Cactus Jack wrote:monopoman wrote:d-train wrote:The last thing I would worry about as a Blazers fan, is that the Blazers might be moved to Seattle. Seattle couldn't keep the team they had. I worry more that Portland might not be any better than Seattle, which could put our franchise in jeopardy.
If you watch the detailed documentary about how the Sonics were moved it was almost a con job by the new owner. He lied throughout the process multiple times to the public and used some dirty tactics to get it moved, it's basically why no team has moved since. They talked about moving the Kings that never happened, and with how solid our attendance is year in year out moving the Blazers would be really **** stupid.
I mean the only thing the Blazers don't have here is a huge market but plenty of teams are in that same position, and moving to a larger market isn't that great because you are contending with usually 2 teams in that area.
Almost???
Fortunately for Portland, the Blazers aren't going anywhere any time soon. I still have my doubts about the Clippers long term future in L.A, however.
The Key Arena renovation will be completed in June of 2021. Just in time for the arrival of a new NHL expansion franchise (Fall '21). If the Inglewood arena proposal hasn't gained enough traction by that time, It wouldn't shock me if Ballmer did pull the rug out from under that fan base. Just a hunch.
Fwiw the Kings stayed in Sacramento because Chris Hansen & Ballmer made the mistake of being very upfront about wanting to move the team. So, the league intervened. If they had instead initially lied about their true intentions (like the OKC group), then they likely would have been successful in buying/moving it.
Why would Ballmer move the Clippers out of one of the top 3 locations for a NBA franchise? LA barely has to lift a finger to keep either of their teams.