Bennett on the Attack

No matter your opinion on the ongoing saga between Clay Bennett, David Stern, and the City of Seattle, you cannot disagree with the sentiment that this situation has become much, much more difficult than either of the first two parties anticipated.

Whether you believe Seattle is reaping the fruits of years of ignoring the “problems” with the KeyArena lease, or if you believe Bennett is fully within his rights to pick up and move the Sonics, you must also believe that Clay Bennett – and David Stern right alongside him - is sweating bullets these days.

How can I be so sure? Because people who are convinced they are going to win court cases do not start slinging wild accusations in federal court, that’s why.

Bennett’s lawyers filed motions in Federal District Court on Wednesday, a number of which are sealed at the present time, but the motions in essence question the integrity of the City of Seattle, whether the city truly is revealing the true cost of the remodeling of KeyArena, and whether there is collusion between the proposed ownership group and the city. (You can find the a PDF links here).

Looking at the documents, you can only come to one conclusion – this entire situation is going to give the National Basketball Association a black eye unlike anything it has ever seen. Already, months before the court date, acrimonious charges are being bandied about, by both sides. From the city:

“When the current owners bought the Sonics, the NBA required ... that the new owners make ‘good faith best efforts’ for a year to keep the Sonics in the Seattle area. ... In the midst of the ‘good faith best efforts’ period, the owners deceived the NBA about their actions and true intentions, which from the outset were to move the Sonics to Oklahoma City. As an apparent result of this deception, the NBA began taking the new owners’ side by endorsing their claims about the Lease and KeyArena.”

and

“The NBA refuses to produce responsive documents [the city was referring to financial records pertaining to profit and loss] ... The NBA cannot involve itself in the events underlying the litigation and simultaneously refuse to provide necessary discovery.”

And on and on. Further, reading Mayor Greg Nickels’ deposition, and the adversarial tone taken by Bennett’s attorney, you can only imagine how the events will proceed in court, when Slade Gorton and his crew get the opportunity to cross-examine Clay Bennett and David Stern.

Nope, Brian Robinson was right all along – the NBA doesn’t want anything to do with a court case, and the city – as well as the rest of us, now – knows it.

Sonics Win! Off-Season Awaits

Any chance we can get Kevin Durant's grandmother a season pass to all 82 games next year?

According to Eric Williams in the TNT, Durant's grandmother, Barbara Williams, was in attendance last night, and, "Every time she comes to the game, I feel like I’ve got to do something special because she rarely gets to see me play."

That something special translated into a 42-point, 13-rebound performance in a rare Sonic road win, this time over the Golden State Warriors in a game with absolutely no significance whatsoever, unless you consider the last game in Sonic history to be significant, that is.

Even more amazing was his 18-of-25 (!) performance from the field and six dimes, easily his best all-around performance of the season.

Jeff Green shined in a secondary role, and added 27 points and 10 rebounds, in what turned out to be what must be one of the best rookie performances in NBA history.

So, now we wait for Friday, when the Board of Governors meets to decide what to do with the Sonics' future. Honestly, I'm not all that concerned with their decision, in that it pales in significance to the decision handed down this June in a Seattle courtroom, let alone the decision rendered in Ho Shu's (kudos to Paul for the nickname) case against Clay Bennett.

And, if you're desperate for a laugh, visit the Daily Oklahoman, where Clay Bennett's minions try to explain how the City of Seattle is in collusion with Steve Ballmer and the Group of Four in an attempt to drive down the price of the team and facilitate a sale.

Yeah, that's right, Clay, we're all out to get you. It doesn't have anything to do with the craptacular way you've gone about your business for the past year and a half.

A Long and Winding Road

You want to hear something crazy?

Tonight may be the last game ever played by the Seattle SuperSonics, and nobody - absolutely nobody – is talking about the game.

The X-Man. Haywood. Lenny. Gus. DJ. Scheff. Vinny Askew. Clem Johnson. Dana Barros. Sam. Rashard.

All gone – possibly - after tonight.

Of course, that is far from a certainty. In fact, it’s about as likely as David Stern donating his next paycheck to Hamas, but it is certainly possible.

One game left, one more time to hear, “And here’s the starting lineup for Seattle tonight ...” One final time to read a boxscore in the morning paper, one last time to check the standings.

Well, that aspect of following the Sonics left town a few months, if not years ago, but you get my drift.

Being a fan is more than celebrating the championships, it is following the day to day progress of young players, the possibilities of trades, the draft, the injuries.

Being a fan is remembering how Gus Williams tied his shoes, or the way Xavier McDaniel took a fadeaway jumper, or grimacing at Detlef Schrempf’s mullet, or marvelling at Gary Payton’s ability to run backwards, tilt his head to the side, and talk smack.

All of that goes into it. We remember the beautiful times of the early 90s when Shawn Kemp reigned supreme and anything was possible, or the ugly times of the past few years. It all goes into being a Sonic fan.

And, tonight, it might all just end.

Sonics. Warriors. Tip-off at 7:30.

Let’s hope it won’t be the last.