1. Brady Wakayama Sports Journalism Due: 12/3/15

2. Brief History ●First Game Played: October 13, 1967 ●Last Game Played: April 16, 2008 ●3 NBA Final Appearances: 1978, 1979, 1996 ●One NBA Championship: 1979 ●Best Season: 1995/96 - (64-18) ●Worst Season: 2007/08 - (20-62) ●Moved to OKC in 2008 First Modern-day Major Professional Sports franchise in Seattle

3. Notable Sonics Icons Gary Payton “The Glove” Inducted in H.O.F: 2013 Played for Sonics: 1990 - 2002 Lenny Wilkens Inducted in H.O.F: 1989 as a Player and Coach in 1998 Played for Sonics: 1968-72 Coached the Sonics: 1969-72 and 1977-85 Shawn Kemp “Reign Man” 6x All-Star Played for Sonics: 1989-97

4. Sonicsgate Film: https://youtu.be/s9Dp20ydm1E Sonicsgate Preview: https://youtu.be/tydO-r0Xf2E https://youtu.be/tydO-r0Xf2E Sonics Move to OKC Howard Schultz sells the team to an Oklahoma City group led by Clay Bennett in 2006. E-mails surface of Bennett’s true intentions to move the team to OKC. Schultz files suit to repeal his sale of the Sonics to Bennett, claiming Bennett did not keep his promise to keep the team in Seattle. Essentially Schultz was too little too late and drops the lawsuit. In the end Seattle failed to find public funding to construct a new arena and the move to OKC before the 2008-09 season becomes official after 28 out of 30 NBA owners approve the relocation.

5. What has Seattle done since losing the Sonics? ●Hedge fund manager Chris Hansen and his group have intentions of bringing Seattle an NBA team as well as funding a modern arena ●In 2013, Hansen and his group made a huge push to purchase and relocate the Sacramento Kings to Seattle with a $625 million bid… However, the NBA rejected their bid and the Kings remain in Sacramento ●Over the last couple years, the city of Seattle and Hansen’s group have continued to discuss a potential Seattle Arena in the Sodo District that would be able to accommodate NBA and NHL games ●On Monday, the Seattle City Council was forwarded a formal recommendation from Mayor Ed Murray and the Council Transportation Chairman to approve giving up a street in the Sodo District to build the proposed arena. Voting could take place in January ●Council approval is the final serious bureaucratic obstacle Hansen faces in order to build the arena. But, the question still remains on which sport would arrive first, which is key to initiating public funding to build the $490 million venue.

6. Final Thoughts ●Doesn’t make sense for the NBA to move a franchise with 41 years of history, located in one of the largest markets in the nation, an area with so much basketball talent and interest to a much smaller rural market in Oklahoma City ●Why the Sacramento Kings bid got rejected still astonishes me ●Frustrated by the fact that the Seattle Sonics drafted Oklahoma City Thunder’s three best players in Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka