Oklahoma City Getting Cocky

Apparently the people of Oklahoma City believe that the Sonics are coming and soon.

This article by Berry Tramel who looks like he had about 15 beers before taking his picture says the Sonics will be playoff-ready when they arrive in OC. You can read the story here.

The fact of the matter is that the Sonics will not play in Oklahoma before 2010, if ever. There is no way the city of Seattle will let them out of the lease. Mayor Nickels said as much last week when he said in a statement,

"However, if Mr. Bennett wants to limit the conversation to an early buyout of the team's lease at KeyArena, then I agree -- a trip to Seattle isn't worth the price of the plane ticket."

The city isn't going to let the team walk away without a fight, in fact, it may be legally impossible for the lease to be broken if the A Deal is A Deal initiative gets passed. This would cement the Sonics in Seattle till 2010. With another 2-1/2 years to work on an arena situation it would more then likely get done. Even if it doesn't, Bennett will probably be to feed up with Seattle and sell the team to a local ownership group who will accept the $100 million plus add in their own $100 million and upgrade Key Arena, making it a modern NBA arena.

David Stern and the NBA, along with Clay Bennett, know that taking the Sonics from the 14th biggest market to the 43rd is not a smart business decision. Add into that the fact that the Ford Center is going to need to be renovated in order for it to be a permanent home to a NBA team and I like the Sonics' chances of staying in Seattle.

Be ready Oklahoma, the NBA Championship may be coming to the Sonics in 2010, you'll just have to come up to Seattle to visit it.