Just saw the news/rumor this morning. As a Seattle native, I'm very happy to hear the Sonics may be coming back. On the other hand, I feel bad for the fans of the Kings. As many of you know, we were in a similar situation when our team was taken from us and moved to OKC. I hope the news is true and we get another team back. Future Thunder vs Sonics games are gonna be crazy! Go Sonics! Go Seahawks!
Who are the Sonics? Is that what the team will be renamed if they move? As a Sacramentan, I hope this doesn't happen. Not from a sports perspective because I hate sports and couldn't care less, but from an economic perspective Sacramento has had taken a lot of hits employment wise recently. Losing the Kings would put so many more people out of work and that's the last thing we need right now.
Have fun dealing with Ballmer. Steve Ballmer-led group to buy Sacramento Kings, bring basketball back to Seattle | The Verge
And still no answer on that whole Sonics question. This is what I get for wandering into a sports thread.
When I used to follow basketball, I was a Sonics fan, I was disappointed when they disappeared. I'd like to see them come back. Will the team definitely be renamed? Or would they be the Seattle Kings or something. That doesn't sound as catchy.
They were the Seattle Supersonics (Sonics for short) for 40 years before being relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008. The Kings would essentially be replacing the team Seattle lost.
Hey, that's cool! I'm not a HUGE basketball fan, but I was quite into the Supersonics back in the 90's. Shawn Kemp, Gary Payton, Hersey Hawkins, Detlef Shrempf, etc. etc. - they had a pretty good team. Haha, I even bought Kemp's brand of shoe! It was "The Kamikaze".
Thank you! So that's why all the speculation over if they would be renamed or not. Makes sense. Thanks again for answering my question.
The Thunder have an agreement with the city of Seattle that they will transfer all of the name rights, logos, etc. back to Seattle without cost if they have another team and chose to do so. What's interesting is that this will also include the team history, including records and championships. I guess that would put all of the Kings records into limbo. I've got major respect to fans who realize they're putting Sacramento through the same thing they went through when the Thunder moved. I'm stunned that there are people who fought tooth and nail against the "theft" of the Thunder that are now really happy they're getting a team again through the same process, though.
As a Minnesota Native i can understand the pain of Seattle Hoops fans. The LA Lakers were once the Minneapolis Lakers and the lakes they are named for are in Minnesota they left for the west coat in 1960 and we did not get another team until 1989 when the Timberwolves came into being.
Congrats. Now those Seattle people will stop saying "Oklahoma stole our team!" (Or something like that) now.
SONICSGATE [Online Director's Cut -- 2009] - YouTube Watch the link when you get a chance and you'll understand.
Damn Lakers! Wish they'd stayed here but had been named the Timberwolves to start cause that name is sweet. Btw, would peeps in Seattle even want the Kings? I can't really talk because the T-Wolves have been bad pretty much since KG left but the Kings aren't a very good team. Just look at Cousins and his on again, off again drama.
As a Cleveland resident who watched our team get snatched up, moved to Baltimore, then replaced, I can tell you...it's not quite the same, but it felt good to have a team again.
The Thunder weren't exactly good during their first season in OKC. They only won 23 games in 2008-09, so that kind of thing is irrelevant early on. Right now, I think Seattle fans are more excited about having an NBA franchise than anything else. And while Sacramento hasn't been good, they do have a lot of young talent in place. As for Cousins, they can always sever ties with him while he still has a high trade value as a young scoring center.
It was a fascinating watch. I wish it was on DVD/blu-ray. I love these types of documentaries. (Sort of reminds me of the band without a team from 30 for 30) I understand where you guys are coming from, but don't blame benett, blame Schultz, or the Seattle city council. Again, congratulations on getting a new team. I look forward to the upcoming Seattle/Thunder games.