Rumor: Kings moving to Seattle, will become Sonics

[Superbone]

I think Wally Walker was also there but I only remember him because my friend pretty much blamed him for every bad thing that ever happened to the Sonics.

I think Clay Bennett surpassed him.

 

[BC867]

If you're talking about the year the Sonics beat the Bullets in the championship, I remember that squad well.

If I remember correctly, ironically the Sonics and Suns met in the Western finals. The consensus was that whichever team won the West would be favored to defeat the Bullets. The Suns best chance ever for a championship.

When Alvan Adams of the Suns went down with an injury, instead of using 6'10" 240 lb. backup Center Bayard Forrest to go against Sonics Center Jack Sikma, John MacLeod, obsessed with small ball, used backup Small Forward Joel Kramer, all 6'7" 215 pounds of him to go against the 6'11" Sikma.

The Sonics beat the Suns and went on to defeat the Bullets as predicted. It was ours for the taking, but Colangelo and MacLeod's obsession with small ball ruined it and I, as a fan, was devastated.

That's why I was thrilled when Gortat joined the Suns. At last, a legitimate young Center. Unfortunately, he and Dragic are being dragged down by a dysfunctional roster. The frustration continues.

 

[Mathew81]

It is interesting that in baseball, when teams move they retain their identity and we don't think twice about it. It is still the same franchise in a different city.

I think this was true of all sports until the Browns moved to become the Ravens. That was the first time a city kept the name & history when the team moved. Baseball's only had one team move since then and it was the Expos/Nationals. They weren't going to stay the Expos but they also didn't take the old Washington baseball team name, the Senators.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I think Clay Bennett surpassed him.

Yeah, I'd imagine you're right. Although they might have trouble deciding just who to burn in effigy, Bennett or Stern. That's assuming they'd settle for "in effigy".

Steve

 

[Superbone]

Yeah, I'd imagine you're right. Although they might have trouble deciding just who to burn in effigy, Bennett or Stern. That's assuming they'd settle for "in effigy".

Steve

He's a witch! Burn him!

 

[AzStevenCal]

He's a witch! Burn him!

We did do the nose...and the hat. Not much to talk about with the Suns, I'm game to swap Monty Python quotes.

Steve

 

[Covert Rain]

Seattle is great. I love it there. Always seemed weird to me not to have the Sonics as a team.

P.S. Damn funny Steve.

 

[SunsTzu]

This really sucks for Sacramento, it's unlikely that city gets another major sports franchise for a long long time if the Kings leave. Luckily the Maloofs as so incompetent they can still screw this up.

The Seattle Times learned from an NBA source Thursday that the family that owns the Kings wants to keep a say in how the team is run, even if they sell it to Chris Hansen

http://seattletimes.com/html/sports/2020104985_kings11.html

 

[SunsTzu]

It is interesting that in baseball, when teams move they retain their identity and we don't think twice about it. It is still the same franchise in a different city.

Boston Braves/Milwaukee Braves/Atlanta Braves
Brooklyn Dodgers/Los Angeles Dodgers
New York Giants/San Francisco Giants
Philadelphia A's/Oakland A's

Don't forget the most recent team to move, the Washington Expos. Cities wanting to keep their teams history or at least name is a more recent trend and there just hasn't been much movement in Baseball since it started.

 

[HoodieBets]

Cant believe all this talk of ex seattle players and no one brought up Ray Allen. Had his best season in seattle

 

[SunsTzu]

Cant believe all this talk of ex seattle players and no one brought up Ray Allen. Had his best season in seattle

Ray Allen was great, but he was only there 4.5 years and they only made the playoffs once.

 

[HoodieBets]

Ray Allen was great, but he was only there 4.5 years and they only made the playoffs once.

Yeah the team wasnt too great but he still averaged something like 26 ppg one season there.

 

[chickenhead]

I definitely feel bad for Sacramento. One thing the NBA was good at was giving a city that didn't have any other teams a chance (like Phoenix at one time). Sacramento won't be getting another team in the NBA, NFL, NHL, or in MLB.

I would rather have seen Oklahoma City get the Hornets and the Kings stay in Sacramento. Instead the Kings go to Seattle, the Sonics went to Oklahoma City, the Hornets stay in New Orleans where things haven't been stellar, and part of the deal to let them move there was that Charlotte got another team? It just never made sense to me. Seattle was clearly the most viable market of them all, and they just play musical chairs instead.

 

[SunsTzu]

Reports are the team sold for 525m, the Seattle group was desperate for a team. As much as it sucks for the Kings I can at least respect Hansen and his partners. They've made no bones about what their intentions are, unlike Heisley and Bennett who bought teams under false pretenses who sabotaged any effort to keep their teams in their respective cities.

The only good news is that the Maloofs are completely out of the league without even a minority stake and they will never be able to get back in.

 

[Phrazbit]

I definitely feel bad for Sacramento. One thing the NBA was good at was giving a city that didn't have any other teams a chance (like Phoenix at one time). Sacramento won't be getting another team in the NBA, NFL, NHL, or in MLB.

I would rather have seen Oklahoma City get the Hornets and the Kings stay in Sacramento. Instead the Kings go to Seattle, the Sonics went to Oklahoma City, the Hornets stay in New Orleans where things haven't been stellar, and part of the deal to let them move there was that Charlotte got another team? It just never made sense to me. Seattle was clearly the most viable market of them all, and they just play musical chairs instead.

I do agree with this. New Orleans has proven pretty soundly that they wont show up for NBA games until the playoffs. This is their 2nd crack at a franchise and it has gone so poorly that the league had to take them over for a few years.

The Sonics never should have left Seattle, it was a big time screw job that the OKC owner pulled on them. He bought them with the intention of moving them from day 1, but was supposed to give a full year for Seattle to attempt to come up with a viable arena plan... to solve that issue he demanded a half billion dollar arena on the waterfront that he knew couldnt be built. Then leaves for OKC in an arena thats on the same level of commodities as the arena he claimed needed to be replaced in Seattle. Real slimy.

But while the Kings have gotten pretty good support whenever they've been remotely watchable, their real problem is the Maloof's have blown their fortune with a really bad casino deal in Vegas and now need cash, then you factor in the awful location of their arena (its in the boonies surrounded by farms) and its age... and California's budget woes. It was just a matter of time before the Kings moved.

 

[SunsTzu]

It was just a matter of time before the Kings moved.

Only because the Maloof's are complete scum. They had agreed to an arena deal, then backed out when they refused to pay the agreed upon amount. They then wanted an arena paid 100% by the city but to be owned and operated by the Maloof's. There were at least 3 ownership groups that were wanting to purchase the team and keep them in Sacramento but they were told the team was not for sale.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I definitely feel bad for Sacramento. One thing the NBA was good at was giving a city that didn't have any other teams a chance (like Phoenix at one time). Sacramento won't be getting another team in the NBA, NFL, NHL, or in MLB.

I would rather have seen Oklahoma City get the Hornets and the Kings stay in Sacramento. Instead the Kings go to Seattle, the Sonics went to Oklahoma City, the Hornets stay in New Orleans where things haven't been stellar, and part of the deal to let them move there was that Charlotte got another team? It just never made sense to me. Seattle was clearly the most viable market of them all, and they just play musical chairs instead.

It wasn't easy to get a team into Phoenix. As a matter of fact, if the NBA Commissioner at that time had the power that Stern has possessed, it would have never happened.

Steve

 

[JCSunsfan]

If I remember correctly, ironically the Sonics and Suns met in the Western finals. The consensus was that whichever team won the West would be favored to defeat the Bullets. The Suns best chance ever for a championship.

When Alvan Adams of the Suns went down with an injury, instead of using 6'10" 240 lb. backup Center Bayard Forrest to go against Sonics Center Jack Sikma, John MacLeod, obsessed with small ball, used backup Small Forward Joel Kramer, all 6'7" 215 pounds of him to go against the 6'11" Sikma.

The Sonics beat the Suns and went on to defeat the Bullets as predicted. It was ours for the taking, but Colangelo and MacLeod's obsession with small ball ruined it and I, as a fan, was devastated.

That's why I was thrilled when Gortat joined the Suns. At last, a legitimate young Center. Unfortunately, he and Dragic are being dragged down by a dysfunctional roster. The frustration continues.

Kramer was small, but Forrest was no good. Catch-22.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I do agree with this. New Orleans has proven pretty soundly that they wont show up for NBA games until the playoffs. This is their 2nd crack at a franchise and it has gone so poorly that the league had to take them over for a few years.

The Sonics never should have left Seattle, it was a big time screw job that the OKC owner pulled on them. He bought them with the intention of moving them from day 1, but was supposed to give a full year for Seattle to attempt to come up with a viable arena plan... to solve that issue he demanded a half billion dollar arena on the waterfront that he knew couldnt be built. Then leaves for OKC in an arena thats on the same level of commodities as the arena he claimed needed to be replaced in Seattle. Real slimy.

But while the Kings have gotten pretty good support whenever they've been remotely watchable, their real problem is the Maloof's have blown their fortune with a really bad casino deal in Vegas and now need cash, then you factor in the awful location of their arena (its in the boonies surrounded by farms) and its age... and California's budget woes. It was just a matter of time before the Kings moved.

Hell has frozen over. I agree with one of Phrazbit's posts.

 

[Phrazbit]

Hell has frozen over. I agree with one of Phrazbit's posts.

I'd think with the way the season has been going you'd be agreeing with just about all the posts I made before the year... in retrospect.

... no more like... ... with a lot of...

 

[HooverDam]

But then if years later another team moved to Phoenix and was renamed "Suns", well I wouldn't know who to root for anymore

I cheer for the "Phoenix" part of the jersey, "Suns" is just a nickname.

A nickname I've grown fond of, but if any team ever left AZ, I'd stop following them, yes.

 

[BC867]

Don't forget the most recent team to move, the Washington Expos. Cities wanting to keep their teams history or at least name is a more recent trend and there just hasn't been much movement in Baseball since it started.

Funny! That was one of the few baseball exceptions. The Expos became the Nationals, which was the knickname of the Senators, as explained on Wikipedia.

The Nationals' name derives from the former Washington baseball team that had the same name (used interchangeably with Senators). Their nickname is "the Nats"—a shortened version that was also used by the old D.C. teams.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Nationals

I am sure that there was pressure from our center of politics -- Washington, DC -- to bring back the name vs. honoring the Canadian World's Fair -- Expo '67.

Changing the name of the St. Louis Browns to the Baltimore Orioles also honored a previous team from that city -- a 19th-century American Association team, one of the most storied teams in the history of the game.

 

[Griffin]

I cheer for the "Phoenix" part of the jersey, "Suns" is just a nickname.

A nickname I've grown fond of, but if any team ever left AZ, I'd stop following them, yes.

That's probably because you are from there. If you weren't, then I doubt you would feel as strongly about it. There's nothing wrong with that point of view, of course, but then there are also fans of a franchise more so than a city, who would follow the team wherever it played, even if they preferred the team stays put.

Personally, I am a fan of the Suns franchise, the one where KJ and Barkley once played on. There's only one franchise with that history. Now the Suns have been fortunate enough to always play in Phoenix and thus are very strongly associated with that city, more so than many of the other teams. Ideally, that will always be the case. But if they were to move to another city and even change their name, they would still be the same franchise that went to the Finals in '93. A new team in Phoenix, even if they were named Suns, could never claim that part of history. They weren't there.

That's why I am not in favor of the Sonics nickname being brought back. Like it or not, that franchise has moved on. But Seattle fans will have a chance to start over (at the expense of Sactown fans). But they won't be rooting for a team that was once run by Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp, they will be rooting for a team that once featured Vlade Divac and Peja Stojakovic (for lack of a better example). Renaming the team "Sonics" doesn't change that fact.

 

[Phrazbit]

That's probably because you are from there. If you weren't, then I doubt you would feel as strongly about it. There's nothing wrong with that point of view, of course, but then there are also fans of a franchise more so than a city, who would follow the team wherever it played, even if they preferred the team stays put.

Personally, I am a fan of the Suns franchise, the one where KJ and Barkley once played on. There's only one franchise with that history. Now the Suns have been fortunate enough to always play in Phoenix and thus are very strongly associated with that city, more so than many of the other teams. Ideally, that will always be the case. But if they were to move to another city and even change their name, they would still be the same franchise that went to the Finals in '93. A new team in Phoenix, even if they were named Suns, could never claim that part of history. They weren't there.

That's why I am not in favor of the Sonics nickname being brought back. Like it or not, that franchise has moved on. But Seattle fans will have a chance to start over (at the expense of Sactown fans). But they won't be rooting for a team that was once run by Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp, they will be rooting for a team that once featured Vlade Divac and Peja Stojakovic (for lack of a better example). Renaming the team "Sonics" doesn't change that fact.

Well by that standard when the ownership changes its basically a new franchise. The Cleveland Browns rightfully claim all the history associated with that name, Baltimore got none of it.

Teams are associated with cities. A team leaves, its absolutely idiotic to take the "history" with them. No one in another city will give a (blank) about what the Suns did before they got there. The history of the previous city is dead to them, they start anew in their new location. Gary Payton and Shawn Kept were Seattle Sonics, they NEVER played in OKC, you can bet your balls the renewed Sonics will hang the jersey's of both players in the rafters. The Sonics went away, but now they will be back. Who cares if its with a new owner? They will be green and gold and playing infront of all the same people who cheered for them before.

And I am not trying to say that you dont count because you dont live here, but you are not who the franchise markets itself to. There is no point in bringing the old history to a people that dont care. It was smart branding by OKC to rename themselves, its smart by the Kings to rename themselves, it endears them to the new area and I doubt they really care if it ruffles the feather of what little fans that live thousands of miles away and generate no revenue.

 

[SunsTzu]

Teams are associated with cities. A team leaves, its absolutely idiotic to take the "history" with them. No one in another city will give a (blank) about what the Suns did before they got there.

Tell that to Lakers fans who gladly revel in Minnesota's accomplishments.