April 29, 2007

Sonics' Vegas footsie: a timeline

The story so far of what's happened since the Washington state legislature killed a $300 million arena funding bill for the Seattle Sonics two weeks ago:

• A week ago Friday, NBA commissioner David Stern said he'd appoint a committee of league owners to study Las Vegas' proposal to host an NBA team. Citing the Sonics' "disappointing week" at the legislature, Stern said, "There's no current Plan B. There's a willingness by the team to meet with any and all who are in Seattle."
• Last Wednesday, Sonics owner Clay Bennett told the board of Seattle's Convention and Visitors Bureau that if the team moves, Las Vegas is a more likely destination than his hometown of Oklahoma City. "It was about money," Seattle councilmember Jan Drago, who was at the board meeting, told the Seattle Times. "They can't make a return on their investment in Oklahoma ... he really expected to end up in Vegas."
• All hell broke loose in the sports media.
• Asked by ESPN's Jim Gray on Friday for his reaction to Bennett's statement that Las Vegas was the Sonics' likely destination, Stern snapped, "I don't think he said that. ... I think he'll withdraw that."
• Bennett issued a statement backtracking slightly from his Wednesday comments, saying his priority was to remain in Seattle, and that Oklahoma City was still an option for relocation: "We know Oklahoma City and we know what this remarkable marketplace can do, based on the way it exceeded all expectations over the past two years. We have said all along, as has NBA commissioner David Stern, Oklahoma City deserves an NBA team, and, we would add, a WNBA team."

Sonics spokesperson Jim Kneeland's explanation of the whole brouhaha: "That whole Las Vegas thing came out of the fact he was asked a question about it being a forgone conclusion the team was heading to Oklahoma City, and he said, 'We're looking hard at Las Vegas right now.' It kind of grew out of that whole notion. He didn't walk in to make a grand announcement."

An equally likely explanation: Bennett knows that Oklahoma City is too small to be a viable alternative to Seattle, and wants to keep his options open, if for no other reason than to maintain a credible move threat to keep Washington state legislators antsy about losing their team. Stern, meanwhile, while not wanting to undercut Bennett's leverage, has his own agenda: He doesn't want Vegas to think that it can get an NBA team without banning betting on pro basketball games, which is a deal-breaker for the commish. So we get this careful dance, where Bennett is able to drop Las Vegas' name as a possible relocation site, so long as he doesn't anoint it the "frontrunner."

Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, meanwhile, issued a statement of his own, saying, "The whole world knows Las Vegas thirsts for a NBA franchise. But we're not going to put ourselves in the position where we could be used as a pawn because people know our desire." Too late.