Seattle SuperSonics Thread

[dmbrhs]

Meh, Hansen played nice, and did everything on the up and up, and the league screwed him. Second time Seattle's been screwed for playing nice and doing everything the league asked for. Clearly, playing nice doesn't get you anywhere, so take a shot while you can. Dirty, sure? But, is it really any worse than the league and Clay Bennett conspiring to move the Sonics in the first place? (And no owner standing up and saying "hey, wait a minute, this isn't nice".). Nope. I just remember all but two other owners plugging their ears, closing their eyes, and saying "lalalalalanotlistening".

This will blow over. The only reason it's a story right now is because there's literally nothing else going on in the NBA.

 

[Deleted member 38182]

It will blow over because it's Sacramento.

Ain't nobody give a damn about that town

 

[dmbrhs]

It will blow over because it's Sacramento.

Ain't nobody give a damn about that town

That too.

Also, BDL brought up a decent point. This is a league that has someone like Donald effing Sterling as an owner lol. At least Hansen ain't racist, and probably knows when Black History Month is...well, one would hope.

 

[Deleted member 38182]

Sterling is just an awful racist, owner tho.

What Hansen did is borderline shady something the Maloofs would do

 

[elpablo21]

Sterling is just an awful racist, owner tho.

What Hansen did is borderline shady something the Maloofs would do

I know right...something like the NBA would do

 

[Deleted member 38182]

Naw maloofs

 

[dmbrhs]

Naw maloofs

Or Clay Bennett

 

[Deleted member 38182]

Naw maloofs

Or Clay Bennett

Bennett too.

I see him selling in the next 5 years....

 

[elpablo21]

The Maloofs are inept...their shadiness is in a whole different level of stupidty

"Borderline shady" that label could probably be applied to a number of people in the league

 

[Deleted member 38182]

Chris Hansen Hurt More Than Himself

HANG TIME WEST –  Businessman-investor-covert-ops man Chris Hansen  made sure to be sorry Friday. The man who led the charge to bring basketball back to Seattle was revealed as the anonymous donor behind the Hail Mary  bid to stop plans to build an arena to keep the Kings in Sacramento.

A state commission said he broke laws about the lack of disclosure while trying to re-route the team to Seattle, so he apologized. After being caught.

This level of, umm, opposition research is hardly shocking where tycoons of Hansen’s level play every day in deals measured on the Richter scale. And just maybe there are one or two NBA owners who built their money stacks by indiscreet means. But within the NBA itself, the actions are potentially huge.

The Sacramento aspect may actually be the least of the problem. It is certainly the focus of the moment as Hansen searches hard for new lows in league skullduggery, and a particular contrast to what he had displayed in the effort to buy the Kings and then in being gracious in defeat once the Board of Governors kept the team in the California capital. The attempt to stop the arena was a long shot at best amid continued strong signs the plan would move forward (although this is the ultimate never-say-never drama).

If there is an apology to be made, it should be to Seattle for the way Hansen has injured his hometown’s efforts to get the NBA back. That is the true lasting impact of news Hansen secretly contributed $100,000 to help fund the petition drive to derail arena plans in Sacramento.

Ruin hopes in Seattle? Not even close. This doesn’t change the other facts: It is a great sports market with a proven level of support for the NBA and a corporate infrastructure few cities can match. If Hansen is not involved in whatever future bids may develop, there are plenty of other locals who are conversant in big business. And if Hansen is involved, perhaps enough owners shrug away the revelation as a simple misdemeanor of overreaching in the attempt to cover all the bases to close a deal potentially worth billions.

But this is unquestionably a setback in a time when Seattle cannot afford any, given the microscopic difference between winning and losing this kind of game. Look at the layers that went into play in the Sacramento saga, then add one more. Not a positive layer, either.

Hansen’s statement on Friday, via the Sacramento Bee, began with “I made a mistake I regret.” He emphasized he never had direct contact with the group trying to halt the Sacramento arena, apparently keeping his influence to merely helping the group stay afloat and having other people saying what he wanted.

Hansen continued:

”I have not agreed to provide any further political contributions and do not intend to make any further contributions.

I would also just point out that the contribution was made in my personal capacity and not on behalf of our ownership group or my partners. In fact, I have never discussed the contribution with them to date.

While I’m sure everyone can appreciate how easy it is to get caught up the heat of battle, with the benefit of hindsight, this is clearly a decision I regret. I wish the city of Sacramento and Kings fans the best in their efforts and they have my commitment not to have any involvement in their arena efforts in the future.”

He’s going to let the people of Sacramento handle the business of Sacramento. How magnanimous.

Hansen was gracious in defeat when the Board of Governors turned down the attempted purchase and relocation, what appeared to be the final official word from the Seattle side that had done and said so many things right. That group did not lose the bid so much as Sacramento won it because the league believed the future in Northern California could be as bright as the past. It’s just that the apology is really owed to Seattle.

 

[Sinner]

Sooo... Steve Ballmer has retired...

Wonder how this affects things. 

 

[a55a5in11]

I don't think it would. Dude is still rich AF

 

[dmbrhs]

Little bit of a followup on Hansen's donation and its effect on him as a potential owner, via Ric Bucher:

http://sulia.com/channel/basketball/f/f69e0995-14aa-482c-a3ba-03eda5b5bde2/?source=twitter

I asked one of the more influential NBA owners recently what impact the discovery that Chris Hansen made a donation to an anti-arena cause in Sacramento could have on Seattle landing a future franchise. His response: none. The market is too strong and the pockets of Hansen and Steve Ballmer too deep for NBA owners to suddenly get all sanctimonious. How deep? The aforementioned owner floated the idea of the Seattle group being the first to pay a $1 billion expansion fee. The exchange was by text, so there's always a chance that some important nuance or tone was lost -- neither of us is an emoticon subscriber -- but it's a stunning premise. The most interesting part is the idea that the league would be willing to sate Seattle's thirst for a team by expanding, an option that never had much traction among the league sources I spoke to during the Sacramento-Seattle battle over the Kings. And as exorbitant as that sounds -- it reportedly cost $300 million for the Charlotte Bobcats to join the party in 2004 -- it's simply the current NBA owners recognizing an opportunity. Can anyone doubt how hungry Hansen and Ballmer are to bring the game back to Seattle? Or that they have the requisite resources to pay practically whatever it might take? It's the perfect gambit: the NBA doesn't need a 31st team, so if that number is too high, no worries. But, if Hansen and Ballmer truly want a seat at the table, why not put the cover charge where even the New Yorks and L.A.s see the value of their franchises rise because of it? Perhaps this owner was merely spitballing, or perhaps throwing a crazy notion out there just to see the response, but under-estimate the appetite of any group of owners at your peril.

 

[elpablo21]

The market is too strong and the pockets of Hansen and Steve Ballmer too deep for NBA owners to suddenly get all sanctimonious.

Exactly 

That $$$ talking is louder than the voice of their "conscience"

 

[Sinner]

GP's HOF acceptance speech.

http://www.nba.com/video/channels/h...ry-payton-hall-of-fame-acceptance-speech.nba/

 

[dakid23]

Major blow to our arena movement

 

[elpablo21]

Major blow to our arena movement

 

[jumpmanfromdabay]

Please Move the Clippers to Seattle

 

[651akathepaul]

Not happening.

Some investor we probably don't know will have to step up and take over, but it's more likely Seattle gets a hockey team before a basketball team at this point.

 

[100027]

Are we sure Ballmer isn't pulling a Clay Bennett here? Are there significant realities preventing him from moving the team?

Honest questions

 

[651akathepaul]

Ballmer has always wanted to be part of the NBA ownership group, so it wasn't more of a Chris Hansen type get-a-team-in-Seattle-at-all-costs movement. He moreso just wanted to own. It could also mean that all the signals for Seattle getting a team anytime soon were bleak, which could explain why he jumped at the opportunity to buy the Clippers. It'd be great and L.A. already has a team, but we're talking about the #2 market vs. #13 and a Clipper team that's finally marketable.

I guess we'll see, but would it make business sense for Ballmer?

 

[elpablo21]

Are we sure Ballmer isn't pulling a Clay Bennett here? Are there significant realities preventing him from moving the team?

Honest questions

The lease the team has with Staples is a long ways from being expired

The Kings situation - They rubbed the league the wrong way

For him to get the votes for the sale, I'm sure there was/will be discussion about completely erasing the idea of moving (as if it's a legit choice to begin with)

He's retired from Microsoft so he's not even tied to Seattle as he once was

As 651 stated, Why move when you're losing immediate value from a 2billion dollar investment and the fact he just wants to be part of the club, being part of the club wasnt exclusively tied to a team in Seattle.

 

[100027]

Ughhhhh

 

[a55a5in11]

All this tells me is that the league wasn't going to come here for a long time in the first place

 

[do work son]

I think people really lose sight of the fact that part of the 2 billion dollar figure is attached to the team being in LA. The value greatly decreases moving to Seattle, and that isn't a shot to Seattle. LA just has a greater marketable reach