JSeahawks":pbpzfag7 said:
Just curious, is it a 100% certainty that when you get a new team they'll automatically be the Sonics again?
Its hard to put myself in your position as a sports fan but i was thinking if the Blazers left, leaving a really bad taste in my mouth, then the NBA moved another team back in a couple of years that I would want to start over with a brand new franchise rather then just revert back to the Blazers again.
I have to strongly disagree on this one, J. I'm of the mind that if a new team is not renamed the SuperSonics, I would have a much harder time getting back on board with the league. I grew up a Sonics fan. I have very little interest in getting back in the NBA just to pretend none of that past happened. In fact, having a new named team will do nothing but constantly remind us what happened.
The Seattle SuperSonics were our team for 40 years. Just because we got screwed over by Clay Bennett and Stern doesn't change any of that. If we were to get a team back in town, all it is, in my mind, is rightfully returning what was taken from us. And what was taken was our Supes. I want to be Cleveland getting back the Browns, or Winnipeg getting back the Jets. I don't want to be Houston losing the Oilers, and pretending to rather have their team called the Texans.
Not to mention the name SuperSonics is one of the best in pro sports. I've always loved that all of our teams in Seattle have unique team names that have connections to the city. I've traveled in lots of foreign countries. When I've met locals and told them where I'm from in the US, you want to know the two main responses? "Nirvana" and "Seattle SuperSonics".
If Seattle were to get a new NBA team and it's called anything but the Seattle SuperSonics, it's a constant reminder of what Clay Bennett came and took away. Screw that.
As for the particulars. Clay Bennett technically owns the name and history. There was some weird contractual language about who would own what in the future given the league returning to Seattle. But if Seattle were to ever get a team, I see absolutely no reason he wouldn't give it back. OKC has no need or use for it. If I were a Thunder fan, I wouldn't want anything to do with it. It would only remind people of what happened and take away from their current team that is their own. It's the least Bennett, along with Stern, could do.