Final details of settlement show Sonics fans don’t get much

BY GAIL WOOD | The Olympian • Published August 24, 2008

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It’s come to this. An estate sale.

To Seattle SuperSonics fans go the memories. To Clay Bennett and his 15-man ownership group from Oklahoma City go tomorrow’s games.

While I’m not a lawyer or a mayor, I’d have to say that’s hardly a fair trade.

As it turns out, Bennett also picked up a sweet flat screen TV and a nifty machine that inflates basketballs. Bennett’s hoarding came to light this week when The Associated Press obtained a copy of the details in the settlement between the city of Seattle and Bennett’s group.

Maybe an exuberant Seattle mayor Greg Nickels, who declared “we won” the day he agreed to a potential $75 million buyout, letting Bennett slip out of the remaining two years on the Sonics’ KeyArena lease, should have read the fine print. Right below, “We got ripped off.”

But don’t worry, Greg. Yesterday remains put. But the team? Oh, that’s in Oklahoma City, along with 200 CDs, a sound-effects machine, a replay monitor and all of the other stuff Bennett could squeeze into his U-Haul.

Who’s laughing now?

But Seattle fans still have Nate McMillan’s retired No. 10 jersey. Bob Rule’s 31 points and 21 rebounds in a loss to Detroit on Nov. 19, 1967. And the NBA championship trophy Lenny Wilkens hoisted above his head in 1979.

Those are yours, Sonics fans. Yesterday’s records — Gary Payton’s 18,207 career points as a Sonic; Fred Brown’s 58 points in a game at Golden State; Jim Fox’s 30 rebounds against the Lakers on Dec. 26, 1973. Cherish and enjoy. Feast on Sonics memorabilia.

But as for tomorrow’s team, tomorrows games? That’s Bennett’s. As Nickels will tell you with a smile, “Ya just can’t have everything.”

So, Seattle fans get the “intellectual property,” the team records, team logos and team name. Too bad. Bennett and his group could have used some of that “intellectual” stuff. These are the same guys who couldn’t operate a smooth ownership transition (see intercepted e-mails about bolting town) without bungling. Good luck on running a team.

Like any family estate settlement, this settlement between Bennett and Seattle wasn’t pretty.

Seattle fans get the Sonics name, Sonics logo, Sonics colors and Sonics banners, trophies, team records and retired jerseys.

Bennett gets the flat-screen TV from the coach’s room, two 32-inch TVs from the locker room, 150 courtside seats, 24 office chairs, four sets of statisticians’ headphones and one machine that inflates basketballs. That amounts to a couple of thousand dollars’ worth of items, which is only petty cash when you consider the $350 million check Bennett wrote to buy the Sonics from Howard Schultz two years ago.

But in this money grab, it’s not about getting. It’s about taking. It’s about making the other side pay.

Anyway, as long as another NBA team doesn’t come to Seattle in the next five years, Sonics history stays put. Which means we’ve still got Jack Skima’s jersey. And 41 years of yesterdays. Of Bob Blackburn’s running commentary, “Dick Snyder dribbles up court.” Of Kevin Calabro’s “Good Golly Miss Molly.” Of Spencer Haywood’s sweet jam.

Thanks for the memories. But can’t we keep the TV?

Gail Wood can be reached at 360-754-5443 or gwood@theolympian.com.