It’s going to be hard not to be towing a busload of baggage into what might be the final event at the Key before it is rebuilt into an NHL arena. But it’s a golden opportunity to show the NBA what Seattle can do again.
You can view this development with righteous indignation, or with over-the-top delirium.
Or you can do what I’m going to do — savor the moment, repress any lingering resentment, and not look too deeply for hidden meaning or long-term significance.
NBA basketball, it appears, is coming back to Seattle — specifically, to the last vestiges of KeyArena — next fall, when the Sacramento Kings meet the Golden State Warriors in an exhibition game on Oct. 6.
Yeah, the choice of teams is fraught with symbolism and what could be interpreted as jabs of varying degree. The Kings are the team that could be playing right now in Chris Hansen’s Sodo arena had the NBA not nixed the sale of the Kings to Hansen’s group back in May of 2013. And the Warriors are the team that possess superstar Kevin Durant, who could have given us many seasons of glory in Seattle had not Clay Bennett carpetbagged the Sonics to Oklahoma City in 2008.
Most Read Sports Stories
In other words, it’s going to be hard not to be towing a busload of baggage into what might be the final event at the Key before it is torn asunder in a remodel that will result in a sparkling new venue for NHL hockey. And, just maybe, one day, some day, hopefully, possibly, cross your fingers, an NBA team.
The Sonics’ departure to Oklahoma, of course, opened up deep psychic wounds that have not fully healed in the ensuing decade. The contentious tug-of-war between Sodo and KeyArena has just added to the angst. So it’s not surprising that many are regarding this cameo NBA appearance, the first sanctioned league event in Seattle since April 13, 2008, when the Sonics beat the Dallas Mavericks 99-95 in the home finale of the 2007-08 season, as some kind of slap in the face. It’s too little, too late, they feel, and on top of that, kind of insulting to make Seattle, a rabid NBA market for 40 years, prove its bona fides.
That’s one school of thought. Another is that this is a golden chance for Seattle to show the NBA that its passion for the sport is unabated, and thus somehow convince commissioner Adam Silver to start the machinery churning toward the bestowal of a new team. That’s probably too much to expect for a one-off in preseason with no known prospects of expansion or relocation on the horizon.
But there’s no wrong answer, mind you. Far be it from me to deem someone’s well-founded cynicism and resentment as inappropriate, or to douse someone else’s yearning for some sort of positive omen in the quest to bring back the Sonics, or a reasonable facsimile. Those are all valid emotions, considering how traumatic the whole Sonics departure and quest for their return has been.
But I’m going to try to push all that aside and revel in real, live NBA basketball back in Seattle (or as close to real as exhibition basketball comes). If the almost-certain sellout crowd impresses the lords of the NBA, so much the better. If the inevitable national media interest sparks some more focus on steering a team back to Seattle, great.
But in the meantime, how cool will it be to have Durant back in Seattle for the first time since his rookie season, when he exhorted the chants of the KeyArena crowd back in that 2008 finale? How cool will it be to see the premier NBA team of the moment, the Warriors, and the wondrous Steph Curry, as well as former Cougar Klay Thompson?
I agree with Sonics superfan Brian Robinson, the site manager of sonicsrising.com and a member of Mayor Jenny Durkan’s Community Advisory Committee on the new arena, who sees no downside, and plenty of upside, to this exhibition game.
“I’ve waited a decade for an olive branch and an opportunity to repair the relationship between Seattle and the NBA,’’ he said. “I think this is great progress. There’s no negative spin to Durant and Steph being in Seattle. It will be an awesome experience and an opportunity to rebuild that relationship.”
Robinson says he’s never felt better about the chances of Seattle getting another team eventually. As for whether or not this game will help that process, “I think it’s a necessary step, and I’m excited to get it out of the way to get to the next necessary step.”
It’s still unclear who instigated this game, and we might have to wait until the official announcement before we get more details, but a source told me that the Oak View Group was not involved. From the city’s end, it would stand to reason that Mayor Durkan was a key player, and Durant’s comments indicate that he’s fully on board.
Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee, who broke the story that the Kings and Warriors were coming to Seattle, wrote that the real driving force was Warriors president Rick Welts. He is a Seattle native who spent 10 years working for the Sonics from 1979-89.
Wrote Voisin of Welts: “He is delivering an assist to his hometown, pushing for a reconciliation and reintroduction, along with an opportunity to reignite the intensely passionate, understandably tortured discussion about bringing back the Sonics, via expansion or (gulp) relocation.”
That’s all good, right? So when Oct. 6 rolls around, I’m going to tuck away my bitterness, temper my expectations, and enjoy some basketball.