New Hope in Seattle?

This is going to get ugly.....I love it.

DD

 

I still think it's fair to say there is 'No' Hope in Seattle. Just let it go, stop the painful death. From what i read, the diehard fans are livid but there are not a lot of them around, most of the people in seattle are just not bothered either way.

 

Second.

 

Seattle, its over. Just wait for Memphis to re-locate to you.

 

The hornets should move to okc not the sonics. Stern should put an end to this.

 

I dont think so. PR act more than anything. Schultz knows he has a case of .00000001 chance of winning.

But the Seattle fans are buying into it. The Sonics forum goes riot and many fans said they were going to Starbucks for a coffee to sponsor the attorney fee. LOL!

 

I feel sorry for the Seattle fans. Too bad it isn't New York where they can still have 21 sell outs even though the team sucks like crap.

 

I've been waiting for this. It's been written before that when Schulz sold the team, he and Bennett signed a separate contract that stated if Bennett didn't make a good faith effort to keep the team in Seattle, Schulz could buy it back.

The actions of Bennett over the past year have indicated a lack of good faith, but the emails that came out over the past week have really proven the case. I think Schulz has a great shot to get the team back. Schulz grew up here in Seattle and is a long-time Sonics fans since he was a kid. It would be like one of us in Clutch Fans owning the Rockets, selling it to someone sleazy, and not reacting when the new owner moved the Rockets to another city.

This is most definitely not over. The city of Seattle, the grass roots fans, and previous ownership are all suing either Bennett, the NBA, or both. This one isn't going to play out like all the other relocations. Seattle is a pretty tenacious city. They might lose the Sonics, but they are going to wage a scorched earth fight to keep them here. They are already pursuing an agressive lawsuit, demanding financials on all 30 teams. I don't think Stern is going to like this.

If Schulz gets the team back, there will be a new arena deal in place by November.

I am excited. Been waiting on this domino to fall for a while.

 

I'd also like to add this is rotten timing for Bennett and Stern. The NBA is voting Friday on whether to approve the move to OKC. With all of the uncertainty about it now and the revelation of all of those emails, do they vote yes, no, or postpone the vote until the summer? The NBA could still approve, but if Schulz gets the team back, does the team have to move to OKC? That last question is one that intrigues me.

The only certain thing in this is that Stern is going to send some goons to rough Bennett up for committing such stupid statements to email.

 

i hope the sonics can stay in seattle. but okc is a good bball town. i once was there working on a contract for 4+ months in '06 so i attended a lot of hornets games. the fans were wonderful. maybe it's the gria that should move to okc?

 

Then he would get some serious backlash from people saying that N.O. needs the Hornets post-Katrina blah blah blah. Either way it sucks in somebody's eyes.

 

NO barely gets any attendence and they are a first place team.

 

They weren't doing well, but apparently the Hornets' successful season has revived their attendance. They've had sellouts. IMO, this should factor into the MVP race. Chris Paul leads the league in assists, leads the league in steals, has his team #1 or #2 in the Western Conference, made David West an All-Star, nearly made Tyson Chandler an All-Star, and he has probably saved the Hornets from bolting for greener pastures.

 

best name ever

 

Oops! Moving Seattle Sonics to another city was actually Howard "I pocketed 90 millions" Schultz's idea. Tell me Schultz didnt know Bennett & company had all the intentions to move Sonics to OK City.

 

This is similar to the situation when the Rockets nearly moved. The owner didn't get what he wanted and started making noises about moving to a different city. Les, however, <B>wanted to keep the team in Houston</B> even though he threatened to move them. I do think he would have followed through on that threat if Houston hadn't voted for the arena the second time around. The threat worked, and he got his new arena.

I think Schultz sold the team because he knew that he wouldn't get his new arena. Despite his bluster, Schultz would likely never have moved the Sonics. Everyone in Seattle knew the guy was a lifelong Sonic fan as well as a Seattle native. The threat to move was a bluff, and most voters and Sonic fans knew it. He was losing money though, and Bennett offered him a <I>lot</I> of money, way overpaying for the Sonics.

When he sold the team to Bennett, I thought Bennett has the resolve to move this team, Seattle will give him an arena because there is a credible threat this team will move. Clay, however, <B>never wanted to keep the team in Seattle</B>. Schultz surely knew that a move was a possibility when he sold the team. It was certain the team would move if Seattle didn't build a new arena, but I am pretty sure that Schultz wanted to make sure Bennett gave the city a chance to keep the team.

I'm looking forward to the Schultz lawsuit so we can see exactly what they have in writing. If Schultz has it in writing that he can rescind the sale if Bennett didn't act in "good faith" to keep the team in Seattle, I think he gets his team back.

Save Our Sonics!

 

I kindly appreciate your enthusiasm and passion as a fan. But I dont think you're in the business world. All parties: David Stern, Bennett & Schultz are not innocent. They know exactly what's going to happen when Schultz sold his team to OK City Bennett.

Schultz tried to make himself look good with a "deal breaker" letter. So, the Seattle fans cant blame him for losing the Sonics. But the letter was not part of the sales contract. I dont think Bennett & company was stupid enough to let a letter tie them down when they had a team of lawyers that sipped through every word in the documents.

When those emails are exposed, Schultz needs to do something to cover his base, to save face. After all, Schultz is a Seattle local and needs the city support. But I really dont think his case will hold up with only some blurry email replies from Bennett that're up to interpretations.

That's the exact same thing Steve Ballmer did, another PR act that said he wanted to buy back Sonics to stay. Stern said clearly Ballmer was contacted but he showed no interest. A bunch of clowns!

Let's wait and see what happens. My bet is OK City Whatever will start next season.

 

Mate, I've got a college degree, have signed a number of contracts, and started my own business. I am not naive as to business dealings. I'm trying to tell you my perspective as a local following this story and the sentiments I hear from Sonic fans and voters in the Seattle area. I agree that none of the parties are innocent. I have a great deal of contempt for Stern and Bennett. I include Schultz in that list as well. He took a fat paycheck and chanced letting his beloved hometown Sonics skip off to OKC, but I don't know anybody here in Seattle that ever thought Schultz would actually move the team himself. His partners never would have allowed it either. It was viewed as bluster to drum up support for the new arena.

But this lawsuit is an event that I've been expecting to happen for quite some time.

It has been talked about for the last year by the Save Our Sonics group and by former owners that Schultz specifically did one of two things:
1) Included language in the contract for the sale that said if Bennett didn't act in good faith to keep the team in Seattle, Schultz could buy it back.
2) Signed a separate agreement that provided the same protection as #1.

I don't know if Schultz has to buy the team back or at what price. He might just be able to rescind the sale. It sounds like the latter from the statements issued today.

While it seems crazy that Bennett signed something like this, I think he did exactly that from what I have heard from different parties involved. Maybe he thought it would never come back to bite him or that Schultz would never give up all that money. I have no idea what the exact language in the contract is. I'm sure we will find out, though, when the lawsuit is filed.

Proving that Bennett didn't act in good faith is a high bar to meet in court (maybe that's why Bennett signed it). Bennett did go through the motions of keeping the team here, even though the efforts were clearly disingenuous. Difficult to prove that. I had little faith that this could be litigated successfully. Bennett, however, has provided smoking gun type evidence to demonstrate that he intended to move the team. It's one thing for it to be common knowledge that he had no intention of keeping the team in Seattle. It's another when you have <B>proof</B> that he didn't.

Schultz could very well be unsuccessful in this. We will know a lot more about what legal standing he has in the next few weeks.

I have no idea how any of the lawsuits will shake out. I do think that Seattle will be successful in its attempt to keep the Sonics to the terms of its lease. I've followed a lot of other team relocations, and I see Seattle attorneys fighting a pretty vigorous court battle on this. Initial rulings seem to favor Seattle over Bennett. If Seattle is successful, who know what goes down over the next 2 years.

I could be very wrong on this, and the Sonics could very well play in OKC next year. I'm just trying to let everyone on this board know that there's a lot of resolve to keep this team here from a lot of different parties. The city already rejected a pretty hefty buyout from Bennett. I think they will fight a scorched earth legal battle, ratcheting things up from what other cities have done previously to keep their teams.

I'm off the soapbox now.

Save Our Sonics!

 

So why did Starbuck sell his team in the first place?