Schultz drops lawsuit
On the day that moving vans arrived in Oklahoma City, former Seattle SuperSonics owner Howard Schultz dropped his lawsuit against the new Oklahoma owners attempting to rescind the sale of the franchise.
“Our legal team and I no longer believe we can be successful with this litigation,” Schultz wrote in a letter to his former partners.
Schultz’s decision came after a federal judge ruled last week that the NBA would be allowed to intervene in the suit and denied Schultz’s request to split the case into two separate trials. Schultz also said he’s received feedback that the NBA might frown upon the continued litigation and it could hinder the chances of Seattle acquiring a future franchise.
“Thus the prevailing wisdom of many in the Seattle community and the advice of key members of the (Basketball Club of Seattle) is that Seattle’s best chance for a professional basketball franchise is to end this litigation and allow the City, State Legislature and other parties to begin the necessary fence mending with the NBA,” Schultz said. ”Reluctantly, I believe we should accept this view.”
The suit was considered by many a long shot. But with Schultz now dropping the case, there is no doubt the NBA will be in Oklahoma City for the long haul.
-DM-
Another slip of Thunder
The Orlando Magic have slipped the name Thunder into their partial season ticket plans.
You can see the slip here on Friday, December 5, 2008 where it says Magic vs. Thunder. The game is included in a package called the “Half Howard 23-Game Plan.”
The team will officially announce its nickname Wednesday, Sept. 3.
-DM-
OKC nickname coming Sept. 3
It will have been a full two month wait, but the new Oklahoma City NBA franchise is set to announce its team name, colors and logos on Wednesday, Sept. 3, the team announced today.
The name, colors and logo will first appear on the team’s Web site, www.nba.com/oklahomacity, at 5 p.m. central time next Wednesday. The team also will hold a simultaneous unveiling event at the franchise’s headquarters at Leadership Square in downtown Oklahoma City.
The uniform designs will not be released next week.
Following the event, new team merchandise will be on sale immediately in the team’s store on the building’s ground floor. It will be the only retail location fans can purchase merchandise next Wednesday.
I think we’ll all be shocked if the name is anything but Thunder at this point. Mike Baldwin will have more details in Thursday’s editions of The Oklahoman and on-line at NewsOK.com.
In other news, OKC forward Nick Collison talks about the relocation and his feelings about leaving Seattle, where he has played for his entire career and will continue living in the off-season. You can read his thoughts here.
Also, I’ve wanted to weigh in on the Dream Team vs. Redeem Team argument since Sunday but honestly don’t have much thought-provoking analysis to contribute. Simply put, the Dream Team, in my opinion, is hands down better than the Redeem Team. But I was just a young fan who idolized those guys back in ‘92. So since I can’t go beyond that, I’ll leave you with a more thorough analysis from SI.com’s Jack McCallum, who actually covered the Dream Team rather than simply gush over its stars.
-DM-
OKC to Hold Talent Search
OKC’s NBA team announced today it will hold a talent search for game night entertainment. Auditions will be for pre- and mid-game entertainers, a public address announcer and a game night emcee.
The team said only that the auditions will be in mid-September.
Hopeful national anthem and halftime acts are encouraged to audition. The search is also open to acrobats, break dancers, cheer stunt performers, fire breathers, freestyle bicyclists, gymnasts, jam skaters, jugglers, magicians, martial artists, stilt walkers, tumblers and unicyclists. A separate drummer audition will be held for drumlines. The public announcer and game emcee positions are open to those who have a background or knowledge of basketball and broadcasting.
Candidates must be 18 years or older unless accompanied by a parent or guardian. Auditions are by invitation only and pre-registration is required. The team is encouraging all interested entertainers to submit a sample of work.
For more details on dates and to pre-register for auditions visit NBA.com/Oklahomacity or call (405) 208-4802.
-DM-
Seattle Goes From NBA to 3BA
After losing its NBA team last month, Seattle will welcome 3BA to town tonight.
What is 3BA?
3BA International is ”an unprecedented full court 3-on-3 professional basketball game that places extreme emphasis on speed, stamina and fundamental skills.”
You can read more about 3BA International here. Basically the game primarily uses point guards, shooting guards and small forwards to create an exciting fast paced style of play. There is an 18-second shot clock instead of a 24-second clock, and the game uses a shortened court — 72 by 50 feet rather than the NBA’s 94 by 50 feet court size.
3BA creator Kevin LuBahn said it is not yet a league. 3BA International is scheduled for five tour dates this year, 21 next year and plans to begin a 32 to 40 game season in April 2010 through late August 2010.
“It’s the Arena Football version of basketball,” said longtime Lakers forward A.C. Green, who will coach the Portland team tonight against Seattle. “I got involved because I wanted to be part of something new and different.”
-DM-
A New Orleans take on OKC Tickets
Thought I’d share a quick blog post from a New Orleans Times Picayune blogger who weighs in on the stalemate between OKC and the Hornets.
As most of you know by now, the Hornets did not release information on former Hornets season ticket holders in OKC so the city’s new team could give those ticket buyers first priority this time around. As a result, many of those same fans who were instrumental in helping this city catch the eye of the NBA and secure a permanent team will be thanked by being the last people to select their seats in some cases.
Although the writer doesn’t shed any more light on the situation from the Hornets’ perspective than Mike Baldwin did in his Sunday package, he calls the disagreement a “shame” that the OKC fans who supported the Hornets won’t be rewarded by the new team.
“What matters is that, in effect, the New Orleans Hornets and new Oklahoma team have teamed together to (unintentionally) screw the fans in Oklahoma City over,” the blogger writes.
-DM-
George Shinn stuck in Charlotte
Just when I thought NBA uniforms were starting to become jazzier and more cutting edge, the New Orleans Hornets go and set the league back 20 years with their “new” uniforms.
Literally.
Look familiar?
It’s a shame Chris Paul, the game’s best point guard, is now forced to play in the league’s worst uniforms. Not that the old Hornets uniforms were anything special. The gold alternates (more like mustard yellow) were downright awful. But at least they were original.
But Chad Shinn, Hornets executive officer of the board and George Shinn’s son, apparently couldn’t care less about originality, calling the new-old look “classy.”
“It’s sharp,” said Chad Shinn, “and it just shows the style and smoothness of New Orleans. I think they turned out great.
“Our jerseys here have looked kind of bland and thrown together. Now we can give people in New Orleans their own jerseys and own identities.”
I wish them luck selling those. Really, I do. Chris Paul deserves to see his name continue atop the list of the NBA’s best selling jerseys. He ranked 14th during the 2006-07 season and fifth last season.
Why does Oklahoma City care? Well, aside from the thousands of fans who will continue following the Hornets even as the No-Names begin their inaugural season in OKC, the Hornets are the second team to unveil new uniforms this summer. I would presume OKC is next.
Minnesota is the other team, and the Atlanta Hawks switched uniforms last summer. Before the Hornets unveiled their new-old look, that cutting edge trend was seen in both the Wolves and Hawks’ threads and perhaps could indicate what path OKC might be on.
-DM-
OKC waives Donyell Marshall
Oklahoma City has placed veteran forward Donyell Marshall on waivers.
Marshall, who is entering his 15th NBA season, was acquired from Cleveland in mid-February as part of the 11-player, three-team deal that sent Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West from Seattle to Cleveland.
Marshall played in only 15 games last season for the Seattle SuperSonics, averaging 3.8 points and 3.1 rebounds in 12.3 minutes per game.
Marshall was likely to play less this season than he did a year ago following last week’s acquisition of veteran forwards Desmond Mason and Joe Smith.
Marshall is in the final year of a contract that would have paid him $5.9 million. Oklahoma City must pay Marshall the remainder of his guaranteed salary, but the team has the option to negotiate a payment schedule to fulfill its obligations over a longer period of time. Marshall’s entire contract, however, will count against the team’s salary this season.
Marshall will now be on waivers for 48 hours, allowing any team to claim him. If no team claims him he will clear waivers and can sign with any team at a negotiated salary.
The move clears up a roster spot for Oklahoma City. NBA teams are allowed to enter the regular season with no more than 15 players on the roster. Including restricted free agent center Robert Swift, Oklahoma City will have 14 players under contract when Kyle Weaver and D.J. White sign their rookie contracts.
-DM-
Free tickets to Sonics fans?
According to this report in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Sonics fans who filed a class-action suit against the owners of the team are seeking nearly 1,400 free tickets as remedy for the owners’ alleged breach of contract. The fans claim Sonics season ticket holders were promised the chance to renew their seats at the same price for the next three seasons but were denied that opportunity when the franchise relocated to Oklahoma City.
Two things stand out to me in the story. The first is that it seems the attorney for the fans concedes that Howard Schultz’s lawsuit, which aims to rescind the sale of the team and is scheduled to go to trial June 15, is far-fetched.
“Noting it would be extremely difficult to force the team back to Seattle in order to fulfill its promise to provide tickets for the same guaranteed price at KeyArena through the 2009-10 season, (Seattle attorney Frederick) Schoepflin suggested an appropriate solution would be offering nearly 1,400 Sonics fans tickets at Oklahoma City’s arena at those same prices for the next two years.”
The second thing that stands out to me in the article is this sentence, which paraphrases the ownership group’s attorney’s argument.
“The PBC argued that when performances are canceled, ticket holders are merely refunded their money, not guaranteed a new show.”
It takes me back to the time I paid for tickets to Kanye West’s Glow in the Dark Tour at the Ford Center in the spring with the sole purpose of seeing Lupe Fiasco.
Well, as soon as I entered the Ford Center I was greeted by a sign that read, “Lupe Fiasco will not be performing tonight.”
There was no explanation. No refund. No make-up show. And I actually paid. I didn’t sign up to pay for the concert or express interest in paying. Instead, I was left to sit through 2 1/2 hours of acts I didn’t care to see.
Getting my money back would have alleviated my anger but done little in diminishing my disappointment.
If the hundreds (if not thousands) who felt just like me on that April night joined forces to file a class-action suit, you think a judge would order Lupe Fiasco to provide us with free tickets to the rest of his performances in 2008?
-DM-
Q&A with Desmond Mason
I caught up with Desmond Mason this afternoon to get his reaction to yesterday’s trade. He used the word excited 13 times during our 15-minute conversation. Trust me. I counted. I’ll have a story on Mason’s reaction in Friday’s editions of The Oklahoman, but I wanted to post an excerpt from our conversation here in the meantime.
Among the topics, Mason talked about how he found out he’d been dealt, teaming with Kevin Durant and his memories during his two-year stint in OKC with the Hornets. Mason also discussed his expectations for the team next season and the possibility of finishing his career in OKC. We also had a funny exchange about the mysterious team name near the end of our conversation.
Q: What was your initial reaction to the trade?
A: Coming back to Oklahoma City, that was a good thing for me. I enjoyed my last couple of years there. I enjoyed college there. But the trade kind of caught me off guard. But I’ve been through it a couple of times now so you learn to deal with it accordingly. So I’m excited about going back… I’m excited about getting back and trying to put my face on that franchise in Oklahoma City and in that community and be a part of something special and building that team into something special.
Q: How did you find out about it? I hear you were on a plane when the deal went down.
A: I was flying. I found out when I got off the plane and cut my phone on and had about 15 text messages and about 10 or 11 messages. That’s the way I found out…. When I looked at it and saw Oklahoma City I was a little relieved because it’s a place that we’re comfortable with and a place that we enjoy being and a place that we have history in. So this move is easier for us.
Q: You said you were caught off guard by the trade. But did you suspect something might be in the works when the team selected Joe Alexander and acquired Richard Jefferson?
A: When they drafted Joe Alexander, I knew he was kind of a tweener player. And then when they traded for Richard I said, ‘OK. I guess they feel like that’s the upgrade for that position.’ At the end of the day I knew at some point something was going to happen. What? I’m wasn’t sure, because I’ve seen coach Skiles playing (Andres) Nocioni at the four and I’ve seen him play all kinds of lineups. So I didn’t really know exactly what was going to happen. But I had already prepped myself that there was the potential of something happening.
Q: What are your thoughts about teaming with Kevin Durant?
A: I think it’s going to be a good opportunity for him to learn from some veteran guys and for us to be around such an extraordinary young talent. The kid is good. I think everybody knows that. He’s very talented. He seems like he’s got his head on his shoulders.
Q: What are your favorite memories of the time you spent here with the Hornets?
A: Just the fans in general, because they really accepted and embraced the Hornets and how they supported the Hornets every night. I mean, we weren’t making the playoffs but they were pumped up and screaming loud. In the NBA, you go to a city and you have a couple of bad possessions and you will get booed out of the gym in a lot of arenas. And to me it felt like a college atmosphere where you’re kind of messing up a little bit, maybe you’re dropping the ball on defense or you turn it over a couple of times, the fans started cheering trying to get you going again. And that’s something that I haven’t seen in my career as an NBA player. So that was refreshing to see that fan support and that’s kind of one of my fondest memories.
Q: Talk about your community involvement off the court. Do you expect to pick up where you left off when you left here?
A: No question. I’m already excited about it. I’ve had calls already from the people that I’ve worked with from a community standpoint when I was there last time. I got the calls yesterday and they’re ready to go right back into some of the same things that we were doing there the last time. I think my wife and I really want to get even more involved…I’ve already started putting wheels in motion of picking up where we left off. So we’re overall exited about coming back and being part of the whatever the name of the team is going to be. I don’t know what it is yet. Does anybody know?
DM: It’s reportedly Thunder.
Mason: OK. The Thunder then.
Q: What nickname do you like?
A: I don’t know. I haven’t heard what the options were. But my buddy sent me a text and he said Thunder a few times in the text, but I didn’t really understand what he was talking about. So now I guess that’s what he was talking about.
Q: Is it too early to start talking about how this franchise might be able to retain you past this season?
A: It wouldn’t bother me one bit to finish my career in Oklahoma City. I enjoy being there. We all know how negotiations go and how free agency goes, but Oklahoma City has a special place in my heart. For me, that would kind of be like a fairytale story to finish where I played college at, being around people that I love, being close to home, my wife went to college there and our daughter will be able to experience what we experienced there growing as young adults. It’s definitely early to talk about the future from a figures standpoint, but I would definitely entertain the offer to finish my career in Oklahoma City.
-DM-
