NBA approves the move to OK City
The NBA owners approved a petition for Bennett’s Sonics (it’s not the Seattle Sonics) to move to Oklahoma City.
With a 28-2 vote for the move, only Mark Cuban and Paul Allen fought against the approval.
I’ll let you in on a little secret.
It wasn’t a surprise that it won by a landslide vote for approval. The owners are too scared and too misinformed to vote against a move to OK City. The only thing that was surprising was the vote against the move by Paul Allen. Many people thought he would simply abstain from the vote as he is probably poised to rake in the territorial broadcast rights to the Northwest.
Don’t believe me? Let’s look at the history of the relocation from the last franchises to move: The Vancouver Grizzles and the Charlotte Hornets. In 2000, after a NBA player lockout, the Grizzlies reported that they had started to dwindle in attendance and money. After the team was sold to Michael Heisley, he filed for relocation and the NBA owners approved the vote to move to Memphis unanimously with a 30-0 vote.
The Charlotte Hornets dealt with a very unscrupulous owner such as the one the Sonics have right now. With attendance dropping, owner George Shinn demanded that the city build him a new arena completely funded through public money.
Sadly, the city finally succumbed to Shinn’s demand and included the construction of a new arena in Uptown as part of a larger arts-related package for the city. Initial polls showed that it was on its way to passage, but the mayor of Charlotte vetoed another ordinance that enraged the black community leaders who immediately opposed the referendum to build the arena.
With the referendum defeated, city leaders worked out a way for the arena to be built without the voters approval with the only caveat being that Shinn would have to sell the team. Shinn still filed for relocation with the owners approving the vote 29-1. The only dissenting party being Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.
Why is it that these votes seem to win with overwhelming approval? Simple. It’s an Ol’ Boys Club where no owner wishes to rub another owner the wrong way in case down the road they need support for their team in some type of way. “I can’t vote against this guy as I might need him down the road for something else.” Owners look out for the owners, no one else. The rare exceptions are the owners who look after their fans, i.e. Mark Cuban and Paul Allen. They are also the same people that have rejuvenated sagging franchises that have blossomed amidst mediocrity and controversy.
The most important question I keep asking myself is this. When was the last time the NBA owners voted against a relocation?
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