"While I'd still love to see the Sonics stay, I think that is highly unlikely," Gorton said in the wake of the 28-2 vote by NBA owners Friday to approve relocation of the franchise to Oklahoma City. "What we're trying to accomplish now, in my view, is to get another team in their place.
"That will, however, require the governor and Legislature to come up with a way for Seattle to pay its share of the KeyArena remodel."
"If a replacement team is part of the package, of course we'd talk," Gorton said. "My goal from the very beginning has been to have a team. Revenge, I'm not interested in as such. The city has a financial stake in all this. The mayor and I are in complete accord that what we want is a team."
"It isn't over until the fat lady sings, and at this point, there is the trial date and the city's lawsuit to enforce the terms of the KeyArena lease," Gorton said. "I think the goal of the entire community, and certainly my goal, is to see whether some time between now and then there's a way to come up with a situation in which the controversy over the Sonics is settled in some fashion that Seattle can look forward to another NBA franchise.
"I think it's a possible goal. But I don't think it's likely to happen unless we have a tangible and complete plan for the remodeling of KeyArena. If we'd had that in hand last week, in my view we'd either have kept the Sonics or gotten assurance of another team."
"If we have a remodeled KeyArena or the promise of one that meets their requirements, and I'm convinced this remodel does, then I think we have a chance for another team," he said. "But the chances diminish rapidly after the trial is over. This present lease gives us leverage, so we need to get it done promptly. We have to focus on getting a solution out of Olympia."
"I'm not willing to make that assumption, given their attitude toward us," Gorton said. "We need to have something they want. And what they want is to get the Sonics out of here by next season. It's clearly possible for the league to give us a guarantee. How difficult or how badly they want to, I don't know."
"All the league has to do to lead to an amicable settlement is see to it that we're assured of a new team," Gorton said. "Whatever David Stern said about me, my principle unhappiness is not directed at David Stern. At this point, we have not given him a plan with an arena adequate for the NBA in the 21st century. If we do and he doesn't respond, my attitude will be different. But at this point, we haven't given him that chance."
"We really need to understand that if we want an NBA team, we can't hold out hope that just because we're a better advertising market that somehow we'll be granted one," von Reichbauer said. "If the board of governors of the NFL can decide it doesn't need to be in Los Angeles, the NBA can make that decision about Seattle. It's important to figure out how to work with them, not against them. It's not about somebody's re-election. If you care about having a team, it's time to start working toward a solution."
Slade Gorton: Goal now is finding a replacement for Sonics
BTW: Here's Brian Robinson's take on this issue.
Interpreting Slade
