Interpreting Schultz’s lawsuit

wow! this thing is getting crazy. either way this makes bennet look real bad. and the NBA.

This line blows the guys whole arguement…..

“Two days before the sale, in a highly damaging e-mail, Bennett told one of his partners if an arena deal was eventually sealed in Seattle, they could do a “sweet flip” and just sell the team and leave Seattle.”

No where in the buy-sell agreement or side letter does It require Bennett to own the team for any specified length of time. There is nothing that would prevent him from getting an arena built and then selling the team for a profit……”a sweet flip”

If he got an arena built and sold to local owners he would have fulfilled the side letter…..an arena would have been built and the team would have stayed in Seattle. So how can discussing that possibility violate anything.

If they had no intention of trying to get an arena built then “a sweet flip” would have been the furthest thing from thier mind.

phillip my man, your looking at this through rose colored spectacles. without question this shows that bennet’s intentions were less than honorable. hence the nuts and bolts of this suit.

” SEATTLE Sonics Says:
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:35 pm

Philip, would you please stop whining about the lawsuits. If they are so “silly” then lets just see if the court agrees. You wanna know what is silly though? Your understanding of the legal system.”

word. the good faith portion has nothing to do with building an arena. it pertains to purchasing the team with a good faith intent to own and operate in seattle.

The streak continues…..”that guy” is wrong again. At least he’s consistent, ya goota give him that.

“It is not our intention to move or relocate the teams so long, of course, as we are able to negotiate an attractive successor venue [to KeyArena] and lease arrangement. Our commitment to you to use our good faith best efforts over the coming year to negotiate such a venue and lease arrangement in the Greater Seattle Area provides further concrete evidence of this intention.”

If there was any validity to Schultz’s suit dont you think Seattle’s lead prosecutor Gordon Slade would have been talking about that instead of talking about negotiating for a replacement team?

I mean Slade has access to ALL the emails. So Percy Allen’s “more juicy emails to come” have already been scrutinized by Slade. He obviously believes there is NO chance for this suit otherwise you would have heard him talk about the possibility of Schultz winning the suit and forcing the team into the hands of local owners.

Slade believes Seattle’s best chance is to negotiate a new franchise. This is the SAME Slade that Seattle fans have been saying for some time would bring the hammer down on the NBA. They touted him as their big hitter, now they dont even want to talk about how he feels it is time to come to the table.

From an outsiders prospective this looks bad for OKC. I came here to look to see if there was anything I missed in reading the brief submitted by Schult’s laywer that the OKC fans could point out, but the best you have is Philip spouting desperate nonsense.

Not sure how this will turn out, but one thing that is clear to the entire nation, Clay Bennett is a shady man who couldn’t tell the truth to save his life.

I really feel bad for the Sonics fans out there, I cant even imagine this happening to my team. Heck I feel sorry for OKC residents that may end up with this guy owning their long sought after basketball team. You never like to see these type of things going down.

To the OKC fans willing to defend someone like Bennett, you are looking pretty silly to the rest of the world.

Just my two cents.

read the complaint genius. you have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about. (see, claim 1: fraudulent inducement, claim 2: negligent misrepresentation)

and the ‘guy’ who’s argument you totally ‘blew’ up went to princeton and graduated from the university of chicago law school. pretty astounding that you think your GED-based knowledge measures up.

I don’t care where he went to school, he’s still wrong…..

“Schultz’s proposed lawsuit to rescind a contract on which he was paid two years ago falls severely short in its legal merit. Although certain emails seem to indicate that the Sonics’ new ownership group may have been privately planning to move the team to Oklahoma City from the very beginning of negotiations, this behavior alone does not likely provide grounds for complete rescission of a sale-of-franchise contract for lack of a “good faith effort.” Not only is the issue of what constitutes “good faith” under this sort of clause vague, but, even more importantly, the doctrine of “substantial performance” states that performance is considered complete once the essential and material obligation is accomplished, and any shortfall from full performance thereafter is compensable only by monetary damages. The essential obligation of the new Sonics ownership group was simply to pay Schultz the full purchase price for the team, and the new ownership did that, paying a premium to boot. Under Washington state law, “if more than one promise is made [in a contract], each promise does not have to be substantially performed. Overall, substantial performance is sufficient.” Mortimer v. Dirks, 57 Wash. 402, 107 P. 184 (1910). In other words, breach of a secondary promise not vital to the core of the contract itself is insufficient to rescind the contract in full.”

Marc Edelman is an attorney, business consultant, published author and professor, whose focus is on the fields of sports business and law.

http://abovethelaw.com/2008/04/sports_and_the_law_dont_cry_ov_1.php

phil why cant you admit that this suit is somewhat on the level. and that bennet is an historical douchebag!!

is this how the good people of okc want to get a club?
i keep hearing how this will raise thier national profile. thats a laugh in its self. 90 percent of this nation are unaware of your exsistence. now only 70 percent are unaware of exsistence. and its all negative!! im not tryin to be mean. but for gods sake pull your heads out of your ass!

phil, the more i read the more i think, your best chance is change of venue.

This does look bad. It shows that the ownership groups fraud was in that they never intended to own a team in Seattle. Aubrey Mclendon came out and stated this much last summer. He told the truth. Clay Bennet represented this ownership group and he lied. It’s very clear. Now they can go to trial and they can drag Aubrey and Clay and David Stern up to the stand. Let’s see if the billionaires want to commit perjury on top of the other crimes they’ve committed.

Philip

You might want to quote something that came out after the brief was filed. If I remember correctly Munson said something very similar until the actual lawsuit was filed….his view quickly changed after that. Please stop making people in OKC look bad. You would however make a fine government leader here in LA….twisting the untwistable truth.

Joey, you seem to be a good guy but the NBA is done in Seattle until you guys come up a better arena and all the lawsuits in the world aren’t going to change that.

Slade understands that……I wonder how long it will be before the rest of you figure it out……

…and to the guy from L.A…..I can’t believe you thieving bastages stole the Dodgers.

Schultz only sold because he and the other owners expected the team to remain in Seattle. They turned down an offer from Larry Ellison who wanted to move to San Jose. The sales contract and side letter made this condition clear. Bennett lied to Schultz to enduce him to sell. It is pretty open and shut. There are too many emails documenting his intent. The court may well put the franchise under the control of a trustee until it can be resold to Seattle investors. Bennett’s Hall of Fame reputation is about as solid as Elliot Spitzer. Stern isn’t free of guilt either.

Hey Phillip… I took a look at what you wrote on the blog you provided the link for and regarding #2, 3, 4, 6 & 7 on your 9-part list of things Howard would have to prove to make a case for “fraudulent inducement”…… you might want to update your blog now that Howard’s actually filed his suit. I think the whole “I’m committed to keeping the Sonics in Seattle” bs that Bennett professed, along with all the subsequent faux pas and outright lies that Bennett’s perpetrated will do a pretty good job of proving #2, 3, 4, 6 & 7. Since Howard’s going to be able to say “I turned down a higher offer from someone who wouldn’t commit to keeping the team in Seattle” AND since the close vote by the BCOS to approve the sale CLEARLY relied on Bennett’s false promises, even you have to admit that Schultz’ case, as written, has better than a snowball’s chance of getting heard. Whether or not he’ll win, I wouldn’t venture to guess. But I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the prospect of Bennett, Stern, et al being forced to take the stand in Schulz’ suit brings about some sort of settlement that will pass muster with the people of Seattle and Washington state.

Philip the Dodger move cant even be compared to what is going on now. Big difference when you have a technological advance (airplane) that makes 1/2 of the united states accessible to a sport, and are competing with 3 other teams in the same city. But you are right the way we got the Angeles was much more appropriate than taking the Dodgers from Brooklyn just because they couldnt find any land to build a new stadium.

Excuses,excuses…..You L.A. A**holes are a bunch of lying, thieving, good for nothin BASTAGES!!!!

Just kidding……

sabaac1, just because you say it, doesn’t make it true.

Show me exactly what Bennett said in an email that would make that true.

The “sweet flip” remark doesn’t get you there.

Indeed, Aubrey was the one who told the truth and Stern fined him for doing so. He might be asking for his money back before this is all said and done. It is fun to watch our OC brethren try to defend someone who the whole country knows has no intergity and is a liar. But I guess the excitement of the possibility of getting a team clouds your vision?

The problem with having an owner with no integrity is that he will be screwing over OKC within a short period of time. So either way, Seattle gets the last laugh.

“phil why cant you admit that this suit is somewhat on the level”

Your own Seattle publications say it has little chance of success

“90 percent of this nation are unaware of your exsistence”

Thanks a lot…Hope you know it will now be hard for me to get out of bed in the morning and force myself to go to work knowing the nation doesn’t care

Bennett’s not a liar but I could see where you might wish he was,

He said build an arena or I’m taking the team and leaving. He even wrote a side letter to the previous owner declaring it when he bought the team.

He’s doing exactly what he said he would do.

Interesting development. It’s probably not worth writing in the middle of this useless flaming, but…

I read the brief, and I agree with ESPN that it is a serious legal argument, not just a PR move (although it’s that too). But you need a very high standard of proof before a judge will unwind the sale.

From a personal perspective (and I say this even though I’ve been in favor of the move), I’m convinced Bennett lied about his intentions and has generally behaved like an ass. But from a legal perspective, he did take steps to cover his, including saying and writing many of the right things about wanting an arena deal in Seattle. He can point to a lot of evidence that he tried to keep the team in Seattle, even if he was probably just going through the motions.

My guess is that there’s just not enough evidence against Bennett, and this case ultimately tips in favor of the new ownership. But there might be enough evidence to cause a Seattle-based judge to issue an injunction against a move, and then all bets are off again…

In the end, I think the team is still more likely than not to come to OK, but I wouldn’t cry too much if Bennett & Co lose hundreds of millions in the process–they deserve it.

The key here is good faith effort. And Shultzes attorneys have plenty of evidence to prove this case. In fact, your buddy Aubey is on our side in this court case.

DO you really think he acted in good faith? C’ome on lets be “honest”. lol

Schultz’s case is like everything else that has come out of Seattle. Smoke & Mirrors. To obfuscate the matter so much it appears all they are doing is giving the fans a bi-polar ride as the OKC nba team heads Southeast. This case will be lucky to make it to a hearing let alone trial.
I know the emoitonal roller coaster the city of seattle has given fans of the okc NBA team has been quite the ride but don’t worry it will all be over soon.

Huskies, tell me what deal Frank Chopp would have agreed to. How do you deal in good faith with people that don’t want a deal?

But to answer your question, do I think Bennett acted in good faith? Yes and so does Bennetts star witness……

“The effort to keep the Seattle SuperSonics in the Puget Sound area is on life support, according to state Sen. Margarita Prentice (D-Renton), chairwoman of the Senate Ways and Means committee.

“They are about as close to (being gone) as I have experienced,” Prentice said. “It’s a shame. A lot of people are going to be disappointed. It’s a disgrace to lose a team for no good reason.”

And Prentice doesn’t mince words when asked who’s to blame for the NBA franchise’s imminent departure from the Emerald City – pointing a finger at the City of Seattle.

“Seattle has painted itself in a corner because it’s impossible now,” Prentice said. “They are desperate, trying to figure out a way to make it work, and it doesn’t work.

“Too may people have engaged in wishful thinking, hoping that the fairy godmother is going to arrive, and there’s no such person out there.”

The comments were the Renton senator’s harshest since Sonics chairman Clay Bennett and his Oklahoma City-based ownership group purchased the team in July 2006. Prentice said Seattle city officials, along with the powers-that-be in Olympia, worked to kill an effort proposed by Bennett’s group during last year’s legislative session to build a new arena for the Sonics within her district in Renton.

“I know for a fact that he wanted to stay,” Prentice said about Bennett. “He spent a lot of time and money trying to make it work here. And the real tragedy is we had the votes in both houses.”

I see Philip is up in arms that a reporter for the Oklahoman would reference a legal analysis from a respected legal expert that lends credibility to Shultz’s lawsuit. Philip is starting to convince me with his legal aptitude. I would encourge Bennett to harness Philip’s legal authority on matters of contract law and represent him in court.

Thanks for the link Philip, seriously. Marc Edelmen makes some great points and I would consider him a highly credible source. I would be interested in getting his take on the actual lawsuit Schultz filed, given that his blog entry was made a week ago. Especially, considering the passage in his comments which you conveniently left out.

“Although one way potentially around the doctrine of substantial performance may involve bringing a separate claim based on fraudulent inducement, a fraud claim under Washington law similarly is a nonstarter. Under Washington law, Schultz would have to show convincing evidence of “(1) a representation of existing fact, (2) that is material, (3) and false, (4) the speaker knows of its falsity, (5) intent to induce another to act, (6) ignorance of its falsity by the listener, (7) the latter’s reliance on the truth of the representation, (8) his right to rely on it, and (9) consequent damage.” Pedersen v. Bibioff, 64 Wash. App. 710, 723 n. 10 (1992). Even without knowing all of the facts, proving element nos. 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7 each would likely present some difficulty for Schultz.”

rj, im not basing my opinion on what columnists say. i simply go from what i hear litigators say!

and im sorry. i shouldnt have said 90 percent of the nation does not know you exist. we have been down the nasty road before. im not going back down it.

There is some very important facts to consider here:

1) “experts” such as Edlemen are speaking on theory. His article was written before anyone had any idea as to the specifics.

2) The fun thing about law is that you can always find someone who will take the other side of the issue. You can catch someone red handed in the act with cameras rolling and 100 witnesses and there will be a lawyer out there that can make a good presentation that they should be found not-guilty. That doesn’t mean it will happen, just that they can always find a way to make the point.

3) The lawyer Schultz has hired is one of the top anti-trust minds in the country and has a solid resume in sports franchise cases. This is no fly by night guy and he doesn’t take cases that are losers.

4) More and more “experts”, even a lot that said before that it didn’t have a chance, are now saying this case has merit and is winable.

5) When you are used to dealing in the public eye you don’t make mistakes like this but when you are Clay and used to getting what you want, when you want it, and without a lot of people looking over your shoulder you make mistakes. He made a ton and they will come back to bite him.

6) This case doesn’t have to win to do the job. Clay could find himself ruined as a businessman even if he wins if it looks like “he got away with it”. Do you think anyone would want to do business with someone sued for fraud like this?

You all can stop citing Prentice as proof of anything. It is well known in this region that she is not functioning with a full bag of marbles and she is the only person in Washington state that still actually thinks Clay Bennett is an honest man.

Quote her all you want if it makes you feel good but don’t be fooled into thinking what she says has any impact on the direction this thing is going or what the outcome will be.

The key thing to remember here is that this case doesn’t have to win to do the job it just has to make it into the system. If the court lets the case go forward it will be the end this team moving, period. You can take that to the bank.

This was plucked from another site to address the issues in that article that was refering to the lack of good faith after the sale not the fradulent intent prior to the sale:

4, 6, and 7 can be proved using the emails as basis. The emails can show that

The Speaker Knew of the Falsity:
As evidenced by Bennett saying that they can just end up flipping if the team ended up staying in Seattle, before the sale. It clearly shows that Bennett knew of the falsity 2 days before the sale.

Ignorance of its falsity by the listener:
Schultz will have to say that he trusted Bennett because of the 2 documents guaranteeing the effort were given to him. He can say that he believed him, because otherwise Bennett was opening himself up to be sued for fraud. And if Stern potentially introduced Bennett to Schultz, Schultz can say he was referred by a dependable source, Stern.

The latter’s reliance on the truth of the representation:
This can be proved by Schultz as well. He just has to show that he only sold the Sonics to Bennett because Bennett promised to try to keep the team here. Schultz can show that he took less money, evidenced by not taking the Oracle guy’s offer, to make sure the team didn’t leave.

“Does Clay Bennett’s ’sweet flip’ exonerate him?”

“Here’s an interesting mind game. What if the Oklahoma City owners of the Sonics have been behaving honorably all along? News today of an email that envisioned a “sweet flip” of the team, keeping it in Seattle, makes such a theory somewhat plausible. Suspend your media-whipped anger at the Oklahomans for a few minutes, and follow me on a shrewd tale of modern capitalism.

It’s necessary, first, to keep a few factors in mind. Clay Bennett, chairman of the Oklahoma City group, is also chairman of the investment firm Dorchester Capital, wise in the ways of buying properties and flipping them to the next group at a handsome profit. That would have been the option had he been able to get a modern new arena for the team, something others have not been able to do”

http://www.crosscut.com/blog/seattle-supersonics/13664/Does+Clay+Bennett%27s+%27sweet+flip%27+exonerate+him/

.

This entire circus could have been avoided if Bennett would have just kept his mouth shut! Or should I say, kept his finger off of his keyboard!

wow, there’s a bunch of names i’ve never seen before contributing, so i changed mine. i think i’m the only guy in OKC who wants a team, but wants bennett to have nothing to do with it. it’s upsetting that some of my fellow okies seem to think it’s funny to say things like “don’t worry it will all be over soon,” but just know that SOME of us feel bad for seattle, and the way all of this is coming across.

now i will be attacked by oklahomans telling me that i do not speak for them. (duh.)

I think a few things are clear…

1. Both Seattle and Oklahoma City deserve a team. Any solution to this situation that leaves one of the cities without a team is a shame.

2. It’s becoming more and more difficult to envision that the Sonics will be going to Oklahoma City. Say what you will about whether or not this case is winnable. The bottom line is that it has merit. And that’s all that will be required to impose the injunction that Schultz is asking for. After the injunction is in place, all bets are off, and the Sonics will not be permitted to move, regardless of what happens with the lease case. If the case proceeds to trial, what will Bennett say in his testimony? Do Oklahoma City residents REALLY think it was his goal to keep the team in Seattle? REALLY? I don’t think so. So does he “spin” his e-mails and who knows what else and open up the possibility that he perjures himself? Opening up the possibility of actual jail time? Hmm. Will he let it get to that point, or is that incentive enough to settle, perhaps by selling the team back (and possibly at a profit). Jail or profit? Hmm.

3. Bennett is disingenuous at best, and an outright liar at worst. The Oklahoma City residents should be outraged at how he’s representing your city, and ashamed at how the team was acquired. He’s an absolute slimeball who saw an opportunity to steal a team or make a great profit. A win-win for him, regardless of who got hurt. Oklahoma City is going to bed with the devil. He’s already extorted a tax break from the legislature, threatening that he might not move the Sonics, even though he’d already applied to relocate there! Oklahoma City deserves a team, but not owned by this guy.

To answer the question, no the email about “sweet flip” does not get him off in fact it gets him in deeper. If you take just that comment out of the email you can spin it that way but you have to take the whole thing in context.

Next is his comments in this very paper just two days after the sale. “We are very bullish on the NBA and its future. The opportunity to buy a team does not come around very often, and we are completely impressed with the marketplace. It’s a compelling opportunity. ” He went on to say “We certainly want to integrate into the community. We will have a team of advisers and consultants and people who believe in us and want to help us be successful. We are completely committed.”

It is now clear that these statements were complete lies.

Sorry blakedawg but……

1. Seattle doesn’t have an arena that meets current NBA standards so unfortunately Seattle doesn’t deserve a team.

2. Shultz’s lawsuit is just a publicity stunt meant to deflect the blame he’s receiving for selling the team to out of state owners. He’s a snake who’s trying to stab Bennett in the back.

3.Bennett has been very truthful. He told Seattle that they needed to build a new arena or he was going to move the team to another city. He even told the previous owner that that was what he was going to do in a side letter at the time of the purchase. He is in the process of doing exactly what he said he would do.

Seattle has no one to blame but themselves, They decided they don’t need a new arena and the NBA decided that they aren’t willing to stay in Seattle in the current arena. So be it.

Sorry Andy but there is no way that you can twist “sweet flip” in to we’re taking the team and leaving….. it just doesn’t work.

Hey Phillip,

There was a deal proposed by a group led by Steve Ballmer to renovate Key Arena to the tune of $300M. Due to legislative bungling, the deal was not even reviewed in our State Legislature, but elected officials are open to reviewing it during the next session. I certainly envy your government’s quickness to act, but please don’t mistake legislative ineffectiveness for fan apathy. Fans are outraged, and really want the team to stay. Elected officials are only now beginning to realize that this is a problem for them, and that’s why they’re finally willing to do something about it. To say that Seattle doesn’t deserve a team is ignorant and mean-spirited.

Schultz’s lawsuit is not just a publicity stunt. I won’t argue this point, because it’s not worthwhile. But I believe that it does have merit, and that will bear itself out in the months to come.

Bennett has not been truthful. He saw an opportunity to steal a team, and has executed his plan flawlessly (well, except for the matter of his little e-mail trail). Bringing a team to OKC was his goal all along. I can see why you would say that he was truthful because you really want to see the NBA in your city. But I think you know that he did not set out to own a team in Seattle. To think otherwise is naive or foolish. Take your pick.

That’s really funny, blakedawg. You obviously haven’t kept up with this much. You might want to read up on this and educate yourself a little because your opinions come across as uninformed and naive. The state blew Ballmer off, just like they blew Bennett off before that and Shultz before that. Check out this story about the lying snake Shultz from over 2 years ago…..

Thursday, February 2, 2006 – Page updated at 12:56 PM

Schultz: Sonics may leave without cash
By Percy Allen

Sonics owner Howard Schultz said the team could be forced to sell or move if the state Legislature doesn’t set aside $200 million to refurbish KeyArena.

As their playoff prospects continue to dwindle and the sea of empty red seats at KeyArena grows exponentially each game, Sonics chairman Howard Schultz issued his strongest demands to city officials and state legislators who have appeared to turn a deaf ear.

Before Wednesday’s 111-107 victory over Golden State, Schultz said he wasn’t making a threat, but promised the team will leave Seattle or sell if it doesn’t win support for a taxpayer-financed $200 million expansion of KeyArena and reach agreement on a more lucrative lease to replace the one that expires in 2010.

“We want to stay here,” Schultz said. “We love this city. We raised our kids here. We built our businesses here and we’re being forced to accept a set of circumstances that are not acceptable. We can’t continue to lose this kind of money.”

A six-person panel appointed by Mayor Greg Nickels is studying what improvements need to be made to the arena and is expected to give a report that endorses the Sonics’ renovation to the city and state legislature, a team spokesman said.

Schultz believes the Legislature would have to appropriate funds before the session ends on March 9 because the session begins again in January 2007, leaving the Sonics less than ample time to complete renovations before 2010.

“We’ve asked [president] Wally Walker to begin to seek other alternatives in view of the fact that it appears that March 9 is going to come and go and we’re not going to get what we’ve asked for,” Schultz said. “It’s a tragic situation. I don’t think we’ve ever thought we’d be here.”

Schultz said the team is seeking a deal involving KeyArena similar to what the Seahawks and Mariners received. Both teams were given state-financed funds to build state-of-the art stadiums.

He was also upset by comments council president Nick Licata made in a Sports Illustrated story.

When asked if the city would suffer lasting damage if the Sonics moved, Licata said: “On an economic basis, near zero. On a cultural basis, close to zero. We would still have two sports, and plenty of cities our size don’t have three.”

“I read that and said, ‘Who is this guy representing?’ ” Schultz said. “And he also made the comment that the Sonics and Storm did not contribute anything in terms of economic value to the city. We’re aghast at that. We have our own economic study that strongly suggests we generate over $200 million a year in economic real value to this region.”

Walker and executive vice president Terry McLaughlin have met with Bellevue city officials about a possible move across Lake Washington.

Schultz also revealed that the team has had discussions with a city official that has offered to give the Sonics a blank check and promised to build them an arena, but declined to reveal which cities the team was negotiating with.

The Sports Illustrated article said San Jose city officials have contacted the Sonics and Oklahoma City, Las Vegas, Norfolk, Va., and Anaheim, Calif., are also possible destinations.

Should the Sonics sell, Walker said he would seek the highest price to appease minority owners who bought the team for $200 million in 2001 and have lost $58 million over the past five years. Owners were also forced to answer a ‘05 cash call totaling about $17 million.

Over the last five years, Charlotte sold for $300 million, Boston ($360 million), Phoenix ($401 million) and Cleveland ($375 million).

“We’re on a collision course with time and we can’t wait,” said Schultz, chairman of Seattle-based Starbucks. “If people want to make me the villain, that’s their prerogative, but I’m here to tell you that we’ve tried for almost two years to meet the elected officials halfway and we’re not getting anything back.”

Hey Philip,

You might want to read posts a bit more carefully. I said that our legislature has bungled this whole thing. I also praised your government for quick action. Perhaps you could be so kind to explain to me how your position differs from those statements.

With regard to our legislature, the bottom line is that they suck, but that’s a whole separate issue. They not only dropped the ball on the Sonics, but have been dropping the ball on lots of things (like transportation) for years! I suspect that our governor will lose her job over this.

I still think that the best solution is for both Seattle and OKC to get a team. If you disagree and want to adopt an angry “winner take all” attitude. I guess that’s your prerogative.

everybody seems to think okc is deserving of a team, why? when has okc ever supported anything? they built a half ass cookie cutter arena that already needs improvements, only a few years later.
when the hornets were there people were not charged typical NBA prices for admission. to show the NBA they could fill an arena? and they only did that for about year. but now everybody thinks it will be a good NBA town. WHY? did no one learn anything from the memphis move?

now on the other hand seattle has supported the club for 40+ years and the seahawks and mariners for 30+years. and now i have to hear oklahomans blather on and on about how okc is ready for the big leagues, and that seattle is undeserving.
i dont know? maybe im just dumb?

you dont hear me lecturing oklahomans on bud wilkinsons legend. you dont hear me lecturing oklahomans on the complexitys of thier state government.(those are the only two things i can think of). of course you dont! and you wanna know why? because its careless,naive and irresponsible.

be fair joey, the ford center needs a few improvements because it wasn’t built for an NBA team, but it did okay as-is. and supporting the weakest professional sports league isn’t hard right now. everyone should have a team. maybe two. i’d much rather have a bunch of great concerts than some basketball team.

seattle’s not undeserving, and oklahoma is deserving, i just don’t want bennett involved. let’s work together to somehow get him out of seattle AND oklahoma.

Phillip, go ahead and just post the link next time. And if you insist on posting stuff that is completely outdated, don’t bother.

From the Seattle Times today: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004371389_websonics24m.html

“In an e-mail last August, Sonics owner Clay Bennett told fellow owner Aubrey McClendon that NBA executive Joel Litvin was “looking into certain documents we signed at closing that may have been breached.”

i.e. the NBA was probably aware that PBC violated the terms of their contract. Things continue to get worse for David Stern, who is looking ever more complicit in this affair, and who is trying avoid the courtroom.

“Bennett also worried that McClendon’s comments could land the owners in legal trouble. In an April 13, 2007, e-mail to McClendon, Bennett wrote: “Yes sir, we get killed on this one. I don’t mind the PR ugliness (pretty used to it), but I am concerned from a legal standpoint that your statement could perhaps undermine our basic premise of ‘good faith best efforts’… ”

yeah, you should be concerned. Stern is looking dumber and dumber for getting into bed with these dustbowl ego-strokers, which, if I was an Okie, would have me pretty worried. Dear Leader Stern is your only line of support and if these emails continue to make him look like a corrupt moron there will probably come a point where he thinks to himself, “Gee, maybe a broke ass bottom-feeding squad in Okietown just isn’t worth my credibility”.

joey – I definitely agree that it’s questionable whether or not OKC can support an NBA team, long term. They did a great job supporting the Hornets, but if they get a new team, will they be able to support it after the “new team smell” wears off? Hard to say.

But it’s also hard to say that they don’t deserve a team when they’ve bent over backwards to do everything they can. They’ve taxed themselves another $120M, and even approved tax breaks to Bennett’s group after they were already coming.

donut-lies – The voice of reason!

blakedog, As I said initially, Seattle doesn’t presently deserve a team because they have chose not to keep there facilities up to NBA standards.

We have made that commitment and are therefore getting a team. I’m sure that Seattle will get another team too at whatever time they are willing to get a new arena built. It’s going to be much more difficult now that the Sonics are leaving and I wouldn’t hold my breath as long as Frank Chopp is in office.

Blaming Bennett and Stern for your problems comes across as ignorant and ininformed.

mark, the emails are making for interesting reading but in the grand scheme of things they won’t make any difference.

Seattle has lost the Sonics and continues to further alienate themselves from the NBA with each passing day.

Hey Philip,

It’s true that Seattle doesn’t have facilities up to NBA standards, but there are many factors that go into that. Key Arena was remodeled just 13 years ago, after which David Stern praised the building and said that Seattle should be very proud.

Then, a mere decade later, he was with Schultz, lobbying the legislature for more remodeling. The amount Schultz was offering toward the proposed remodel was less than 10% of the total. Surely, you can see why that was met with some skepticism.

Where it turned interesting for me is when Bennett purchased the team. All of a sudden, the remodel that Stern was lobbying for just two years earlier was no longer sufficient. No! What was needed now was a $500M arena, for which Bennett never indicated how much he was willing to contribute.

To me, it’s clear that Bennett’s goal from the beginning was to bring the team to OKC. He would pledge “good faith”, and ask for the world. If, in the worst case scenario, Seattle bent over and gave him EVERYTHING he asked for, regardless of how reasonable that was, then they could just sell the team for a profit.

Ballmer’s group offered $150M of a $300M Key Arena remodel. And while our inept state legislature failed to act, it had the support of Seattle Mayor Nickels, as well as the support of the King County Council, and other activists in the area who have historically been against public subisidies for arenas.

The bottom line is that this is a confluence of events where supposed “leaders” lack vision, and vultures see opportunities and it’s the powerless fans who are stuck in the middle. I still contend that you deserve a team, but if Bennett’s the owner, you just wait. In 10 years, he’ll be coming after you.

joey said…..

“you dont hear me lecturing oklahomans on bud wilkinsons legend. you dont hear me lecturing oklahomans on the complexitys of thier state government.(those are the only two things i can think of). of course you dont! and you wanna know why? because its careless,naive and irresponsible.”

…..and you don’t see me going to a Seattle website and running my mouth. That’s called being a troll.

when we get a new building it will be all private. and a world class gem. so we will no longer have to sweat that prick chopp. chopp represents madison park. the only way he leaves office, is when he retires. unfortunately. the days of going to city and state govt. for crappy half ass arenas, are over. the future is all private beautiful first class facilitys.

i heard some one mention norfolk! and some of the other cities is question made me laugh. i took trip around the country about five summers ago. my goal was to see every aaa baseball park. and most of the cities i went to are currently fighting to become a big league city. not one single park was even close to half full!! NOT ONE!! un-flipping-believable! and its just aaa baseball.come on!

okc, your not becoming a big league city. the NBA is becoming a minor league!

phil, i know your on the seattle times forum.

“the emails are making for interesting reading but in the grand scheme of things they won’t make any difference.”

Well put. I can only hope the OKC lawyers use the same bulletproof line of reasoning in front of the judge.

What’s awesome is that Clay was deposed yesterday, and these new emails were released today….think his testimony kept in line with these new facts? If I were an Okie I wouldn’t have a lot of faith in Clay’s legal acumen.

blakedog, when Seattle agreed to do the remodel in the mid ninetys, the Sonics in turn agreed to a 15 year lease. Seattle has decided not to build a new arena and the team has decided not to agree to a new lease.

Everyone is getting what they deserve.

The Sonics have now signed a 15 year lease with OKC based on OKC remodeling the Ford Center. It would be extremely naive for us to thing we won’t need a successer venue at the end of that 15 years if we expect to keep the team.

joey, there are only a couple of privately built arenas in the country and they host multiple major league teams to make it work.

Seattle is about to have no major league teams to play in there arena. Hold your breath waiting for that private arena. Your going to turn some really cool shades of blue.

As far as me posting on the Times, you’re guessing but the place to call me out on it would be there. You Seattle trolls posting here are no better than the OKC trolls posting there.

If you haven’t already heard Oklahoma’s Philip on KJR AM radio in Seattle providing his legal analysis Schultz’ lawsuit, check it out on the Seattle Times website.

‘nba standards’ is an “ininformed” statement. your basing this solely on david stern’s opinion. apparently stern has targeted arco as his next arena that is not up to ‘nba standards’ and would like to use the ’see what i did to seattle’ as his impetus. the key doesn’t allow owners to take all the revenue from the surrounding area, thus bennett’s reason for not considering renovation but demanding a $500 million arena in renton. while the rationale for using public funding for an arena, presumably, is that the city or community also reaps some of financial benefits of the project.

the injustice here (which apparently you still fail to comprehend) is that the nba, which is a monopoly, is able to demand endless renovations and steamroll the political process. once again, seattle does not lack the will nor money to fund a new project but city and state officials were held hostage by stern’s demands and given a ridiculous timetable in which to publicly fund a project that would lead to excessive and unbalanced profits for the nba.

your boy and your city are the puppets in this whole power game. the nba found a market and buyer who are desperate and willing to provide unreasonable accommodations in order to secure a team. every city, especially a small market like okc, should be concerned and bothered by this situation. there’s nothing to stop the nba from doing this over and over again as long as they find desperate communities willing to bend over and acquiesce to their every demand. thus, your city comes off as extremely exploitive.

the key and arco are two of the loudest arenas in the league. unless you’ve been to either, you should leave the regurgitated stern statements to the nba. since anti-trust laws are basically obsolete in our country at this point, it’s pretty alarming that the nba is attempting to bypass contractual laws as well. it also flies in the face of any free market and actual (adam smith) capitalist principles. the fact that you’re shamelessly content with this whole process is pretty pathetic. it’s so myopic and definitely doesn’t help the stereotypes of your ‘heartland’ communities.

the nba is establishing a very reckless precedent that will inevitably bite them, and okc, in the near future.

Phil, the Email’s are material evidence that carry as serious weight, just ask Munson, he was on 950 KJR today and said that Schultz has a 55-60% chance to win based on what they have just now. Just travel over there and listen to the clip, it’s up.

What’s funny is Stern is probably going to have to take the stand in this case. That’s just makes things that much better.

You can act like the emails don’t mean anything, go ahead and keep believing that. Even start believing Munson is biased.

I just can’t wait to what more evidence they uncover after the get done getting more files from the NBA and finally finish going through all the emails and documents the got from the city of Seattle’s lease case.

Mark
These guys are in such denial that I dont think they have even read the link that you posted revealing new emails from Bennett.

Looks like the NBA front office warned Bennett and co that they were violating the contract agreement way last year!

These guys will stick with Bennett until he is put in jail for purgery.

phil, you were on kjr? im sorry i missed it. and whats the deal with calling people trolls? i dont watch lord of the rings or play dugeons and dragons. so im not sure i get it?

“Looks like the NBA front office warned Bennett and co that they were violating the contract agreement way last year!”

Actually said they may have and looked into it….Ultimately ruled that it didn’t …Big difference from “were violating”

Whats the NBA gonna do about the viloation? Punish Bennett? These guys are all in it together. Do you have a link to that NBA ruling on whether there was a contract breach or not?

Im sure they simply told him to watch his step. It appears they didnt advise him to eliminate the email evidence that will ultimately be his undoing.

Aubrey, is on Seattles side. He appears to be the only honest person in OKC!

We’ll have to wait to find out what the NBA decided and why. I guess that will come out in Court when Stern testifies.

Phillip, it’s called the Carrot and the Stick. Gordon holds out a carrot. “This is what we want to settle.” Shultz raps Bennett on the knuckles. “Here is the latest suit to get back our team and make show the World how dishonest you are..”

I really don’t care if the team stays in Seattle or move to OKC. I have a question though. Please only answer it if you are not a complete retard, thinking that your biased comments will have any effect. So here is the question. The NBA is a franchisee like Little Caesars and Ace Hardware. No if they didn’t approve of the direction of the owenrship of one of its franchisee’s than I am sure they would remove their name from the store and take other legal action. What if anything can the NBA do to the city of Seattle or the new ownership? I would think that if the NBA doesn’t want a franchisee there anymore they could do something about it.

of course the NBA’s owners approved the move, they’re looking out for one of their own. and they truly don’t care where any of their teams are, they want their money, however they can get it. the NBA is a weak league, growing weaker daily. bennett, while being a total under-handed businessman, is very rich (however he got it, that guy) and david stern isn’t in the business of turning away his rich homies. sad but true.

I have been reading the blog to get a different perspective on this whole mess of the law suits. I read a lot about what people were saying about the two law suits and the lawyers who were the brain trusts behind them. My two cents worth here was that Sentor Slade Gorton knows what he is doing when it comes to major league sports. Before Senator Gorton was Senator he was the lawyer that “brought the hammer down” on Major League Baseball when they ripped the Seattle Pilots out of Seattle after one year and through his efforts he is considered the savior of baseball in Seattle when MLB gave us the Mariners, when Seattle dopped thier suit. Don’t be fooled about Seattle and their determination when it comes to our sports teams we have been there before and we won then when everybody said we didn’t have a chance against MLB.

The stonewalling over NBA internal emails is over and the exchange btw Stern and Bennett is evident. Stern steps down and new footsteps come from Dallas to stop the league from its growing slump.

I personally can’t wait for e-mails that go like this:

Aubrey – Hey Clay, it’s 10 minutes before we have to present our arena proposal to the Washington legislature. Do you have an arena proposal yet?

Bennett – I do not. How about we just say the arena’s $500 million and it’s going to be in a small town outside of Seattle (I can probably find one on a WA map). We’ll say that we’ll pay $100 million and I’ll look for an old Staples Center in my basement and call that the new Sonics arena model.

By the way, do you think that $500 million is too little? They might actually go with it and get an arena built. Then we wouldn’t be able to move them like we planned all along since we bought the team.

Aubrey – Sounds good. I think $500 million is fine. Too high and people might get suspicious.

It’s a good thing that I can’t think of any possible way for the public to get their hands on these e-mails. Otherwise they would know we’ve been violating that promise to Schultz, which could land us in court, where we would almost certainly have to sell the team.

Bennett – Don’t worry, Aubrey. David Stern, the NBA comissioner, has our backs. He said he would defend us to the bitter end if these e-mails which he has already looked over several times (according to him) ever get out to the public.

How is offering only one option, a taxpayer funded, $500 million dollar arena, that’s not ever located in the city of Seattle a good faith effort??? How is stating when the team was bought that a KeyArena upgrade would be an acceptable option, yet later stating that it’s not an option, even going as far as to say that it’s never been an option, and calling talks with Seattles Mayor on the subject a “waste of time”, please tell me how this is a good faith effort??? Now if OKC approved a new $500 million dollar tax funded arena in Tulsa, I wouldn’t be so mad, but all they had to approve was a $100 million dollar renovation to the Ford Center. Sound familiar, wow, that’s just what we wanted to do to KeyArena, but thats not good enough here. hmmm, a $100 million dollar building renovation, in the 45th largest market in the US = Good, $300 million building renovation in the 14th largest US market, with a 41 year NBA history = Bad. Hmmm, something fishy about that. If Seattle had even been given a chance we could of gotten an arena deal, a fair one for the owners, the NBA, and the city. Yet we only got one option, and I challenge all fans to answer this, would you approve a $500 million dollar arena that’s not even located in your city, I think NOT!!!! Nobody would….I LOVE you Clay, and David!!!! There not two other guys on this planet I’d rather have trying to steal our team than you guys, you’ve brought us all a ray of hope, and I’ll never forget you!! Keep in touch via email!!

Very good news today!!
Now that we have the legal right to Sterns emails, we will find out what he really thinks about this deal. Can you say…sweating bullets! Hahaha!!

philip,
seattle doesnt have a arena that meets nba’s standards?? why are the sonics still advertising the premium seats @ keyarena as “the best seats in pro sports” on thier website?? starting to sound a lil schizo to me. and NEWSFLASH (just confirmed at the courthouse downtown), the judge is going to grant the request (by the sonics) for a financial damge be accessed at the end of the trial, BUT, she is going to postpone the trial for 6 months which puts us at the beginning of the new nba season. WHAT THE??? philip, when you get confirmation of this news, please, please, reply!!!!! SEE YA’ALL IN ????????? LOL!!

MIKE U.

AND MARGIRITE IN RENTON HAS BEEN MUZZLED LIL PHILIP!!