Presti took a lot of flak over the Rashard Lewis deal

[Rah Fentons]

I guess in time, all decisions are either vindicated or condemned.

But back in 2007, there were plenty of criticism from Seattle, that Presti trade of Ray Lewis and then not matching Orlando's offer for Lewis, were moves intended entirely to make the Sonics unwatchable, and further erode support of the team.

I even read some comparisons of Presti's moves to the movie Major League. And I thought at the time it was awfully silly to think anything one see's in a movie has much to do with real life.

This trade between the Wiz and Magic, just validates that two of the worst contracts in the NBA were Arenas and Lewis. Fitting that they were traded for each other.

Heck, Brandon Bass has been outplaying Lewis for the past two years. Even though the Magic reached the finals in 2008 with Lewis at the stretch four, they might have won with a true PF.

[slick_watts]

Ray Lewis? Wrong sport.

I don't know any Sonics fans who were in favor of keeping Rashard at the maximum salary.

[Rah Fentons]

Sorry, Ray Allen, I got my Rashard Lewis and Ray Allen combined into one player.

Well, I read much out of Seattle that compared the moves to blow up the team, to the movie Major League.

I also read that from some national pundits.

But yes, there were also die hard Sonics fans who endorsed Presti's moves. I'm only speaking to those who did not see it that way.

[Joel Embust]

No way I wanted the Sonics to match that deal for Lewis.

[HeartSouloma]

No way I wanted the Sonics to match that deal for Lewis.

[fallacy]

Lewis at a max deal would have been dumb to match

[slick_watts]

Rashard wasn't even RFA so the Sonics didn't have the opportunity to 'match'. He would have went to Orlando even if Sam Presti had offered him the same $$$.

The fact that Sam Presti was able to get the trade exception and picks out of it...

[fallacy]

Rashard wasn't even RFA so the Sonics didn't have the opportunity to 'match'. He would have went to Orlando even if Sam Presti had offered him the same $$$.

The fact that Sam Presti was able to get the trade exception and picks out of it...

Fun fact. We traded the pick to PHX for two draft picks and Kurt Thomas. We then traded kurt thomas to the spurs for brent barry, francisco elson, and a draft pick.

With those three draft picks we selected Byron Mullens, Cole Aldrich, and Serge Ibaka.

[Rah Fentons]

Just to make sure no one thinks I'm makin this up, it did not take a deep Google search to find this fellow, who see's himself as a contrarian ......

When Durant and Green were rookies, the Sonics posted a terrible won-loss record. Prior to that, they traded franchise cornerstone Ray Allen to Boston (for Green) and let Rashard Lewis waltz to Orlando as a free agent. Understandably, there were bitter cries of sabotage at the time, with fans and analysts claiming owner Clay Bennett and general manager Sam Presti conspired to blow up the Sonics in a Major League-esque plot to blanket the city in hoop apathy. But I consistently maintained a contrarian opinion, feeling strongly that Presti was tearing down a shoddy rambler to erect what would eventually become a handsome lakefront mansion. That theory's proven to be true, beyond a shadow of a doubt.

http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/dailyweekly/2010/12/as_lebron_james_returns_to_cle.php

[Rah Fentons]

Rashard wasn't even RFA so the Sonics didn't have the opportunity to 'match'. He would have went to Orlando even if Sam Presti had offered him the same $$$.

The fact that Sam Presti was able to get the trade exception and picks out of it...

Whether he was a RFA or not, is sort've a moot point. Presti would've had to offer comparable money, though I vaguely recall something about Lewis maybe accepting a small home town discount.

[slick_watts]

Mike Seely is a clown.

There's no way of knowing what Sam Presti's true motivations were when he took over the team. I do think that Bennett wanted the team to do poorly as part of the strategy to get them moved. The hiring of PJ Carlesimo (I don't know any Sonics fans who thought that was a good idea at the time) to coach the team was suspect. With his history relating to young players, I still find it difficult to rationalize the hiring if basketball success or player development was the number one motivation for the team.

I agree with the basketball reasons for letting Rashard go and trading Ray Allen (though, Presti might have gotten more for Ray had he waited for the offseason proper). But it's still not hard to put two and two together.

[Rah Fentons]

Mike Seely is a clown.

There's no way of knowing what Sam Presti's true motivations were when he took over the team. I do think that Bennett wanted the team to do poorly as part of the strategy to get them moved. The hiring of PJ Carlesimo (I don't know any Sonics fans who thought that was a good idea at the time) to coach the team was suspect. With his history relating to young players, I still find it difficult to rationalize the hiring if basketball success or player development was the number one motivation for the team.

I agree with the basketball reasons for letting Rashard go and trading Ray Allen (though, Presti might have gotten more for Ray had he waited for the offseason proper). But it's still not hard to put two and two together.

Whether author is clown or no clown, he confirms my memory of events.

[wiff]

Well I don't think any Sonic fan who truly follows hoops and understands the salary cap had a problem with the Rashard Lewis deal in which the Sonics did a sign and trade with Orlando and got a 2nd round pick and a 9mil TPE that Presti parlayed to land Kurt Thomas from Phoenix along with two first round picks.

I also don't think the Ray Allen trade was a bad one either considering they had just picked Kevin Durant. It's understandable they would want an age appropriate Robin to go along with Batman.

But to say that there wasn't a "Major League" feel to what Bennett was doing with the team is erroneous.

If was evident that Bennett was building the team for the future but the writing was on the wall that the teams future was going to be in OKC.

After all Bennett did say he had "No intentions of moving the team" and that he wasn't going to try to break the lease. About three months later he put things in motion to try to break the lease after a very lackluster effort in getting an new arena done. The presentation was considered laughable by others who have to present large scale projects to the state.

How long did PJ Carlesimo last in OKC? Not long, but the real question is why was he hired in the first place?

Come on man, at least call a spade a spade.

Delonte West to Cleveland for a TPE?
Wally Z to Cleveland for Ira Newble, Donyell Marshall and Adrian Griffin?

How did those trades make the "Sonics" better? The quick answer is that they didn't, they made the Thunder better in OKC.

[Rah Fentons]

But to say that there wasn't a "Major League" feel to what Bennett was doing with the team is erroneous.

If was evident that Bennett was building the team for the future but the writing was on the wall that the teams future was going to be in OKC.

After all Bennett did say he had "No intentions of moving the team" and that he wasn't going to try to break the lease. About three months later he put things in motion to try to break the lease after a very lackluster effort in getting an new arena done. The presentation was considered laughable by others who have to present large scale projects to the state.

How long did PJ Carlesimo last in OKC? Not long, but the real question is why was he hired in the first place?

Come on man, at least call a spade a spade.

Delonte West to Cleveland for a TPE?
Wally Z to Cleveland for Ira Newble, Donyell Marshall and Adrian Griffin?

How did those trades make the "Sonics" better? The quick answer is that they didn't, they made the Thunder better in OKC.

No, you're the one who is blinded to reality.

Bennett set about building a team, none of the decisions in structuring the team or the play of the team, had any relation to where the team would be playing.

Everything you say is grounded on the false assumption, built on your false quote of Bennett saying ............. "No intentions of moving the team" ....................

where you got that idea , is a mystery.

In the press conference where the sale of the team was announced, I think that was July 2006, Bennett stated clearly, that Seattle had one year to get an arena plan in place , or he would move the team. He even distinctly stated the time period, that the one year would begin upon the close of the sale, which occurred in October of 2006.

Ya know, I could probably search archives, and come up with the transcript of that press conference. But I really don't have time, and its not going to change your thinking anyway.

I have no doubt that was clearly stated, because we started a countdown in OKC, waiting for that one year grace period to expire.

Fact is ........... Schultz could only find buyers for the team , who wanted to move the team. The team only had value to those buyers. Sonics had no value to local buyers, because of the political mess surrounding the arena issue, of which , there was no solution in sight. Locals knew the landscape well, and they were gonna hold on to their money.

I doubt you can find where Bennett said he had ........ "No intentions of moving the team" , even if he did say that, you will find its a partial quote with a qualifier attached, that says something like this .......... " If you build a new arena, I have no intentions of moving the team" .

Once you get your facts straight, then you will see that Presti's decisions were entirely focused on rebuilding a team without regard for the future location of where that team would play. But if your view is based upon false assumptions, then I can see where you get off course.

Fact is, if Seattle had not let Bennett out of the lease, Seattle would have enjoyed that team last year.

Myself, I have no idea why Presti hired PJ . But you and I both know, his main objective was the development of Durant and to a lessor extent Green. He's done a good job in building assets and a good job in drafting players, but hiring coaches may not be his strong point. Ya know, he is only 31 years old and he's dealing with coaches who have much much more maturity.

[Rah Fentons]

The headline writer did Seattle no justice, could it be any more misleading to the person who only scans headlines and does not read ..........................




http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20060718&slug=websonicssold18

New owners say Sonics will stay in Seattle

By Greg Bishop

Seattle Times staff reporter




Howard Schultz, former Sonics owner, sat side-by-side with Clayton Bennett, Sonics owner as of this morning, at a news conference to announce the sale of the Sonics and Storm this afternoon.

They were flanked by the Sonics' and Storm's respective championship trophies and joined by their repeated desires to keep both teams in Seattle. They mentioned this over and over again until it became the theme. They want to keep the Sonics and Storm in Seattle. Key word: Want.

The fine print: Only the next 12 months are guaranteed in the $350 million deal. In the interim, the new ownership group needs to do what the former ownership group could not — negotiate a better venue and lease agreement at KeyArena or another local venue.

Which adds up to what president and CEO Wally Walker called "the biggest year in the history of the Seattle SuperSonics."

"At that time," said Bennett, chairman of Dorchester Capital and the head of the Oklahoma City-based investment group, "we have an opportunity, contractually, to evaluate our position."

In a news conference this afternoon, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels called the sale "disappointing" because it ended local ownership. But Nickels said he expected the new owners would honor a KeyArena lease which called for the teams to play there through 2010, if not beyond that.

"I'm going to take them at their word that they want to stay and we'll work with them ," Nickels said. "We think they will play in the Seattle Center until 2010.

The new owners would receive the same offers as given to the ownership during many negotiating sessions, Nickels said. "We're disappointed that rather than follow through on those offers, they sold the team to an out-of-town interest," Nickels said.

The transaction is expected to close by the end of October — pending NBA approval — but the Sonics turned their ownership reins over this afternoon at the news conference that was festive in decoration (green and gold balloons) and skeptical in nature.

Schultz said he turned down higher bids, as in multiple, to buy the teams because he and the rest of The Basketball Club of Seattle believed those ownership groups were interested in moving the Sonics and Storm. He also said the owners would have accepted a lower bid from a local buyer.

Schultz also said that he believes the new ownership group, Professional Basketball Club LLC, has a better chance to succeed in negotiations with local government — "inherent issues with local and state officials," he said — than his ownership group. He called the interests of the Oklahoma City group "genuine."

When pressed at what he meant by better chance, Schultz said, "In the last two years, it has become very obvious that despite all our individual and collective efforts, we were not able to get to a solution. I honestly believe this group wants to stay in Seattle. Moving the team is not their intent."

The Oklahoma City group still wants to bring an NBA team to Oklahoma City, Bennett added, when asked to address the skepticism from the Seattle fan base. But he said that "transaction" was "unrelated" to this transaction. And he reiterated that his group made a commitment to Seattle for the next 12 months.

The New Orleans Hornets played in Oklahoma City last season, and will play there again next season. But the NBA hopes the Hornets will return to New Orleans for 2007-08.

Bennett encouraged fans in Oklahoma City to continue to support the Hornets, and added, "As it relates to the Sonics, we're very clear. We're going to go through the process. Hopefully, it will come out successful."

Walker said that the Seattle market is the only market for the Sonics and the Storm, not just the best one. But he also knows the difficulty the current ownership has had in attempting to negotiate a new lease. "It won't be easy," Walker said. "We've learned that through our own experience. Is it possible? It is possible."

Bennett said his group has a lot of groundwork to do, effective immediately. He said he wanted to first learn the history between both teams and the city of Seattle, then beginning discussions for a new arena and lease.

That will be the hang-up. In a letter to Schultz dated today, Bennett wrote: "We do not believe that KeyArena is designed to support the requirements of a viable NBA franchise, and thus achieving a modern successor venue and lease arrangement will be critical to the future success of the teams." The letter also reiterates that it is not the group's "intention to relocate."

The deal came together after Oklahoma caught the "NBA bug" watching the Hornets play last year, said Tom Price, a spokesman for Chesapeake Energy. The team relocated there after Hurricane Katrina.

"We love Seattle," Price said. "To come to Seattle more frequently would not be a bad thing. Obviously, the people of Oklahoma City really fell in love with NBA basketball. The people of Seattle have to make a decision about how important NBA basketball is to them. We're excited about owning an NBA franchise. Anybody that has been a longtime NBA fan, they know they've got a great tradition in Seattle. There's a lot of people in Oklahoma that would be excited to have this team in Oklahoma City as well."

"Here's our stance: We need to continue to support the Hornets with everything we've got," said Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett. "The Hornets' ultimate home will depend more on the city of New Orleans' ability to support the franchise. Once New Orleans can, this franchise should go back." Cornett, a former television sports broadcaster, said he first met new Sonics owner Bennett in the mid-1990s.

Bennett was an influential local businessman who had previously been on the board of directors for the Spurs when they were owned by his wife's family, the Gaylords. Bennett tried to attract an NHL franchise to Oklahoma City in the mid-1990s, said Cornett.

News of the sale followed two fruitless years of efforts by Sonics owners to reach a deal with politicians in Olympia and Seattle on a publicly-financed expansion of KeyArena.

The team wanted state lawmakers to extend hotel, car rental and restaurant taxes now dedicated to paying off the debt on Safeco Field and Qwest Field. But their proposal never received a vote in Olympia, in part because Seattle Mayor Nickels and the City Council could not agree on what to offer the team.

The Basketball Club of Seattle claimed to have lost $60 million since purchasing the team in 2001. Owners blamed their lease deal, which required the team to split luxury suite and concession revenue with the city.

Team owners also had begun talks with Bellevue and Renton about possibly building a new basketball arena, but no specific plan emerged.

Gov. Christine Gregoire and Nickels were both told of the sale this morning shortly before it was made public, their offices said.

State Sen. Margarita Prentice, one of the Sonics' biggest allies in Olympia, said she was disappointed.

"It isn't surprising, considering the hostility expressed from many elements, especially the Seattle City Council," said Prentice, a Seattle Democrat who chairs the powerful Senate Ways and Means Committee. "I don't blame the Sonics for finally pulling the plug. How many signals do you have to get?"

She said the sale would be particularly bad news if the team is moved.

"Think about the loss of jobs. The rich people who own the team will always be wealthy, but I've been concerned about the people with all those union jobs," she said. "People always lose sight of that when they're talking about player salaries and the rich owners."

But opponents of the publicly funded KeyArena expansion sought by the Sonics said the news did not change their minds. Opinion polls showed the Sonics cause to be unpopular in the city of Seattle, and an initiative campaign was already under way to block any arena subsidy for the team.

Chris van Dyk, cofounder of Citizens for More Important Things, said the group will continue to campaign for Initiative 91, which seeks to restrict tax subsidies for the Sonics at KeyArena.

"We had difficulty collecting signatures from some people because our initiative did not require the Sonics to leave town," said Van Dyk.

"We don't want them to leave. We think it's a very sad day for the city of Seattle. However it underscores that this is a private business. They can go anywhere they want in the United States."

Seattle City Council President Nick Licata said the city should focus on making sure KeyArena remains a viable part of Seattle Center — with or without the Sonics.

"If they do leave the state, the KeyArena I think has a great future ahead of it as a multipurpose entertainment facility and we need to focus on making that happen," Licata said.

The Sonics presented Bennett with a No. 1 Sonics jersey and an orange-and-white striped WNBA basketball at the news conference. Schultz also ran through the Sonics' history, expressing both pride and regret.

"While there is much to be proud of, there is also great disappointment," he said. "We were forced to face the uncomfortable reality that our group would not be successful."

Copyright © 2006 The Seattle Times Company

And Bennett and Aubrey McClendon and David Stern, knew before this sale was made, that Seattle was not going to build an arena. Schultz was hoping that the threat of moving the team would be enough to get an arena. Bennett went through the process, no more and no less.

[Rah Fentons]

And this is extremely cogent ........ nailed Bennett's position ... exactly


http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20060723&slug=soniqa23

Q: Do the new owners even care if Seattle offers them a good deal? Don't they want to just go to Oklahoma City, anyway?

A: These aren't local businessmen, but they are businessmen and there is a very strong economic motive to keep the team in Seattle. If the Sonics and Storm were worth $350 million playing in KeyArena under the previous lease, how much would they be worth with an up-to-snuff facility and more-favorable lease? The fairest way to characterize this deal is that the new owners see this as a no-lose proposition. Either they get a new arena situation that increases the value of their investment tremendously or they have a franchise they're free to take to their hometown.

It's also worth remembering the NBA must approve any relocation, something it may not do if it feels the group ignored a viable offer in Seattle. That's not to say it will be easy or likely to come up with an offer the NBA would find viable, but Seattle isn't going to have to offer to build an arena out of gold to get the Sonics to stay.

McClendon just wanted to go to OKC immediately, but he was just a minority owner.

Bennett had to do the NBA's bidding, go through the process which was probably outlined by Stern. And Stern wanted to give Seattle one last shot, he and Schultz wanted to see if the threat of moving the team would solve the arena/lease issues. Because Schultz , being a local guy, had no real leverage to threaten a move. And the NBA did not want to lose that market.

[wiff]

No, you're the one who is blinded to reality.

Bennett set about building a team, none of the decisions in structuring the team or the play of the team, had any relation to where the team would be playing.

Everything you say is grounded on the false assumption, built on your false quote of Bennett saying ............. "No intentions of moving the team" ....................

where you got that idea , is a mystery.

In the press conference where the sale of the team was announced, I think that was July 2006, Bennett stated clearly, that Seattle had one year to get an arena plan in place , or he would move the team. He even distinctly stated the time period, that the one year would begin upon the close of the sale, which occurred in October of 2006.




I doubt you can find where Bennett said he had ........ "No intentions of moving the team" , even if he did say that, you will find its a partial quote with a qualifier attached, that says something like this .......... " If you build a new arena, I have no intentions of moving the team" .

Once you get your facts straight

Hey Jack Ass go find the very first time Clay Bennett spoke to the Seattle media and you will see that he said he had no intentions of moving the team. So sit on it Potsy!

[wiff]

By the way what is your point here? You got the team, no one was in here clamoring about how bad the Rashard Lewis deal was. Looks to me like you are just trying to stir things up for your own amusement.

[wiff]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9Dp20ydm1E[/youtube]

Try the one minute and three second mark. Then right after you will see Clay wearing a different suit saying that he is seeking a new arena deal.

Look man I lived it. Don't tell me Clay did everything he could to keep the team in Seattle. That just wasn't the case. Don't tell me there wasn't a "Major League" effect going on. Why was there a gag order on the players to not speak to the local media during the final season in Seattle? Why did Clay not return any phone calls to the Save Our Sonics organization? Why did he not speak to the City of Auburn for a possible arena next to the local horse racing track/casino? Auburn is right between Seattle and Tacoma. About twenty minutes from the largest city in the state and about 15 minutes from the third largest city in the state. For a guy who had every intention to keep the team in Seattle/Washington he sure left a lot of stones unturned.

But that is all old news, so what's the point? You guys have the team now enjoy them. But honestly I don't remember any Sonic fan that had more than two brain cells that wanted to keep Rashard Lewis at that price. Most people including myself were saying "good for Rashard" but damn that is one ugly contract. Rashard Lewis is a one dimensional player who doesn't play "D". You can't have two max contracts to two wing players who don't play a lick of "D". That just doesn't make any sense.

You know what else doesn't make any sense is why you started this thread.