I’m going bonkers today.
Not only am I sidelined with the third flu this year (Last time I bother with a flu shot) but to make it much worse I have to spend the entire day reading commentary from both cities comparing Hansen’s waiting list PR stunt with the HereWeBuy movement in Sacramento.
So let me explain the real difference here:
In Sacramento there is a way to make real and binding shows of support for the franchise. In that wonderful market you can call a number and buy tickets. This option has been around there for the last 19 years or so. The PR stunt/gimmicky factor of it all was that a separate group who has no intention of ever selling tickets decided to collect a list that THEY HAVE NO PURPOSE FOR OTHER THAN TO PROVE A POINT.
You could get 10,000 commitments on HereWeBuy. You could get 1 million fans to pledge their money to the CD Network and HereWeBuy but at no point do they ever have any intent to do anything with it. It is 100%, completely and totally intended to be a messaging move.
So Hansen rolls out his ticket list and people all assume that he’s matching their move. Sacramento forums say “this looks like he’s scrambling.” ”He’s trying to send a message to counter our message..”
The difference between Hansen and HereWeBuy is that in just over 1 month Hansen actually intends to use his list to sell tickets.
Why is it so hard for people to consider that any messaging or PR implications of this are just the side effects and that the real reason of gathering a list of people who indicate interest in buying season tickets may just be because he wants to gather those names in the hopes of selling them some.
I’ve been seeing this happen since Hansen materialized a little over a year ago. He says something and everybody starts scrambling to figure out what his game is. They analyze it to figure out what he REALLY meant. Each and every time it turns out that he means just what he said and he does just what he promised.
Hansens release on www.SonicsArena.com says what we need to know. This list will help him “understand and prioritize the demand for tickets” In addition it will be “a critical step in demonstrating to the NBA and basketball fans around the country the unbelievable passion that exists in the Emerald City to BRING BACK OUR SONICS!”
Nowhere in there does it say we will defeat the fans of Sacramento in open battle. In fact Sacramento is not mentioned at all.
This move is not about Sacramento and it is not a compare and contrast thing. This is about Seattle and making sure that our new franchise is prepared to stake our claim as having one of the greatest fan bases in the NBA.
There are high expectations here. We need to kick ass in year 1. That’s why he needs a list.
Does it also have to do with helping the old season ticket holders get their old seats back (if they want it?)
I wonder how much season tickets are going to cost…
Or maybe a 10 game pack.
if i could personally stuff hansens pockets with cash i would. i cant wait to secure my old season tickets again, maybe even upgrade to lower bowl.
I’ll admit that the timing just seems odd, along with the wording of the press release… Almost like the NBA wants to validate the interest in Seattle before they consider approving the deal. I don’t buy-into this as a way of Seattle mimicing the “HereWeBuy” effort, but I don’t see the point in doing this now, versus in 4 weeks. I could be off it just rubs me the wrong way.
pricing from 04-05. id say add about 20% and you should get a decent idea of what these things will cost, sound reasonable?
i cant get images to show up here for the life of me, it doesnt even show up as code in my post, just blank. anyone know why this is happening?
Agree 100% Brian.
People don’t realize how fast the time will fly by and Hansen and co have to get everything in place as soon as possible to make this transition go without any major hiccups.
The last thing Hansen wants to do is wait til the last minute and rush this part of it because it can turn a lot of people off.
24 days til the BOG convenes to prep and 39 days til the BOG vote. We are coming up to less than a calendar month!
I’m ok with a 20% bump from 04-05.
How much for a 10 game pack in 04-05 Jason?
i found a pricing map from 04-05 that i was trying to post, for whatever reason its not working. heres a link to the image:
http://www.nba.com/media/thunder/map_season04(650).jpg
From Chris Hansen “…In addition to helping us understand and prioritize the demand for tickets, registering your interest will be a critical step in demonstrating to the NBA and basketball fans around the country the unbelievable passion that exists in the Emerald City to BRING BACK OUR SONICS!…”
This statement leads me to believe Stern and/or the BOG wants Hansen to “prove” the fan interest in Seattle is high and this is exactly what worries me. Seattle residents move slowly. Maybe I am wrong, but I don’t think you will be likely to see a huge amount of people signing up on day one. It could take 4-6 weeks before some people get around to it. If the NBA wants this list as evidence of fan support, it could give a misguided message of complacency or lack of interest when this is not the case. Key Arena would be sold out every game.
^and now for some reason its not including the .jpg extension in the link, if youre trying to view that image make sure you copy and paste the entire address.
Thank you sir.
Sac has a tight timeline.
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/03/12/5257546/timeline-tight-to-develop-financing.html
http://www.sacbee.com/2013/03/12/5257546/timeline-tight-to-develop-financing.html
8 days to get their arena deal done.
It Is what it Is.
Hey, I’m all in. Everyone I know will be signing up. Priority list/PR move. It is what it is.
My hope is prior season tix holders will automatically be at the top of the priority list to get first opportunity to purchase their same seats or other seating should they choose.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/looming-seattle-supersonics-owner-chris-hansen-announced-ticket-231621793-nba.html
Apparently this guy doesn’t think to highly of Chris Hansen.
It seems like KJ and Shirey are banking on this thing passing just because it’s non-binding. They’re hoping the council members will just sign off on it knowing that it’s not final just so they have something to send to the NBA.
After thinking and thinking about (far too much time spent pondering the meaning) Brian is right. Numbers Guy it may have a smidgen of significance at the BoG meetings but I dont think that all of sudden fan support is going to make a difference.
Numbers- You do realize that Here we Buy has all of 5,700 pledges at this time. I really doubt that the pledges will take very long to get to 5,000 on Thursday. I would say at latest by the end of the weekend.
I think all the people that signed up for Sonicsarena.com shouldve received an e-mail. I know I did so I assume everyone else did as well. Plus all the people that liked the site on facebook probably received one as well. I dont think we willl have any problem burying the herewebuy pledges and quite quickly.
If the pledges are used for anything at the BoG it will be used as a way the BoG justifies the move publically. Like Brian said though the underlying meaning probably isnt much. Its a prospective NBA owner doing his due diligence
Are you running Ad Block or a pop-up blocker? Both may be causing your issues via your browser rather than via the site.
Sign up for this:
https://www.facebook.com/events/599368933424439/
I think it just makes good business sense. Hansen put down $30 million, and has committed HUNDREDS of millions more out of his own pocket. To expect that he would just sit idly by and not prepare for the pending completion of this business undertaking would be insanity in any other industry. You have to get started on the transition, and the sooner you do so, the smoother it will go.
Ouch !! Sorry Sac Fans - - - and no sarcasm here. No BS. That’s a tough, tough road in front of you. Sorry, I can’t see how any City could get that accomplished in such a short time frame.
The more worrying part to me would be that a council member said they are not sure they would have enough information to even vote on it and that they had to move it up a week just to get some public comment (and this new website is being a substitute for actually going out to constituents)
What CH is doing is a part of the process.
April is around the corner, and decision
has to be made by the NBA’s BOG.
It’s not in any way or form that this is
a scrambling move for the CH group.
Sacramento has become more paranoid,
as they are running out of time, and
option.
KJ is becoming more and more desperate
that he is even using the dirtiest tactics like,
making unfounded studies that favors
Sacramento over Seattle.
According to the Sacramento data.
Sacramento, has a better TV market.
A better radio market, ( laughable )
Last but not least, The better fan base.
Sonics Arena has 57,000 likes / followers.
That would be really awesome if
each and everyone of those followers
would take the time and sign up, on
Thursday, March 14.
Signing up on Thursday, just means that
CH will be armed with signature from basketball fans,
anxiously awaiting the return of the Seattle supersonics,
as he goes to the NBA’s BOG meeting.
Yeah, when our numbers blow thru the roof - - NBA could use our tix numbers as one of their publicly stated reasons to approve the Sea PSA/reloc. Even though we know it will be about the $$. However, they also want to make sure their public comments don’t slap angry/hurting Sac Fans in the face.
As per the SacBee timeline article above - - - maybe Hansen’s PSA will be the only offer to consider. I really, really just don’t see how Sac can get this done.
For some reason I think they will atleast have something that is good enough for consideration. I just think it will all be built on a house of cards
John Bravo
nickmonacelli@nickmonacelli
Sac holding public meeting in city hall on 3/21 at 5:30pm on the #nbakings and the arena deal. Deal should be unveilved by 2pm that day.
hahaha john bravo is the facebook friend i stole this from. hahahah
nickmonacelli@nickmonacelli
Shirey: NBA now working with Sacramento to ensure that investor team and the City can deliver on a new arena downtown for #nbakings.
At this point they have to have something, if even it is loaded with contingencies and out clauses. All of this build up pretty much indicates that something will be presented.
so the nba is working with them? im not buyin it…..
Somehow I “working with” means the NBA is getting updates, but maybe that is my bias talking.
NBA working with them? I hate to sound pessimistic but it sure does sound like the NBA wants them to succeed. Now they wont if they cant get it together in time of course but I dunno something just seems fishay fishay
I tried using copy past with flikr, and photbucket, but that doesn’t work. I do have add blocker on, but quite a few have tried to post one, but no go. I haven’t seen anyone post a pic that wasn’t a mod yet. I think someone pointed out to kevin what the problem was, and he was going to work on it like 5 days ago. I’ll try it without add block on.
Dwight Howard had 39 FTA tonight. Hack-a-Dwight was in full force. I personally think teams should be able to choose the shooter when this happens.
Mmmm, that is interesting. It doesn’t say NBA is “assisting” them. But what does “working with them” actually mean ? Could mean they are letting Sac know what level their proposal needs to achieve in order to even be considered. I certainly wouldn’t think the NBA would lend Sac any financial assistance. Sorry, just don’t see how Sac can come up with anything viable in the time frame they have. We already know they are woefully short on the $$. Just don’t see it happening for them.
Why in the world would the NBA work with Sacramento when they would basically be spitting on Steve Ballmer who has spent a lot of time and money working with them on their charities?
Not to repeat myself for the umpteenth time, but if Hansen had any idea he could possibly be screwed he’d be raising a stink. That leads me to believe that either: A) it’s all for show or B) he’s already been promised something else if this doesn’t go through. Either way, I just don’t see him just taking this lying down unless he is complicit in it all and this is a favor to the league, and he’ll get something in April or shortly thereafter regardless.
Yeah, the more thought I give that comment, the more I think it’s just the NBA letting them know the minimum level their proposal would need to achieve in order to receive any consideration.
I guess what I don’t understand with these articles is, if buying a team that currently exists is icky, and there will be no expansion for the foreseeable future, what exactly are we supposed to do?
Like, in these people’s perfect world, what could we do that wouldn’t be “icky?” Is it because it’s this team? Because the Kings have had support in Sacramento? Would the writer of this article feel differently if it was, say, the Charlotte Bobcats or the New Orleans Hornets?
Do I feel conflicted about benefiting from the move of another cities team? Of course I do, but I just don’t understand what the alternate option was. And, I also don’t understand how anyone can be accused of stealing anything when Chris Hansen was extremely upfront about everything. He told the Maloofs what he was gonna do, Bennett lied his ass off. That difference should matter.
Anyway, I usually brush this shit off but for some reason that guy got under my skin. Can’t wait for this to be over.
Do I feel conflicted about benefiting from the move of another cities team? Of course I do, but I just don’t understand what the alternate option was. And, I also don’t understand how anyone can be accused of stealing anything when Chris Hansen was extremely upfront about everything. He told the Maloofs what he was gonna do, Bennett lied his ass off. That difference should matter.
So should the fact that there’s no lease to break. As well as the fact that the Kings have moved multiple times and were brought to Sacramento in an underhanded fashion. The Sonics were an expansion franchise and up to this point Seattle has never stolen a team, unlike how many other cities.
Oh well.
Would the writer of this article feel differently if it was, say, the Charlotte Bobcats or the New Orleans Hornets?
I would feel worse about the Bobcats, believe it or not (since they were an expansion franchise, and Charlotte was damaged just like we were by losing a previous expansion team). The Hornets/Pelicans I wouldn’t feel too bad about, but that doesn’t appear to be an option.
Because there are certain requirements an arena need to have physically, and what makes an arena profitable.
Anybody making this effort, including Chris Hansen, work with the NBA on these points.
This isn’t some special thing, this is standard operating procedure for the NBA.
Who’s this Eric Freeman guy? Sounds like another Sac hack.
Exactly that.
THANKS Brian! Sorry you are not feeling well — I was getting a bit worried not “reading” your voice since the big announcement on Monday.
I completely agree that the last sentence in Chris Hansen’s post says it all. And I for one am psyched, can barely contain my happiness, when I think of adding my name to a waiting list to buy tickets to the see the SuperSonics this fall. Just something I thought would never, ever happen again. I am blown away by Chris Hansen and the money he’s spending and how’s he’s conducting his business.
I have friends in Los Angeles who loved to fly up about four times during the season and go the Sonics games with me — they are going to join the waiting list and they are informing their friends as well. There are A LOT of SuperSonic fans scattered all over the world. Like Kevin Calabro said on Monday: Let’s show them WE ARE ALL IN. This is the time to do it.
Thursday is going to be an amazing day. Let’s overwhelm Chris with our support — as our show of true THANKS for all he’s done to bring back the Sonics.
Brian, thanks to you too and all the other guys on your team. It’s going to happen, the SuperSonics are coming back.
I think we knew that Hansen’s Waitlist would be rec’d with negativity by some. I can see how some may view it this way. Frankly, I wish he would have waited until after the Vote. Or at least, worded it differently. Yeah, yeah I know. I’ve read all the business reasons why it makes sense to do this now. However, it does seem a bit out of character considering how he has conducted this business thus far.
Every nationwide poll shows support for the Kings move to Seattle.
Of course the NBA will want to work on it. Like you said they have certain specifications they want included. Also it would be stupid to build a facility hoping for the NBA to play in it and be shut out because it doesnt have certain amenities. Pretty Duh if you ask me
Every nationwide poll shows support for the Kings move to Seattle.
Those are just ESPN polls, though. Not very scientific.
Here is where our homers are failing in our picking fly shit out if the pepper, those same NBA arena folks get a really good look at the state, stage, maturity, of the Sacramento’s arena effort. . . And they have been supporting Chris Hansen on his arena and know where our arena is at in planning.
When they go back to the league offices, do you think they make any comparisons?
Come on everybody, remember, we are Sonics fans, we don’t “spin”, no, we twirle towards freedom.
http://simpsons.wikia.com/wiki/Treehouse_of_Horror_VII/Quotes
(I can tell I’m not worried because I’m attempting to make jokes)
Basketball teams for some, miniature American flags for others!
Mr. Burns: Smithers, who is that man, and why is his enthusiasm not being punished?
Smithers: That’s Mark Cuban, the most flamboyant owner in the league.
Mark Cuban: (sliding down a cable while holding sparklers) I’m out of my mind!
Mark Cuban: What’s the use of owning a basketball team if you don’t have fun?
Mr. Burns: Fun? Is that how it’s pronounced? I’ve only seen it written.
Hey Hey Hey - - - don’t rain on my green & gold Parade.
Know what guys? This is gonna get done.
Best comment of the night. Thank you Paul.
Step away from the ledge, if the NBA was working with Sactown, would they have put in a bid that was so low that it wasn’t even worth considering? Stop falling for the narrative coming from Sactown.
Amen.
Like someone already mentioned, this is most likely the NBA telling sactown minimum requirements necessary, Sactown spins that as ‘Hey we are hand in hand AGAIN with Stern!’.
If the NBA were working with Sacramento in a way that subverts the Hansen plan, it wouldn’t be stated publicly by anyone involved. It’s just the same guiding hand that’s used to help direct any design process.
I took what was said out of context I pretty much retracted my statement later. I thought it was on more than the arena. The arena part s a no brainer of course the NBA has a hand in it. Just like the NBA and NHL have had a hand in ours.
A bit of insight into the Kings’ locker room:
Jason Jones @mr_jasonjones (Kings writer for the SacBee):
Isaiah Thomas had to contain himself from laughing when told Cousins said the elbow was unintentional, then said he wouldn’t comment
Sunday several teammates were most confused by Cousins saying he didn’t know what he did wrong.
Apparently the NBA hired a local law firm to look into the Sac offer to check its validity. I figured that to be good news for us. But the story was run as a positive for sac, claiming it shows the NBA is taking them seriously…I suppose that is to be expected.
Why would the NBA hire a local law firm to look into the validity of Sacramento’s offer? Don’t they have their own attorneys? Did the NBA hire attorneys in Seattle to check on the validity of Seattle’s offer? Why don’t they just vote on Seattle’s offer and then deal with Sacramento’s offer if Seattles fails?
That just doesn’t make any sense. Nothing against Sacramento’s legal community, but I would think that they just wouldn’t need local attorneys if they are going to proceed forth as if there isn’t already a perfectly viable offer and PSA already on the table.
Man, I think it’s time for another beer rally. Folks need a drink here:-)
I remember some article from Woj that the other NBA owners were on board with Chris Hansen. Sure, it was just a rumor, but a risk management dude like Chris, I believe that article to be far more accurate than any Sac Bee or StR article. Chris Hansen would not be investing so much into something the other NBA owners might vote against. And with that, I truly believe, this deal was done a while ago and we’re just going through the formalities now. Just for fun, I went and read the news in Philly, Chicago, Boston and Atlanta. Nothing about the Kings other than game info. This is not news anywhere else. Hell, my cousins in Philly are already talking crap to me about when the Sonics play the 6ers. There has been no game changers on the Sacramento side. They are asking Sacramentonians to help provide design ideas for an arena that was supposedly ahead of Chris Hansen’s. They presented a financial plan to the NBA that paled in comparison to Chris Hansen’s. If you ask me, this whole thing has turned into a complete joke. The deal is done!
Sorry…thats my rant!
#20
There is a lot coming out of Sacramento that really doesn’t make a lot of sense. They are now asking for fans input on the arena when either they are just going through the motions or they are really far behind where the Hansen group is in the process. There is so much that is coming out of Sacramento that just feeds into a lot of misinformation.
I just can’t wait until the vote is taken by the BOG.
That is why people shouldn’t follow Sacramento’s narrative. Which is really strange because I am NORMALLY that person, I normally ride that Roller Coaster, not sure why for this I’m completely at ease.
Someone sure got under CDave’s skin in the comments..he goes OFF on someone.
Fan input is fine, but it should temper expectations for sure. As far as I have read they still aren’t sure (at least in public) where the actual arena will fit. They may have the site nailed down but not the actual footprint. All you need to know is that the Hansen group will go to the BOG on April 3 with their huge booklets of arena details and Sacramento will likely come with a preliminary term sheet and no real renderings (at least not in terms of the details like the SODO site).
As far as hiring local attorneys…I will chalk it up to wanting a building in Sacramento as leverage or at least having a failsafe if the Hansen deal falls through somehow.
Okay, now they have this thing going on StR (don’t know where it started) that MS is going to fire Ballmer and he is going to lose all his wealth because it is all tied to MS. Uh, huh . . . yeah, sure.
I don’t buy the narrative, but i do try to go to the Bee to see what is happening. It appears that as the days go by, the articles either get more fantastical/farcical or you start to see doubts about ramming this arena deal through.
Don’t they know that he has had his retirement set for 5 years already? And even if he were fired he would get his golden parachute and have all the stocks he currently has (or has cashed out).
I say that. But to be fair the guy did a complete hatchet job on his tweets. Still funny though because I don’t see softy or Mitch going onto the times boards and giving people the what-for.
Uhh dude owns a crapton of stocks, him getting fired doesn’t mean he loses all his wealth. Thankfully the NBA knows this.
Pretty much the only things I read from the Bee is anything CD retweets.
NBA Season generally starts in October/November. If they really plan on having hoops here next hear……that gives them 7-8 months. Thats not much time in the grand scheme of things.
Its a marketing list for people interested in tickets. Its essentially going to be the same as opting in to an email blast. No big deal.
Had a dream last night that I was in Sacramento and trying to fly out and there were thunder and lightning storms going off and I was worried about getting on the flight only it seemed like the airport/airline/pilot were used to it. The airport was out in the middle of a big field (I think it really is).
Anyway, I woke up with the thought “I need to mind my own business.”
And I’m done with freaking out about every Sacramento thing. This is a competition right now between Seattle and Sacramento — David Stern made that clear on Friday night. April 3rd is a big big day. Let’s do what we need to do by overwhelming the priority wait list and focus on our business. We know our City, we know our owners, we have an amazing arena plan almost through design review and one of the richest men in the world willing to put some huge amount of dollars out there to bring back the Sonics. I can’t imagine a better package ever being presented to the NBA for a team/relocation.
I’m good with game threads, tired though of hyper-analyzing every rumor, comment, or article out of Sacramento. We have our deal, it speaks for itself and we just need take care of our own business and let Sacramento do its thing.
The NBA would also have to be on board for this “waitlist” idea. Its happening.
One would think too, Hansen is advertising this wait list with the Sonic’s name, therefore Bennett has already given Hansen some kind of “okay”.
Man, I hated writing that.
Amen. Life’s too short and we have come too far. You will drive yourself crazy.
I just skim over/ignore those posts now. Im really not interested in anything that comes out of Sactown these days. Its generally all fluff these days.
I might be missing something, but is KJR not pumping up the ticket pre-sale not even 2 hours away from it going live?
Wait list goes live tomorrow.
I think what we are seeing in all the Sacramento forums right now is that the more rational people have less to say. It is hard to come out and say “They City Manager says we only have 8 days and they still don’t know what it costs or where on the site the building will be! Go Kings!”
I feel really bad for them.
So what they are left with is a higher ratio of the irrational posters who just want to take shots at Seattle or make irrational arguments. That discussion further turns away the more lucid audience and the conversation really degenerates.
My biggest complaints with the Aaron Bruski’s and Carmichael Dave’s of the world is not that they are jerks. It’s that their dishonesty has the potential to really hurt people even more than they are already going to be hurt. I hope that we weren’t as blinded as they are. I know we marched our expectations backwards and absorbed many crushing blows in the news that we had to rally people back from. I hope that we did a better job of telling the truth and saying “This is bad news. We recognize that we took a shot here but we are never giving up so this is how we are going to handle it and in light of that news these are our reasons for remaining determined.”
Its tough. In their hearts they might really think they have a chance. We all did. Its hard for me to really be that critical of them because they dont really know any better. Neither did we. It has never happened to them. It wont really sink in to them until after its all over. It is impossible to have the correct perception of the situation if you haven’t gone through it before. Hard pill to swallow. It is something you have to learn the hard way unfortunately……..and its something YOU have to experience to learn.
Has anyone noticed that sonicsarena.com is not loading? Anybody know what’s going on? Working out technical glitches before the big day?
Hawks traded for Percy Harvin. Do the Seahawks really need another wide receiver? I think our OL needs more help than our wide unit. Thoughts?
Loading just fine for me. Musta been an update like you said. :)
Hey, is this link to get on the ticket waitlist new, or is it just me:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/sonicsarena
didn’t see that as part of the original announcement…
That’s the hardest part in all of this, we completely understand what they are going through and can’t help them because ironically, we now understand the OKC side of how they felt getting the Sonics (at least I do). Hard lessons and truth for me all around.
OK, no it’s loading! I was worried because I’m telling people to go there and be ready for tomorrow, and my brother texted me that it wouldn’t load. I want to make sure we get as many commitments for tickets as possible!
That’s the page that links when you click on the “here” in the Chris Hansen article on the website. Glaring typo though — that is very un-Hansen.
* “now it’s loading”
Maybe you went there when they were updating the main page with the ticket priority waiting list countdown clock.
I liked the trade and I think it will help with the passing game overall. I agree that our OL needs some bolstering and I also think we really really need to address our lack of a pass rush.
Prep yourselves for articles like the yahoo one. It’s not going to be all positive when the kings move here.
Absolutely true, and know that people outside the bubble simply do not have as many facts from which they form their opinions as the people inside the bubble.
So, be patient, be gracious, and don’t take this stuff personally. This is a public business transaction.
Oh, the history of the NBA. Why media still goes after the business men and fan bases and not the league itself is beyond me?
NBA relocation history:
1946: Detroit Gems moved to Minneapolis and became the Lakers.
1951: Tri-Cities Blackhawks (the “Tri Cities” area is now generally referred to as the “Quad Cities”) moved to Milwaukee and became the Milwaukee Hawks.
1955: Milwaukee Hawks moved to St. Louis.
1957: Fort Wayne Pistons moved to Detroit.
1957: Rochester Royals moved to Cincinnati.
1960: Minneapolis Lakers moved to Los Angeles.
1962: Philadelphia Warriors moved to San Francisco.
1963: Chicago Zephyrs moved to Baltimore and became the Baltimore Bullets.
1963: Syracuse Nationals moved to Philadelphia and became the Philadelphia 76ers.
1968: St. Louis Hawks moved to Atlanta.
1971: San Diego Rockets moved to Houston.
1972: Cincinnati Royals moved to a new primary home in Kansas City and a secondary home in Omaha, and became the Kansas City-Omaha Kings. The team ceased Omaha operations in 1975.
1973: Dallas Chaparrals moved to San Antonio and became the Spurs.
1973: Baltimore Bullets moved to Washington, D.C. and were renamed the Capital Bullets. The team was renamed as the Washington Bullets in 1974 and the Washington Wizards in 1997.
1977: One year after the ABA-NBA merger, the New York Nets became the New Jersey Nets. Although the Nets moved within the New York metropolitan area, they dramatically changed their primary market within the area. When representing New York, they played in Nassau County on Long Island; their primary fanbase then shifted to New Jersey.
1978: Buffalo Braves moved to San Diego and became the Clippers.
1979: New Orleans Jazz moved to Salt Lake City, Utah.
1984: San Diego Clippers moved to Los Angeles.
1985: Kansas City Kings moved to Sacramento, California.
2001: Vancouver Grizzlies moved to Memphis, Tennessee.
2002: Charlotte Hornets moved to New Orleans. The NBA granted Charlotte a new expansion franchise in 2004.
2005: New Orleans Hornets moved to Oklahoma City following Hurricane Katrina. The relocation was temporary and the team moved back to New Orleans in 2007.
2008: Seattle SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City and became the Thunder.
2012: New Jersey Nets moved to Brooklyn and became Brooklyn’s first major professional sports franchise since 1957.
Looks like Sonics Arena.com is already down…good news!
I wonder if it has happened at 10a each of the last two days with people thinking that “today is the day”…
New thread is up.
Thats what I thought :\
Here’s a crazy concept: Assuming that the BOG approves the Seattle offer. What if the league, instead of “relocating” the Kings, just completely disolves the Kings franchise and closes the franchise’s history books, and then gives Seattle an “expansion” team. Then the entire Kings roster would be availble for the expansion draft. Kings history ends and Kings fans won’t have the heartbreak we Seattle fans are witnessing by the success of OKC and “what could have been” here in Seattle. This is also a bonus for Seattle because we have a fresh new ‘expansion’ team and will have a clean slate, with no baggage of Kings history to carry on the Sonics franchise. Sure this is just a different way of looking at it, calling it dissolvement and expansion rather than relocation, but the pyschology of looking at it this way may make it more pleasing for both fan bases should the BOG approve Hansen’s offer.
That’s because Mitch and Softy have jobs at radio stations where they could get fired. When you work out of your garage you have much more leeway…
point taken
The only problem is there would be no time to organize an expansion draft. I just hope that Mr. Hansen would just say that the history and logos and everything will be left to the city. Although I am not sure how the mech sales would work with that or any other pay rights that would be associated with the team, but that is probably easy to work around.
If Oladipo is off the board, I would consider drafting Muk Mu, the Human North Pole.
There is still plenty of time to address other weaknesses/needs.
Players Union would never approve absolving contracts.
Hey Brian,
If it makes you feel any better, I’m on my second achilles tendon surgery in the last 5 months. :-(
I can’t wait to have the Sonics back on TV so that I can give up my dream of playing in the NBA and watch it on TV!
Don’t think Kings fans have to worry about Cousins morphing into the next great player al a Durant