can do an uncanny imitation of his layups. I'm a fanboy's fanboy.

But this decision isn't just for die-hard Sonics fans — it's for every sports fan in the country. If this can happen in Seattle, one of the biggest media markets with some of the most loyal fans in the country, it can happen anywhere. Siding with the Bennett Boys is saying it's OK for David Stern and the NBA to blackmail fans and non-fans alike into paying millions of dollars for needless new arenas. It's telling them it's OK to squeeze out the working class fans to make room for high-priced suites for corporate goons who couldn't care less about basketball. It's telling the fans "You don't matter".

At 4pm today, when you post your decision, you are either going to side with common, hard-working citizens or spineless, corporate pirates. I hope you make the right decision.

Sincerely,

Paul Merrill

p.s. Did I tell you how lovely you look today? Also, your hair smells terrific.
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O Canada

So I take a four-day vacation from the site to enjoy the wonderfulness of Canada Day, and what do I miss?

- Sonics watch Serge Ibaka walk away to Spain - an event not entirely unexpected.
- Mickael Gelabale and the Sonics severe their ties
- Earl Watson broke his thumb, and will likely be out for up to four months, possibly putting the brakes on the expected Luke Ridnour Sweepstakes, but possibly not
- The Sonics announced their summer league roster

And, finally, today is the big day, court-wise. Judge Pechman will announce her decision at 4 pm via the court's web site, and speculation is running rampant.

Obviously, everyone is an expert in these sorts of things, regardless of their knowledge of the case. Personally, I have no idea whatsoever how she will rule, but that doesn't preclude me from offering a guess. After all, what is a blog for if not for uniformed guesswork?

So, allow me my two cents to say that Pechman will rule for the team, with an outside chance she goes totally off the map and doesn't issue a ruling at all, instead rolling this case up with the Schultz lawsuit. Call it pessimism, call it fatigue, call it what you wish, but while I'm not entirely convinced one way or the other after a week's worth of testimony, I just have a gut instinct that's how it is going to fall.

Feel free to chime in with your expert opinions in the comments section.

And Then There Was 1

As you might recall, Sam Presti dealt away two second-round picks from last year's draft. Those picks turned out to be Glen Davis and Carl Landry, both strong contributors to their teams.

Yesterday, the Sonics began the day with four (!) picks in the second round of the NBA draft. Of those four picks, the Sonics did the following:

#32 - traded to Detroit for #29 pick
#46 - traded to Detroit for #29 pick
#50 - DeVon Hardin, not traded
#56 - traded to Cleveland for cash

All of which means, in the past two seasons Presti has had six second-round picks available to him, and, of those six, he has traded away five, receiving in exchange a future second-rounder, an end of the first-rounder, cash, and Jeff Green's left arm (an approximation of what the pick's value in the Ray Allen trade).

And so, to close the book on last year's draft-day dealings and put an end to my extended ramblings, the Seattle Sonics essentially traded Carl Landry for half of DJ White. Not exactly a sweet flip.

Hold the Mayo

Boy, it's too bad the Sonics didn't have something of value to deal to Minnesota, so that they might have walked away from the draft with 3rd-most talented player (OJ Mayo) in exchange for a guy they didn't want (Kevin Love).

You know, maybe a large expiring contract, or perhaps a defensive-minded point guard who can shoot the three.

Yeah, you always hold onto guys like those until a great deal comes along and sweeps you off your feet.

Rounding Out the Draft

To finish off the night, the Sonics added two more picks in the second round.

#20, Devon Hardin, Cal, Center
#26, Sasha Kaun, Kansas, Center

Please, try to reign in your enthusiasm.

Before I sign off for the night, a few thoughts:

-I can live with the Westbrook pick. He's not going to help the Sonics as a 30-minute-a-night guy immediately and he's not a true point guard in the sense of Paul or Williams or Kidd, but he has loads of talent, great speed, and, worst case, he's a top guy off the bench.

-The Ibaka pick mystifies me. My only hope is that Presti worked out a deal with the guy ahead of time, and the whole "don't pick me" routine was an act to scare other teams away. Honestly, I don't buy that as the truth, but it's the only thing keeping me from thinking this was a total farce.

-DJ White isn't a star by a long shot, but he has some low-post ability, works hard, and is still better than almost anyone else on the roster down low.

-The 2nd rounders? No clue.

-On the whole, I give the draft a very early grade of a B-. Normally, in school, a B- is okay, especially in a class where the notes and homework are killing you. But this is a B- in a class like PE; there's no way with 6 picks the Sonics should be coming out of here with such a craptacular haul. Seriously, are you more or less excited about the Sonics' future after today? At what point do we start thinking, "Hey, is Sam Presti ever going to deliver on his genius label? How much of a line of credit do we extend to this guy?"