SEATTLE - While Seattle City Council President Nick Licata and Mayor Greg Nickols issue well thought out press releases OKNO Hornets owner George Shinn is straddling two different markets, laying claim to both. Who does he think he is, Al Davis?
Fact is that Shinn needs a place for his team to play and returning to New Orleans that is still struggling to recover might be a business loser for a very long time. As it is, he does have his team playing to sell out crowds in Oklahoma. Why should he leave? What is there to go back to in the near term?
The conspiracy theorists are already at it over at SonicsCentral.com. There might be a second NBA owner behind Oklahoma's grassy knoll.
The questions I've heard from a few radio hosts on why the Sonics might not leave center around the size of market Seattle is as compared to Oklahoma. Really, there aren't major league baseball and football teams slicing up that market, so just stop with that silly markey talk... and move on to comparing the Seattle market with New Orleans post-Katrina. Why? Because that's the net effect for the NBA. No matter how you cut this up Oklahoma is going to have a team, the question is if Seattle or New Orleans will. The answer is likely neither. The Sonics could move to Bellevue and leave Seattle with an empty Key Arena. The Hornets could stay in Oklahoma and leave New Orleans with enough to worry about beyond filling an arena.
Right now, my money is on Washington Governor Christine Gregiore to be the one to step in and keep the Sonics in Washington. Maybe New Orleans should get the promise of an expansion NBA franchise from the league for when they are ready for such distractions.
Stay Sonics!
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