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02-17-2008, 01:15 AM
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February 17, 2008
N.B.A. Roundup
Stern Says Relocation of Sonics Is an ‘Inevitability’
By HOWARD BECK (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/howard_beck/index.html?inline=nyt-per)
NEW ORLEANS — A prolonged legal and political battle to keep the SuperSonics (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/sports/probasketball/nationalbasketballassociation/seattlesupersonics/index.html?inline=nyt-org) in Seattle is all but over, and the result almost assured: the Sonics will be leaving, and only the timing of their move is in question.
Efforts by N.B.A. officials and the Sonics’ owners to build a new arena, with the assistance of public financing, have been consistently rebuffed, and the league is now conceding the battle.
“It’s apparent to all who are watching that the Sonics are heading out of Seattle,” Commissioner David Stern (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/david_stern/index.html?inline=nyt-per) said Saturday during his annual All-Star weekend address. “There’s not going to be a new arena. There’s not going to be a public contribution, and that’s everyone’s right.”
Stern has long been pessimistic about the prospects of a public-private partnership to finance an arena, but his statements Saturday were his strongest to date. If the Sonics win a legal ruling to break their lease, they could be playing in Oklahoma City as soon as next season. If the team loses that ruling, it would be free to leave in 2010, when its lease at KeyArena expires.
“I accept that inevitability at this point,” Stern said. “There is no miracle here.”
The signs have been pointing in this direction for some time. Seattle voters approved an initiative in November 2006 to restrict tax subsidies for professional sports teams. Last April, the state legislature rejected a proposed $500 million arena in Renton, Wash. And last August, one of the team’s owners told an Oklahoma newspaper that the ownership group never intended to keep the Sonics in Seattle. The team’s chairman, Clay Bennett, is from Oklahoma City.
Stern said he tried to negotiate a compromise in which the Sonics would buy out the final two years of the lease and provide $30 million to cover an outstanding bond. Stern said that offer was rejected by local leaders.
“I think it’s bad public policy,” Stern said.
Seattle has been home to the Sonics since 1967 and in better times had among the league’s most passionate fans. The team won the championship in 1979.
In the same presentation Saturday, Stern restated the N.B.A.’s commitment to New Orleans, which has struggled to recover from Hurricane Katrina (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/h/hurricane_katrina/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier) in 2005. The Hornets (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/sports/probasketball/nationalbasketballassociation/neworleanshornets/index.html?inline=nyt-org) are averaging only 12,645 fans a game despite reaching the All-Star break with the best record in the Western Conference, 36-15.
Stern cringed, then smiled ruefully, when Billy Hunter (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/h/billy_hunter/index.html?inline=nyt-per), the executive director of the players union, said the crowd at the All-Star weekend was smaller than usual. Stern said the numbers were in line with expectations.
“When I leave here after the All-Star Game, I’m much more optimistic about the prospects of the team meeting the goals that have been set,” Stern said. “I think there is going to be a unique, unified effort to make sure that New Orleans is very much a basketball town.”
ROLE IN KNICKS (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/sports/probasketball/nationalbasketballassociation/newyorkknicks/index.html?inline=nyt-org) LAWSUIT David Stern addressed for the first time his role in the settlement of the Knicks’ sexual-harassment suit against the former executive Anucha Browne Sanders. The Knicks cited Stern’s request to settle the case when it announced the resolution in December.
Although Stern made some vague threats and held out the possibility of sanctions, “I really didn’t have to twist arms,” he said. “They really did want to put it behind them. And I thought that, to the extent that I was involved, that if they did put it behind them, there would be no further action by the league.”
As for the Knicks’ continued ineptitude on the court, Stern said: “I’m a New Yorker, I’m optimistic — at least for next season. This season, I recognize the numbers are not promising.”
HAWKS ACQUIRE BIBBY While a proposed blockbuster trade that would send the Nets (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/sports/probasketball/nationalbasketballassociation/newjerseynets/index.html?inline=nyt-org)’ Jason Kidd (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/k/jason_kidd/index.html?inline=nyt-per) to Dallas remains in limbo, another veteran point guard will change cities.
Mike Bibby has been shipped to Atlanta from Sacramento for a package of role players, the teams announced. The Kings receive salary-cap relief in the expiring contracts of Anthony Johnson, Tyronn Lue and Lorenzen Wright. They also acquire the Hawks’ first-round pick Shelden Williams, and a second-round pick in the June draft.
The deal aids the Kings’ rebuilding effort. The Hawks, currently ninth in the Eastern Conference, strengthened their bid for a playoff spot.
HOWARD WINS DUNK CONTEST Dwight Howard went from superstar to superhero and won the slam-dunk title with a series of creative, crowd-pleasing feats. Howard, the Orlando Magic (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/sports/probasketball/nationalbasketballassociation/orlandomagic/index.html?inline=nyt-org) center, executed several never-before-seen dunks — and some of the most memorable ever — to beat Gerald Green of the Minnesota Timberwolves (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/sports/probasketball/nationalbasketballassociation/minnesotatimberwolves/index.html?inline=nyt-org).
In his most celebrated dunk of the night, Howard unveiled a Superman shirt, donned a red cape and soared in from just inside the free-throw line to dunk a ball thrown by his teammate Jameer Nelson from behind the baseline.
Howard had two more original dunks in the final round. He snatched the ball off a toy rim, pasted next to the real rim, and completed a two-handed windmill dunk. In his other attempt, he bounced the ball off the glass with his left hand, then slammed it home with his right.
Toronto’s Jason Kapono won the 3-point shootout, beating Dallas’s Dirk Nowitzki (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/n/dirk_nowitzki/index.html?inline=nyt-per) and Cleveland’s Daniel Gibson.
BRYANT SITS OUT Wearing a black brace on his injured right hand, the Lakers (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/sports/probasketball/nationalbasketballassociation/losangeleslakers/index.html?inline=nyt-org) star Kobe Bryant (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/kobe_bryant/index.html?inline=nyt-per) sat out the Western Conference’s light practice but was still expected to start in Sunday’s All-Star Game.
Bryant, the most valuable player in last year’s game, has a torn pinkie ligament from dislocating the finger Feb. 5 against the Nets. Although surgery has been recommended, Bryant has decided to postpone any operation until after the Olympics in August.
While his teammates did some half-speed drills and shooting during a 25-minute workout, Bryant sat on the bench.
At the end of practice, Bryant heaved up one shot — left-handed.
Bryant says he would prefer not to play Sunday night, but he does not have a choice. League policy dictates that if a player is healthy enough to play in the final game before the All-Star break and the first one after, he must play in the All-Star Game.(AP)
February 17, 2008
N.B.A. Roundup
Stern Says Relocation of Sonics Is an ‘Inevitability’
By HOWARD BECK (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/howard_beck/index.html?inline=nyt-per)
NEW ORLEANS — A prolonged legal and political battle to keep the SuperSonics (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/sports/probasketball/nationalbasketballassociation/seattlesupersonics/index.html?inline=nyt-org) in Seattle is all but over, and the result almost assured: the Sonics will be leaving, and only the timing of their move is in question.
Efforts by N.B.A. officials and the Sonics’ owners to build a new arena, with the assistance of public financing, have been consistently rebuffed, and the league is now conceding the battle.
“It’s apparent to all who are watching that the Sonics are heading out of Seattle,” Commissioner David Stern (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/david_stern/index.html?inline=nyt-per) said Saturday during his annual All-Star weekend address. “There’s not going to be a new arena. There’s not going to be a public contribution, and that’s everyone’s right.”
Stern has long been pessimistic about the prospects of a public-private partnership to finance an arena, but his statements Saturday were his strongest to date. If the Sonics win a legal ruling to break their lease, they could be playing in Oklahoma City as soon as next season. If the team loses that ruling, it would be free to leave in 2010, when its lease at KeyArena expires.
“I accept that inevitability at this point,” Stern said. “There is no miracle here.”
The signs have been pointing in this direction for some time. Seattle voters approved an initiative in November 2006 to restrict tax subsidies for professional sports teams. Last April, the state legislature rejected a proposed $500 million arena in Renton, Wash. And last August, one of the team’s owners told an Oklahoma newspaper that the ownership group never intended to keep the Sonics in Seattle. The team’s chairman, Clay Bennett, is from Oklahoma City.
Stern said he tried to negotiate a compromise in which the Sonics would buy out the final two years of the lease and provide $30 million to cover an outstanding bond. Stern said that offer was rejected by local leaders.
“I think it’s bad public policy,” Stern said.
Seattle has been home to the Sonics since 1967 and in better times had among the league’s most passionate fans. The team won the championship in 1979.
In the same presentation Saturday, Stern restated the N.B.A.’s commitment to New Orleans, which has struggled to recover from Hurricane Katrina (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/h/hurricane_katrina/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier) in 2005. The Hornets (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/sports/probasketball/nationalbasketballassociation/neworleanshornets/index.html?inline=nyt-org) are averaging only 12,645 fans a game despite reaching the All-Star break with the best record in the Western Conference, 36-15.
Stern cringed, then smiled ruefully, when Billy Hunter (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/h/billy_hunter/index.html?inline=nyt-per), the executive director of the players union, said the crowd at the All-Star weekend was smaller than usual. Stern said the numbers were in line with expectations.
“When I leave here after the All-Star Game, I’m much more optimistic about the prospects of the team meeting the goals that have been set,” Stern said. “I think there is going to be a unique, unified effort to make sure that New Orleans is very much a basketball town.”
ROLE IN KNICKS (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/sports/probasketball/nationalbasketballassociation/newyorkknicks/index.html?inline=nyt-org) LAWSUIT David Stern addressed for the first time his role in the settlement of the Knicks’ sexual-harassment suit against the former executive Anucha Browne Sanders. The Knicks cited Stern’s request to settle the case when it announced the resolution in December.
Although Stern made some vague threats and held out the possibility of sanctions, “I really didn’t have to twist arms,” he said. “They really did want to put it behind them. And I thought that, to the extent that I was involved, that if they did put it behind them, there would be no further action by the league.”
As for the Knicks’ continued ineptitude on the court, Stern said: “I’m a New Yorker, I’m optimistic — at least for next season. This season, I recognize the numbers are not promising.”
HAWKS ACQUIRE BIBBY While a proposed blockbuster trade that would send the Nets (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/sports/probasketball/nationalbasketballassociation/newjerseynets/index.html?inline=nyt-org)’ Jason Kidd (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/k/jason_kidd/index.html?inline=nyt-per) to Dallas remains in limbo, another veteran point guard will change cities.
Mike Bibby has been shipped to Atlanta from Sacramento for a package of role players, the teams announced. The Kings receive salary-cap relief in the expiring contracts of Anthony Johnson, Tyronn Lue and Lorenzen Wright. They also acquire the Hawks’ first-round pick Shelden Williams, and a second-round pick in the June draft.
The deal aids the Kings’ rebuilding effort. The Hawks, currently ninth in the Eastern Conference, strengthened their bid for a playoff spot.
HOWARD WINS DUNK CONTEST Dwight Howard went from superstar to superhero and won the slam-dunk title with a series of creative, crowd-pleasing feats. Howard, the Orlando Magic (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/sports/probasketball/nationalbasketballassociation/orlandomagic/index.html?inline=nyt-org) center, executed several never-before-seen dunks — and some of the most memorable ever — to beat Gerald Green of the Minnesota Timberwolves (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/sports/probasketball/nationalbasketballassociation/minnesotatimberwolves/index.html?inline=nyt-org).
In his most celebrated dunk of the night, Howard unveiled a Superman shirt, donned a red cape and soared in from just inside the free-throw line to dunk a ball thrown by his teammate Jameer Nelson from behind the baseline.
Howard had two more original dunks in the final round. He snatched the ball off a toy rim, pasted next to the real rim, and completed a two-handed windmill dunk. In his other attempt, he bounced the ball off the glass with his left hand, then slammed it home with his right.
Toronto’s Jason Kapono won the 3-point shootout, beating Dallas’s Dirk Nowitzki (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/n/dirk_nowitzki/index.html?inline=nyt-per) and Cleveland’s Daniel Gibson.
BRYANT SITS OUT Wearing a black brace on his injured right hand, the Lakers (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/sports/probasketball/nationalbasketballassociation/losangeleslakers/index.html?inline=nyt-org) star Kobe Bryant (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/kobe_bryant/index.html?inline=nyt-per) sat out the Western Conference’s light practice but was still expected to start in Sunday’s All-Star Game.
Bryant, the most valuable player in last year’s game, has a torn pinkie ligament from dislocating the finger Feb. 5 against the Nets. Although surgery has been recommended, Bryant has decided to postpone any operation until after the Olympics in August.
While his teammates did some half-speed drills and shooting during a 25-minute workout, Bryant sat on the bench.
At the end of practice, Bryant heaved up one shot — left-handed.
Bryant says he would prefer not to play Sunday night, but he does not have a choice. League policy dictates that if a player is healthy enough to play in the final game before the All-Star break and the first one after, he must play in the All-Star Game.(AP)