SuperSonics News

"While the heavy fighting doesn't figure to come until their mid-June trial, the city of Seattle scored another small victory over the Sonics legal team Thursday when U.S. District Court Judge Marsha Pechman denied the team's motion aimed at exposing some documents subpoenaed from developer Matt Griffin. Sonics attorneys had asked Pechman to eliminate "Attorney's Eyes Only" designations and some redactions on much of the material obtained from Griffin during the discovery process, but the judge ruled those items can remain sealed."

"U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman on Thursday denied a request by Sonics' attorneys to unseal documents disclosed by developer Matt Griffin as part of Seattle's lawsuit seeking to hold the team to the final two years of its KeyArena lease. Sonics lawyers had asked Pechman to make public Griffin's e-mails and other records they claimed were evidence of a "Machiavellian plan" to use the city's lawsuit to pressure the team's Oklahoma-based owners into selling to a local group of businessmen including Griffin and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer."

"The Sonics added assistant general manager Troy Weaver to their front office Thursday. Weaver had been the director of player personnel for the Utah Jazz."

"The Sonics will name Utah Jazz head scout Troy Weaver as their assistant general manager, two NBA sources told the Seattle P-I on Wednesday. Weaver replaces Scott Perry, who spent one season in Seattle before returning to the Detroit Pistons as vice president of basketball operations. The Sonics had no comment on the assistant general manager search."

"Troy Weaver, a front-office executive with the Utah Jazz, is the top candidate to fill the Sonics' vacant assistant general manager position and he's expected to accept an offer from the team, according to two NBA sources. The sources spoke anonymously because an official announcement is forthcoming. Sonics general manager Sam Presti was unavailable for comment Wednesday. Weaver joined Utah in 2003 as a head scout and spent the past season as director of player personnel. He built a reputation as a keen talent evaluator and was instrumental in the Jazz drafting guards Deron Williams, C.J. Miles and Ronnie Brewer and forward Paul Millsap."

"U.S. District Court Judge Marsha Pechman wasted no time in settling one issue of the impending trial between the city of Seattle and the Sonics' ownership group, issuing an order Tuesday that denies the team's motion to include the determination of its financial obligations should it win at trial."

"Sonics Chairman Clay Bennett and his Oklahoma partnership will withdraw their motion to include a determination of financial damages in their upcoming trial if it causes Judge Marsha Pechman to think the case needs to be delayed, but the group's attorneys believe the issue should indeed be part of the June ruling."

"The ongoing legal saga between the Sonics and city of Seattle took a new twist Friday with the team's lawyers filing papers claiming "an unseemly alliance" between the K&L Gates law firm, developer Matt Griffin and the city. "

"Lawyers for Sonics owner Clay Bennett asked a federal judge Friday to unseal documents they said reveal an "unseemly alliance" among Seattle officials, a powerful law firm and a potential Sonics ownership group led by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. The documents were turned over recently by Seattle developer Matt Griffin as part of discovery in the lawsuit over the Sonics' KeyArena lease. But Griffin designated his documents "confidential" or "attorney's eyes only" — meaning they cannot be publicly disclosed or quoted in court filings."

"Sonics general manager Sam Presti confirmed Thursday that head coach P.J. Carlesimo will return next season. Presti was pointedly asked during Kevin Durant's rookie of the year news conference whether Carlesimo, who was 20-62 in his first season as coach, would return. He finally responded with "absolutely.""

"An intrigued, excited and rather chilly group of employees from a cell phone company surrounded an impromptu stage and celebrated Kevin Durant's first significant honor as an NBA player Thursday. Durant, dressed in a blue pinstripe suit with red tie and handkerchief, soaked up the love from fans who may never again see him play in Seattle. But the thorny issue of franchise relocation was pushed aside for a moment as Durant was officially presented with the NBA rookie of the year award, becoming the first player in the franchise's 41 seasons to be so honored."

"As the city of Seattle and Sonics ownership continue on their collision course toward a June trial date over the KeyArena lease situation, three simple scenarios remain: The city will win the lawsuit, lose the lawsuit or settle the lawsuit in the six weeks that remain before the trial. Each scenario is fraught with variables that would determine the future of professional basketball in Seattle. Here's a look at the potential outcomes:"

"It took just one word from Sam Presti to end weeks of speculation about the future of P.J. Carlesimo. When asked Thursday morning if the coach would return next season, the Sonics general manager replied: "Absolutely."... Presti declined interview requests the past few days before meeting with the media Thursday during an event in which Kevin Durant won the rookie-of-the-year award. The Sonics GM briefly danced around the issue of Carlesimo returning before saying emphatically that he will not make a coaching change. "

"While Kevin Durant receives the rookie of the year award Thursday morning, club officials still will be pondering the future of coach P.J. Carlesimo. Two weeks ago, Sonics general manager Sam Presti did not commit to Carlesimo returning as coach next season. According to a league source, the team's brass is still deliberating about Carlesimo's future. Presti has not spoken with the media since April 17, but when asked three times during the postseason session, he would not confirm Carlesimo's return."

"The Sonics will take a break Thursday from the turmoil surrounding the franchise to recognize one of the few bright spots of their season. Kevin Durant will be honored as the team's first NBA rookie of the year, league sources said Wednesday. The team has scheduled an 11 a.m. ceremony in Bellevue to celebrate a remarkable season for the Sonics' 2007 first-round draft pick."

"Lawyers for the city of Seattle have requested their court case with the Sonics be delayed six months if the judge agrees with the team's recent motion to decide monetary damages during the trial. The Sonics' lawyers filed a motion with Judge Marsha Pechman last week asking that she speed up the process by including a decision during the June trial on how much money Clay Bennett's group would owe the city in rent should the team win the case and be allowed to immediately move to Oklahoma City."

"Kevin Durant, who led all first-year players in scoring, assists and free-throw percentage, will be named the NBA's rookie of the year and become the first Sonics player to win the award. Two league sources confirmed Durant outdistanced second-place finisher Al Horford, an Atlanta forward."

"A federal judge Monday dealt some setbacks to Seattle's lawsuit against the Sonics, blocking city requests for sensitive NBA financial documents and ruling that NBA Commissioner David Stern does not have to give a deposition in the case. U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska said she did not think some of the information Seattle sought from the NBA was necessary to press the city's claims."

"NBA commissioner David Stern can't be deposed at this time in the city of Seattle's lawsuit against Sonics ownership, but that could change if his testimony is deemed relevant later, a federal court judge in New York ruled Monday. Judge Loretta A. Preska also said the NBA must provide internal documents to the city during the discovery process, though she rejected some of the city's requests, including those for financial records for the league's other 29 teams."

"A federal court judge in New York on Monday stopped short of ordering NBA commissioner David Stern to testify in the city of Seattle’s case against the Sonics over terms of the KeyArena lease. However, U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska said she would consider ordering Stern to testify if the city does not learn what is needed from other witnesses available for deposition."

"A top NBA executive last year worried that Sonics owners may have breached their "good faith" promise to work on an arena deal in Seattle, according to an August 2007 e-mail disclosed Thursday as part of Seattle's lawsuit against the team. Continuing what NBA Commissioner David Stern has called a "scorched earth" strategy, lawyers for Seattle revealed dozens of additional Sonics e-mails and other documents as part of a motion filed Thursday in federal court in New York City."

"Any thoughts of the city of Seattle settling its lawsuit with Clay Bennett's Sonics ownership group before a June trial became even more distant with the filing of Howard Schultz's own suit against the Sonics this week. Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis said Wednesday that Schultz's case makes it imperative for the city to bind the Sonics to their KeyArena lease to give the Starbucks chairman time to play out his own effort to rescind the 2006 sale."

"Even if the Oklahoma-based owners managed to work an arena deal to keep the Sonics in Seattle, they were ready to do a "sweet flip" and leave town, according to an owner's e-mail cited in a lawsuit filed Tuesday by previous owner Howard Schultz."

"New e-mail evidence indicating that Clay Bennett wasn't interested in owning the Sonics if they remained in Seattle even before his group's purchase of the NBA franchise is included in a lawsuit filed by former owner Howard Schultz on Tuesday seeking to rescind the sale."

"Slade Gorton's plan to pursue a replacement franchise for the Sonics hasn't even reached the NBA level yet, but the idea already is running into opposition."

"It's hard to blame Stern. It's his job to do things like that. Say nice things on television when the moment calls for it. Say mean things . . . when the moment calls for it. He's a politician. He works for the owners, and, possibly, Century 21."

"Former U.S. Sen. Slade Gorton, the man accused by NBA commissioner David Stern of enforcing a "scorched-earth policy" toward the NBA's future in Seattle, said Monday he'll be happy to negotiate with Clay Bennett if settlement talks include guarantee of a replacement franchise. Gorton, whose K&L Gates law firm is heading the city's legal fight to enforce the KeyArena lease, believes Seattle still must come up with an arena funding solution to present the NBA commissioner in order to focus on getting a new team to replace the Sonics."

"As their June 16 court date with the Sonics approaches, Seattle officials must determine whether it is feasible to negotiate with the NBA to procure an expansion team to replace the Oklahoma City-bound Sonics. Since the NBA Board of Governors overwhelmingly approved the Sonics move to Oklahoma by 2010, there has been speculation that Seattle could gain a new team -- perhaps even inheriting the Sonics' name and colors -- if it can show the NBA a viable plan for a new arena."

"It was no coincidence there was Sonics roster upheaval to go along with the chaos regarding the franchise's future. With a new coach and general manager, the Sonics used the 2007-08 season to experiment with player combinations, allow rookies Jeff Green and Kevin Durant plenty of space to make mistakes and deal unwanted contracts or players to create salary cap space for the future."

"I’ll tell you who should chip in to build a new arena for the Seattle SuperSonics. Jim McIlvaine. Calvin Booth. Jerome James. Vin Baker. Patrick Ewing. Kenny Anderson. Danny Fortson... The Sonics could have financed a new arena out of their own pockets with the money they’ve thrown away on slew-footed centers alone. Compound that with similar fiscal atrocities around the league, and it’s one obvious reason why the fundamental NBA economic system leads to annual operating losses in so many cities."

"Scott Perry is back where he belongs -- with his family and his basketball brethren. The Pistons introduced Perry as their new vice president of basketball operations Monday. He takes over for John Hammond, who left to become general manager of the Milwaukee Bucks."

"Even if litigation provides life support for two more years, the Sonics now seem dead to us, a victim of politicians, business leaders, a broken league and inept operators, misguided taxpayers and one-time fans whose massive, embarrassing civic collision can be described in two words, one of which is cluster. But is pro basketball truly dead here? No. Not at all."

"Given the magnitude of the whoppers put forth by NBA commissioner David Stern and Sonics owner Clay Bennett on Friday in New York, it seemed a shame to let the best of them pass without a little accountability."

"NBA owners ignored some of the evidence provided by two independent firms, twisted some statistics and were swayed by fawning Oklahoman political and civic leaders when voting to approve the Sonics' move to Oklahoma City."

"Three years ago. That's all it was. Three years ago, Nate McMillan was outcoaching all of his colleagues. Taking a team overloaded with free-agents-to-be, a team that everybody (or at least me) figured would finish at the bottom of the Western Conference and leading them a Northwest Division championship."

" It's getting ugly in Seattle. White-collar trash talk is being spewed through the media. Lawsuits are being filed left and right. Desperation is kicking in."

"As stated from the giddy-app, Billy King and Mark Jackson are the common sense choices to become GM and coach... Sources say Scott Skiles is being romanced by the Bucks and Grizzlies. . . . Rick Carlisle appears to have a clear path to the Bulls. . . . P.J. Carlesimo's future with the Sonics is real shaky; too many players aren't fond of him and none are named Latrell Sprewell. . . . Should the Raptors, losers in 13 of last 20, get bounced in the opening round, Sam Mitchell, word has it, could be in jeopardy with two years left on his deal."

"The Sonics are leaving Seattle. The only question remaining is when: this year or 2010? NBA owners gave Sonics Chairman Clay Bennett their overwhelming approval in a 28-2 vote at Friday's Board of Governors meeting, with Portland owner Paul Allen joining Dallas' Mark Cuban as the only dissenters."

"On the day NBA owners officially approved the Sonics' relocation to Oklahoma City and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels vowed to continue the legal fight to bind the team to the final two years of its KeyArena lease, several other area political leaders said the city should begin working with the NBA if it wants a long-term solution."

"The N.B.A. Board of Governors gave the SuperSonics approval Friday to move to Oklahoma City pending the resolution of litigation that was intended to keep the team at KeyArena in Seattle for the final two seasons of its lease."

"Inevitability has never felt this jarring. For months, this day loomed on the calendar, the result loomed as a certainty, and sadness loomed as the foregone emotion. Still, when Friday's verdict arrived, when the NBA Board of Governors approved the Oklahoma Raiders' request to move the Sonics, it felt shocking."

"He's human, so I suppose it's understandable that David Stern is frustrated with the officials working for the city of Seattle. And it's completely comprehensible that the NBA commissioner is beyond aggravated with that city's unwillingness to finance an arena for the SuperSonics. And all of this must be especially bothersome for a person who is used to getting his way."

"When Sonics chairman Clay Bennett wrote "I am a man possessed" in an e-mail, he says he meant "I am a man possessed to keep the team in Seattle.""

"As the NBA Board of Governors gathers for Friday's vote on Clay Bennett's request to move the Sonics to Oklahoma City, Seattle city leaders know the runaway relocation train is already barreling down the tracks. Seattle won't even be represented at the meeting, the city setting its sights instead on the upcoming legal battle over the remaining two years of the team's lease at KeyArena. The league's 30 owners will vote on Bennett's bid, and commissioner David Stern figures to announce the move at a midday news conference in New York."

"With the NBA Board of Governors today expected to approve his bid to move the Sonics to Oklahoma City, team owner Clay Bennett's attorneys already are signaling his strategy for the next big battle: arguing to a federal judge that Seattle's KeyArena lease lawsuit is just a ruse to force a team sale. Striking back after a week of bad publicity, Bennett's attorneys filed a federal-court motion accusing Nickels of a "Machiavellian plan" to force him to sell the Sonics back to Seattle investors led by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer."

"Sonics general manager Sam Presti addressed the media at the team's practice facility Thursday and did nothing to dispel rumors that head coach P.J. Carlesimo's job may be in jeopardy. Presti said he and Carlesimo would sit down and evaluate the roster and coaching staff, but the GM did not come close to saying Carlesimo will coach the Sonics next season. While it was widely assumed Carlesimo had a long leash during the reclamation project, his status is uncertain."

"He's already gone. One of the most magical rookies to ever step foot in Seattle has already caught a plane to his hometown of Washington, D.C., to begin an offseason of schoolwork and working out. Whether Seattle sees Kevin Durant again depends on the results of numerous court dates ahead. The rookie's first-season display can be likened to that of the Mariners' Ichiro in his impressive first season in this town. But if Sonics owner Clay Bennett's bid to move the team succeeds, fans will miss the opportunity to see the growth of one of the franchise's brightest talents develop in Seattle, as did Spencer Haywood, Fred Brown, Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp, and even Rashard Lewis."

"Where does the finally finished 2007-08 Sonics season rank in local history when it comes to terrible teams? In an attempt to put a little perspective on things, here's the worst list imaginable, the lousiest losers ever to grace the Seattle sports scene:"

"The sweat shirt is from Oregon State. Shorts, too. So even now, as C.J. Giles prepares for a future beyond college, he is cloaked by his past. This is his latest last chance. Right here in a Portland gym on the corner of the street, right next to the light-rail track and across from a school. A 425-pound tire sits in the corner of the room and a dozen or so kids from a nearby continuation school filter in for P.E. classes. Giles sits beside Jerome Kersey. The two tallest men in the room are side by side on a bench, eating lunch from a nearby grocery store. Kersey speaks softly. Giles listens hard, Kersey's words backed up with 17 years of NBA experience. This is it."

"After a tumultuous 82-game season with the fate of the franchise still to be determined, P.J. Carlesimo leaned against a wall outside of the locker room at Oracle Arena and lauded the one bright spot of this disappointing season. Kevin Durant was at his absolute best Wednesday night against the Golden State Warriors."