The Current State of the Sonics: Hope for the Summer
By Nick Lee
Will current whispers of NBA expansion finally bring the Seattle Supersonics back home? Keep your eyes peeled for some crucial moves this spring and summer.
I don’t need to say it. It has been said over and over again. Bottom line: the city wants their Seattle Supersonics back.
Ever since the Sonics packed up and moved to Oklahoma City in 2008, there has been heartbreak in possible moves back to Seattle. From former CEO of Microsoft and King County resident Steve Ballmer buying the Clippers, to the city of Seattle nixing the sale of a street in SoDo for possible construction.
Let’s stop going in circles and talk about what is new. There are whisperings among sources in the NBA that commissioner Adam Silver wants to expand the NBA to 32 teams. Silver has called Seattle a “first-class market.”
According to 16 Wins a Ring, Silver has even said to have Seattle down as a “lock” for one of the expansion sites, if indeed the NBA moves in that direction. The good news is the Collective Bargaining Agreement is out of the way and the NBA can focus on expansion among other things.
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Sonics legend Lenny Wilkens (three-time All-Star as a player and won Seattle’s only NBA Championship as a coach in 1979) recently said in an article for The Seattle Times: “We have the best chance to date to bring the Sonics back to Seattle -either in SoDo or a rebuilt KeyArena.”
The date to look forward to is April 12th, when these proposals are due. By summer, we might have an idea of where the best option for the new arena will be.
The 2017 legislature session is underway in Olympia. State Senator Michael Baumgartner has been vocal in his support of the return of the Seattle Supersonics.
As reported by Q13 FOX, Baumgartner recently said: “There’s room in the hearts of Washingtonians for one more professional sport’s team, and room in Seattle for their stadium.” He is asking the committee to look to pass bills that will aid in the return of the Sonics.
It looks like there are forces on many fronts moving towards the Sonics returning. Is this all hearsay? Perhaps.
Could this crumble like the promising proposals of the past? It can. But this seems like the loudest it has been in a long time.
It is huge that NBA commissioner Silver is contemplating expansion, seemingly with the heartbroken fans of Seattle in mind. That has to count for something.
Let’s work together any way we can. Support our politicians that support the Sonics returning and do all we can to ensure it happens, no matter where the arena goes. We just want them back.
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Where do you currently stand in respect of the Sonics returning to Seattle? Are you optimistic, or have you given up hope? Or perhaps you’re taking a wait-and-see approach with the whole situation? Share your thoughts in the comments section.