We deserve to lose the kings if these idiots dont get the arena deal done. Seattle dared them to move and now you get what you ask for. If we really want to keep this team, cal expo is it, otherwise the only thing in town is gonna be the rivercats, and disney on ice.

even today I feel like the politicians only took this thing to court for financial gain. If Seattle is to get a team, it will come after the 5 year period so they can bilk another 30 million out of Bennett and then maybe a new regime can garner the support to bring a new team back in. I pray that KJ can come in and help get something done here in Sac because the door is wide open once this ridiculous Cal Expo deal dies.

Sorry Seattle fans, next time chose your politicians more carefully and stop buying Star Bucks because if the previous owner did his homework he could have predicted this whole mess. This situation exposed so many aspects of how the NBA is nothing but a shitty nasty business. Bennett, the politicians of Seattle, Star Fucks and David Stern teamed up to screw the general public. I have officially lost all respect for David Stern, the last couple of months have exposed him a nothing but a fraudulent weasel who has bought his own line of bullshit.

Sorry for the profanity but this is a very touchy situation. I see us, as Kings fans facing this same type of extinction very soon. The Las Vegas Kings will be a reality if someone doesn’t step up and build this stadium.

....if Washington was better at holding a team then they would have kept it. Clay is living the dream we all wish we could. He and his friends wanted a team in OKC and they went and bought one. They all got sick of having to fly to sit courtside, so they went and bought a team. Good for them.

Should have had Jackie Chiles from Seinfeld put that deal together, someone would have come away with free Starbucks coffee for life.

of when they were threatening to move the giants to tampa bay. really? you’re going to leave san francisco, one of the premier cities in the U.S., if not the world, for tampa freaking bay? nothing against OKC (or tampa for that matter,) but the idea of leaving the city of seattle without pro basketball is absolutely absurd.

david stern is a snake and a coward. i don’t want to believe in insane-sounding conspiracy theories about game 7 setups and large-market favoritism in the playoffs, but after watching his callous, cynical, anti-populist behavior with the unfolding of this outright atrocity, how can i resist wondering?

he’s losing his grip over his public, and, like all tyrants, the more the power leaves his hands, the tighter he grasps and the more secretive and sinister he becomes. i cannot WAIT to see this bastard deposed. the future of the nba as a league people can trust is unequivocally at stake.

But, I personally feel Stern is using Seattle as a personal example of what to do when you tell him no. You do not fuck with Napoleon at any time for any reason. Even when warranted.

....are really this fired up over a company moving its regional headquarters?

How did you feel when the Kings left KC-Omaha? Or Rochester?

And don’t say its different. Those moves were driven by business and so was this deal.

....of a business wants to purchase said business and move it closer to home for any reason, then in my mind, it is driven by business. Whether it is just because the owner and his friends want to enjoy that business and it’s fruits is irrelevant.

....are you going to continue to seek revenue from that decision or is Disneyland now closed to the public? I’m pretty sure Clay and his friends are going to keep charging people to go to the games. I’m pretty sure they are going to keep charging for $10 beers.

They want their business more convenient to them and to enjoy it themselves.

I think Bennett lied, but I also don’t think it took a genius to figure out what he was going to do. If you own a dog, and a guy who runs a dog fighting ring comes to you to buy it, do you tell him he needs to make a concerted effort to love and care for the dog? No…you wait for someone else to come by! Schultz sold this team to the highest bidder, knowing there was a good chance this could happen, and is upset about it after he got his money.

I think Schultz, Bennett, and the fans all had a chance to do the right thing, and none of them decided to do so. Unfortunately, for all involved, Bennett had the upper hand.

I can understand the situation from a business perspective but I think what most people react to is the emotional loss of people of Seattle. Those fans who grew up with this team and that had an emotional investment in the Sonics. You can talk all about attendance, revenues, losses, or whatever you want, but you can’t forget that for thousands of people this basketball team meant more than just that. It feels like some bully, only because he’s bigger and stronger (and richer), came and took away something you value a lot. Owners can do whatever they want with their businesses but that doesn’t mean that we can’t relate and feel bad for those who are negatively affected by this decision.

To make the situation worse, David Stern played along and didn’t seem to care for these people. As many have said, it is his way of setting an example for future cities. If they are not willing to cooperate and go along with HIS plan, their team will be on their way out. It’s a shame… it truly is.

I just got home. Reading this thread was like reading the Wall Street Journal. My head hurts real bad. I’m going to go read “Marmaduke” and “Family Circus” until the pain goes away.