After the Anaheim debacle the Maloofs cost the city tens of millions by dragging out an entire arena planning charade for over a year and then backing out at the very last minute when they got their deal. It was all an act. They never had any intention of keeping the Kings here whether a new stadium was built or not. They were simply vying for time. There has always been, and still is, a group here that has offered to buy the Kings, yet the Maloofs would never engage because they said they had no intention of ever selling. I don't think people realize how ####ty and disengenuous the Maloofs have been to Sacramento.
The only thing Sacramento has going for it is that Stern also hates the Maloofs. That wasn't the case with Bennett (that I am aware of). In the end, I'm not sure how much that means though. The power is still with the collective owners and I believe they are more committed to getting rid of the Maloofs than keeping a team in Sacramento (not that I can blame them).
Everybody realizes how terrible the Maloofs are. That's why I said earlier I'd rather wait for a different team than get a team that the Maloofs owned any part of. The citizens of Sacramento have been done dirty by their owners, and it sucks a lot. We in Seattle realize how terrible it is to lose a team. That's why I said earlier I'd rather wait for a different team if it's possible that a local ownership could step up and save the team there. I only want a team that just can't get it done locally. You ignore those posts because you're mad and you want to take it out on people from Seattle though. Like Sonics fans are the bad guy in this somehow. Stern loved Bennett. Bennett seemed to idolize Stern, and it bordered on creepy. The problem was that Bennett bought the team intending to take it to OKC. He said his intent was to get a team to his hometown before he bought the Sonics, McClendon said they had no intention of keeping the Sonics in Seattle during the process when they were lying through their teeth and making a show of keeping the team in Seattle, and they said their goal all along was to get a team to OKC after the team was already moved. The idea of keeping the team in Seattle was always a lie.
These situations are only comparable in the fact that a team is moving from one city to another. That's it.
Demonizing citizens of Seattle who like basketball and trying to draw an exact comparison between these two situations is silly - especially when I've said I hope Sacramento can get it together and keep the team, Fennis agreed with me, and Hooper doesn't even think Seattle should have the NBA. We know it hurts. We think it sucks. We wish you guys could keep your team. So stop treating us like we're the bad guys
and stomping all over the English language. Ok?