I have a friend that was a huge Sonics fan and he's still very, very bitter about the way the team got ripped from his city. So this new rumor strikes me as a bit bitter-sweet. Sure, it would be great to have a team back in Seattle where the passionate fans deserve one. But should it happen at the expense of the Sacramento fans?
Fans not just in Seattle but across the country are still angry over a perceived plot by David Stern alongside Clay Bennett to rob the city of its franchise. Since then, there’s been a lot of talk about Seattle getting a team back, but nothing seemed substantive. But that may be about to change. The Seattle Times reports that a buyer is in place for a team… and there are plans to move forward with building a new arena, while bringing in a team to play in old Key Arena while the new facility is built. The timeline for all this could start as soon as this fall.
Interesting. Of course I'm against any kind of expansion, so this story is inevitable. But it is oddly unfulfilling.
0 recs | 18 comments
typo? biter -> bitter...
:)
jaimsitecom - February 5, 2012
yse
i dnt tpye gooder
Jeff Clark - February 5, 2012
absolutely no
I watched the Kings games since i was a kid, when Peja Stojakovic and Vlade Divac played there. They got maybe the best fans in the NBA, and it would be a shame to move the team, it would be an ungrateful thing to do.
Especially when someone thought that basketball is more popular in Oklahoma (jeez, Oklahoma, dude) than Seattle.
relja111 - February 5, 2012
I agree with most of your post
I would hate to see the kings move based on the reasons you stated. But I think it has been proven unequivocally that OKC loves its basketball and they likely have the best fans in the league (in terms of pure excitement they bring to the game).
PierceMVP08 - February 5, 2012 via mobile
Yeah
but why the kings?
it would be better to move the hornets or bobcats, they have poor attendance.
relja111 - February 5, 2012
Basketball was extremely popular in Seattle
they didn’t move the team because of lack of fans in Seattle.
They moved the Sonics because the new owners wanted to bring the team to OKC and never had any intention of keeping it in Seattle.
mmmmm - February 5, 2012
Paybacks are hell
Sacramento had no problem taking the Kings from Kansas City back in the 80s.
mdowell04 - February 5, 2012
Bradley James McEachern - February 6, 2012
it wouldnt be the "seattle kings"
the city retained the name of the sonics, if any team goes bacl there they would be the sonics. kinda like when the browns moved from cleveland and became the ravens, cleveland could still use the name and colors and the history of the franchise.
statue_left - February 5, 2012 via mobile
If they are going to buy and move a team, let it be the Hornets.
SAC has more talent, so I can see the appeal there. But NOLA doesn’t care about basketball, and SAC does.
KY Celts fan - February 5, 2012
Fact is California has 4 teams. That is too many.
Period.
Seattle deserves a team and got screwed years ago. I hope they get the Kings….and then I hope they get an NHL team like they are talking about. One of the best sports towns in the US.
totheights - February 5, 2012
Mixed emotions.
As a long time Sonics fan – literally, Bill Russel as Sonics coach was my first ‘sports hero’ as a kid and Dennis Johnson was one of my favorite players, ever – I would love to see Seattle get a team back.
I, too, am still bitter about the move. Especially with the shady way it was perpetrated.
But I also understand how that would feel for Kings fans.
mmmmm - February 5, 2012
Im all for this
The supersonics were around for so long and had some history and a good fan base. Sacramento just kinda seems like an odd place for a professional basketball team. I would definetly vote yes on this move.
ianboyextreme - February 5, 2012
especially since washington is such a basketball hotspot. Every other time i see a young guard prospect, hes from Tacoma or Seattle, etc.
ianboyextreme - February 5, 2012
I thought Washington taxpayers didn't want to shell out 500 million dollars for a new arena.
WaveOcean - February 5, 2012
As is typical - the reality is never so simple as that.
The politicians were – as it turns out quite legitimately – hesitant to trust Bennet’s ownership group. When there are all these clues that someone isn’t dealing with you on the ‘up and up’ – who WOULD want to shell out a half-billion for an arena in which they can play in?
The whole thing was very, very messy.
mmmmm - February 5, 2012
Yeehaawwww!!!!
I can stop off and watch the Sonics on the way home. But I would rather have the Clippers than the Kings. LA has too many franchises.
QuinielaBox - February 19, 2012
But I am not counting my chickens before they hatch.
Maybe when the Celtics come through town, I can sit beside Mike Gorman and do a Johnny Most impersonation for two minutes.
QuinielaBox - February 19, 2012
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