Originally Posted by
BigRedJed
Actually, there are some valid points. Very few people in OKC, or even the sports world know the real story. As I've stated, everyone just accepts the Sonics are the team that will be here. Even the people in Seattle currently accept that. I would say it is very, very possible (maybe even likely) that will NOT happen.
One of the things he also has right is that OKC will not have a franchise in '07 - '08. I've already said that. Of course, for different reasons. The thing that sets my scenarios apart from those of people he calls "OKC boosters" is that I recognize that. There is no possiblity whatsoever at this point that we will have a team that season.
The place where he really fails in his analysis is to compare MLB and the NBA. The examples he uses are all baseball-related. He talks about Charlotte, but fails to consider the way that city was quickly rewarded by the NBA with the Bobcats expansion franchise when they allowed George Shinn to skip town unfettered at the leagues (grudging) request. Also, one of the reasons Charlotte doesn't want an MLB team is that it would be too much competition for the existing franchises.
Baseball thrives in huge markets, and so does hoop, but basketball also thrives in smaller markets with no other major league sports competition. It's why the NBA works so well here, and why OKC would be wise to turn down the NHL or anyone else who comes around sniffing in the first decade or so where OKC has a permanent NBA franchise.
David Stern is NOT Bowie Kuhn or Bud Selig. He is controlling this process very closely, and is not a puppet of the owners. He loves the OKC market, wants the NBA to be here, and perhaps more importantly loves Clay Bennett and the owner group that will own here when it happens.
Stern put the deal together in Seattle specifically so that one of the scenarios I detail in this thread will occur. Take it to the bank. You can also take it to the bank that at some point in the next year (and possibly next couple of years) it will almost certainly look like we are always going to be on the outside looking in, shut out of the NBA. When it looks like that, dig up this thread and be ready for me to say "I told you so." And then take solace in the fact that a permanent franchise is right around the corner.