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via imcdb.org
steve bloom, the olympian via seattlepi.com
No. Though that hasn’t stopped the making of unofficial “WE’RE BACK” T-shirts (see above).
And it looks like the Sacramento city fathers appear to be having a hard time finding enough local money to make a viable competing bid for the Kings franchise.
Art Thiel speculates, though, that one such potential “whale” could be Oracle boss Larry Ellison. Ellison may also want to move the team, but only as far as San Jose. (Cue the Dionne Warwick jokes in five… four…)
Still, Seth Kolloen insists that “barring some unforeseen circumstance, the Kings will play here as the Sonics this fall.”
One of Mike Seely’s last tasks at Seattle Weekly is a speculative piece wondering if the neo-Sonics could field an all-Seattle-connected team (ex-Sonics, ex-Huskies, and local high school grads).
Meanwhile, now that the National Hockey League has come back from the dead (again), there’s talk that, instead of moving a failing Sunbelt team, the league could put an expansion franchise into Quebec City and maybe Seattle, or maybe Quebec and the Toronto suburbs. (Considering how the Toronto Maple Leafs have spent more than four decades fielding cheapskate teams, with team management sitting all fat and cozy in the sport’s largest market, a second team there would be intriguing. But not at Seattle’s expense, please.)
No, and there’s supposedly some potential legal maneuver by some Sacramento Kings minority owners that could potentially disrupt the deal, supposedly.
Sports Illustrated, meanwhile, has some classic photos of the classic Sonics (see above), as we await what could be the team’s return.
And Knute Burger believes the latest potential Sonics arena design looks like a Jell-O mold. Hey: Let’s get some of the designers and artists who lived at Seattle’s original Jell-O mold building (the S.C.U.D. artist apartments on Western, where the original Cyclops restaurant was), to help design the new arena. That place housed the likes of Art Chantry (designer of countless band posters and my book Loser), Louie Raffloer (Black Dog Forge), Ashleigh Talbot (Madame Talbot’s Victorian Lowbrow), and several more.
via sportspressnw.com
No. And probably not for three more months (when the NBA’s team owners will probably vote on Chris Hansen buying nad moving the Sacramento Kings). But yesterday’s announcement that a tentative deal was in place led to a lot of unofficial celebration and chatter. Art Thiel describes the potential return of NBA basketball as a “guilty pleasure,” evoking “painful memories” of the original Sonics’ theft in 2008:
In a year or two, a relative few in this market are likely to remember that the team in green and gold used to be the Sacramento Kings. But for some of us, it will be equally hard to forget those thousands outside Seattle’s federal courthouse in the summer of 2008, reduced to helpless chanting in order to save a passion.
Seth Kolloen at The SunBreak looks back at the past five Sonics-less years and wonders if they’ll even be remembered, while he looks forward to the hoops-mania to come:
In the next few weeks, you may notice strange behaviors from local sports fans — penciling out season ticket budgets on envelopes, suddenly taking an interest in a confused 22-year-old named DeMarcus Cousins, standing wordlessly and worshipfully outside KeyArena. Our minds are in the future now too, instead of the past. In about nine months, we’ll be proud hoops parents.
getty images/otto greule jr. via seattlepi.com
No. There are still bureaucratic approvals to be gotten.
But we’re closer than we ever were!
On a morning dominated by national political pomp n’ circumstance, when the local TV stations were locked into network coverage (KIRO-TV couldn’t get to it until 1:35 p.m.), when only sports-talk radio, web sites, and “social media” could immediately spread the word, Chris Hansen issued an announcement:
We are happy to announce that we have entered into a binding agreement with the Maloofs to purchase a controlling interest in the Sacramento Kings NBA franchise. The sale is obviously subject to approval by the NBA Board of Governors, and we look forward to working with the League in the coming months to consummate the transaction. While we are not at liberty to discuss the terms of the transaction or our plans for the franchise given the confidential nature of the agreement and NBA regulations regarding public comments during a pending transaction, we would just like to extend our sincerest compliments and gratitude toward the Maloof family. Our negotiations with the family were handled with the utmost honor and professionalism and we hope to continue their legacy and be great stewards of this NBA franchise in the coming years and decades.
We are happy to announce that we have entered into a binding agreement with the Maloofs to purchase a controlling interest in the Sacramento Kings NBA franchise. The sale is obviously subject to approval by the NBA Board of Governors, and we look forward to working with the League in the coming months to consummate the transaction.
While we are not at liberty to discuss the terms of the transaction or our plans for the franchise given the confidential nature of the agreement and NBA regulations regarding public comments during a pending transaction, we would just like to extend our sincerest compliments and gratitude toward the Maloof family. Our negotiations with the family were handled with the utmost honor and professionalism and we hope to continue their legacy and be great stewards of this NBA franchise in the coming years and decades.
The sale, and the move, still have to be approved by the league’s Board of Governors (the other team owners). A Seattle Times online story says that could happen in mid-April and would likely “win overwhelming approval.”
NBCSports.com blogger Aaron Bruski says Sacramento interests will have six weeks to make a firm counter-offer; but Bruski believes they haven’t much of a chance.
Meanwhile, the Times‘ Steve Kelley asks,
What’s the rule on number of exclamation points allowed in a column? Why is the Hallelujah Chorus playing in my head?
What’s the rule on number of exclamation points allowed in a column?
Why is the Hallelujah Chorus playing in my head?
Our ol’ pal Goldy says the potential move is a “big win” for Mayor Mike McGinn.
And KJR-AM’s site bears the premature, but understandable, banner GOT ‘EM BACK!
No.
But NBA Commissioner David Stern has finally publicly talked about the possibility. He says no proposed sale of the Sacramento Kings to would-be team mover Chris Hansen has officially crossed his desk, and that Sacramento interests will have one last chance to buy and keep the team. That counter-offer may be presented as early as one week from today.
and nope, not *this* kind of sonic either.
Though the rumor mill keeps a-grindin’ with word that Chris Hansen’s plan buy and move the Sacramento Kings has been submitted to the NBA’s Relocation Committee.
When, you might ask, would I answer the title question above with a “yes”?
When a sale and move, or a plan for a sale and move, has been publicly announced; then when such a two-part plan has been approved by the league’s Board of Governors (a.k.a. all the other team owners).
Until then, this department might not appear each day; only when there’s something to be said (seriously or otherwise) about the topic.
no, not *those* sonics either.
But KIRO-FM, NBA.com, and other sources continue to spread the unattributed rumors of a “clear path” to bring the Sacramento Kings here. These stories also claim the Kings-owning Maloof brothers are “resigned” to not having a management role in the moved team; even though another rumor said Chris Hansen and co. would only buy 65 percent of the team’s stock.
Yet another unattributed story claims details of the proposed sale/move have been forwarded to the NBA’s relocation committee.
no, not *those* sonics. (via broadway center for the performing arts, tacoma)
But the unconfirmed rumors continue to swirl. I’m even hearing from people who supposedly know people who work for NBA corporate sponsors/vendors, who’ve supposedly said all systems are go for a Seattle team this fall.
One of the first rumors last week said that no announcement would be made about a new Sonics team until after the Seahawks’ postseason was done. Now that that, sadly, is the case, will we get any real news about this?
no, not *these* sonics; via fanpop.com
And still no official announcements by anybody.
But unsourced rumors keep a-swirlin’.
One says some local Sacramento CEOs are putting together an emergency last-minute bid for the Kings. Other Sacramento-area buyer groups have emerged, and been rebuffed, umpteen times in the past three to five years. Another rumor says the Kings’ owners, the Maloof brothers, would rather sue than give up at least some say in the team’s management.
Meanwhile, the Puget Sound Business Journal has unearthed an October interview with would-be Seattle buyer Chris Hansen. In it, Hansen says he wants to ultimately have between four and nine co-owning partners in the Sonics organization. This would, presumably, not include any Maloofs.
But the wannabe team buyers released another set of sketches of their proposed arena. It would be complete with a grand entrance slope that could be also used for arts events and even snowboarding on trucked-in snow.
As the hype continues, here is a gallery of classic Sonics action shots. (Warning: this is on a site that also has naked-celebrity photo pages.)
And local freelancer Harry Cheadle writes at Vice.com that “the Sonics’ fate is now in the hands of the oligarchs.”
chris hansen and mayor mcginn; mayor's office via crosscut.com
Just another promising but unconfirmed rumor thus far today.
And while there are still no official announcements, a newly-surfaced rumor claims the Sacramento Kings’ bumbling, serial-deal-breaking owners want to keep having a say in how the team is run, even after it’s sold. (Some folk just don’t know when to bow out gracefully.)
Meanwhile, Art Thiel commends Chris Hansen’s team for keeping the politicians largely out of the process, at least publicly.
jeremy repanich via vice.com
Not even any real announcements about a pending sale.
What we’d need to see, in approximate order:
(Environmental and legal approval of a new arena does not have to happen for the team to move; but the league would like to be assured that those are likely.)
vintage sonics pocket schedule, available at gasoline alley antiques
The rumored sale of the Sacramento Kings to the Chris Hansen/Steve Ballmer group is still just a rumor right now, albeit a rumor with several original sources.
(Trivia note: The pocket schedule shown above carries the Richfield gasoline brand with the logo of Richfield’s successor brand, Arco. The Kings would be moving out of the old Arco Arena in Sacramento CA, more recently renamed Sleep Train Arena.)
steven h. robinson, shorelineareanews.com
