The Owner of the Sonics Is Honest
Honesty in sports is a rare thing. See: Don-a-gie, Bonds, cyclists, etc.
That’s why it’s always refreshing to get an honest take from those at the top in pro sports. Take Aubrey McClendon (a minority owner in the Sonics franchise) for example. When asked about his ownership group’s intentions regarding the team, here was his response:
“But we didn’t buy the team to keep it in Seattle. We hoped to come here,” he said. “We know it’s a little more difficult financially here in Oklahoma City, but we think it’s great for the community and if we could break even, we’d be thrilled.”
Be mad all you want, Sonics fans, but at least the guy isn’t beating around the bush.
38 Responses to “The Owner of the Sonics Is Honest”
Aug.13 at 11:51 am
Adrian says:
Sonics fans, enjoy Durant while you can….and PS this is one of the main things that suck about sports.
Aug.13 at 11:58 am
SA says:
When Heisley bought the Grizzlies, it was the same deal. They’ll attempt to “make it work”, but its pretty clear they want the team to move, at least this guy is honest.
Aug.13 at 12:00 pm
Ken H says:
Las Vegas Supersonics! Wooo!
Aug.13 at 12:12 pm
Ben Collins says:
Marcel, that’s because he’s taking the bush with him to Oklahoma.
Aug.13 at 12:39 pm
D says:
The MINORITY OWNER may be honest, but Clay Bennett has been working real hard to keep the Sonics in Seattle … at least that’s what he’s been telling us while sabotaging any efforts by anyone in Seattle trying to keep the Sonics here. The new ownership has been anything but honest.
Aug.13 at 12:54 pm
Mo Charlo says:
Longhorn fans shed a tear every time the thought of Durant playing in Oklahoma is mentioned. How about the St. Louis Supersonics? El Paso Supersonics? Salina, KS Supersonics? Anything but OKC. The thing about Heisley and the Grizz is that they were pretty open about the fact that they want to move the team, and to make it kind of ok with everybody, they agreed to dump millions into downtown Memphis. If you’ve been to Memphis lately, it’s a whole lot better these days than it was just a few years ago.
Aug.13 at 1:01 pm
RiseKing says:
Marcel, it’s idiotic to say this is honesty personified. All this ownership group has spit to Seattle fans since they bought the team was/is that it’s their “utmost” intention to keep the team in the NW. Henry Abbott did an awesome job summarizing the time line of events at TrueHoop this morning: with the following quotes from Clay Bennett from 2006: “The No. 1 objective, our primary and sincere efforts, will be driven towards being successful here (Seattle).” “It is not our intention to move or relocate the team. … I personally would be surprised if it were not successful. … We fully intend to fulfill our obligation to KeyArena. … (His pursuit of a team in Oklahoma City) is unrelated to this transaction.” Fast forward to this gem from the “honest” minority owner Aubrey McClendon: “…we didn’t buy the team to keep it in Seattle; we hoped to come here(OKC),” he said. “We know it’s a little more difficult financially here in Oklahoma City, but we think it’s great for the community and if we could break even we’d be thrilled.” This ownership group is a bunch of lying bums who bought the team under the false pretense of telling everyone their would try their hardest to keep the team in Seattle. They haven’t done s&^%. Do a little research, Marcel, then see if you can tell me this is truly an “honest take”.
Aug.13 at 1:22 pm
solly what says:
Aubrey McClendon is the MAN. Seriously. Whatever he says/does is cool by me.
Aug.13 at 1:30 pm
jay says:
unfortunately i do not see the sonics stay in seattle which is pretty sad. that being said, lord stern all but promised oklahoma city a team after it was more than accomadating during the hornets plight. they sold out every home game and they have a fan base and a ready nba arena which is what stern wants! vegas would have been an option if it was not for that idiot ref for gambling…vegas i would guess is out for now!
Aug.13 at 1:32 pm
mutoni says:
riseking, i meant that the ownership group is finally being honest about their true intentions. it’s been obvious for a long time that they didn’t want to stay in seattle, but this is the first time that they’ve laid out their true feelings for everyone to see.
Aug.13 at 1:45 pm
Jawad says:
Sure, he’s honest; when he thinks he’s talking to Oklahomans, only. To quote Henry Abbott of TrueHoop : “Memo, once again, to the people of Oklahoma: There is no longer any such thing as local media.”
Aug.13 at 1:58 pm
RiseKing says:
I feel you man, I can see that’s what you were saying. It’s just that their intentions have been transparent for so long, to call it honest kinda hit a soft spot for me as a Sonic fan. It sucks when your team is gonna get jacked, and anyone who’s a decision maker (ownership/Seattle & State politicians) is so disingenuous about making anything happen to keep the Soups here. Worst case scenario for a die-hard hoop fan. Sorry if I voiced my frustrations towards you, it’s just a bammer time to be a Seattlite…keep up the solid work!
Aug.13 at 2:05 pm
Jesus Shuttlesworth says:
kansas city supersonics, please
Aug.13 at 2:18 pm
Mo Charlo says:
Laredo Supersonics. Alaska Supersonics. Mexico City Supersonics. Birmingham supersonics (Alabama and Mississippi don’t have big-league pro teams). RiseKing is mad!
Aug.13 at 2:57 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
I hear the Sonics team slogan this year is “WE’RE F*CKIN’ OUTTA HERE.” However you want to interpret that.
Aug.13 at 2:58 pm
Jake says:
That sucks. Seattle was one of the handful of places besides nyc I could imagine living, but without an NBA team…I don’t know if I could hang, honestly. But to play devil’s advocate, I do get the vibes that the people in Oklahoma City seem like they might appreciate an NBA franchise more.
Aug.13 at 3:13 pm
Jordi Scrubbings says:
What is an OK City Supersonic anyway? Hopefully they change the name. And not something western, like the Toros or something equally horrible. Maybe something actually honorable to Native Americans, which is actually a major growing basketball demographic.
Aug.13 at 3:15 pm
Mo Charlo says:
Austin’s a cool place to live, and not only do we have the NBDL Toros, we also have the Longhorns. No NBA, though. It’s alright, though, San Antonio is only an hour away, which is how long it would take you to get anywhere in NYC anyways.
Aug.13 at 4:25 pm
Diogo says:
Hawaii Supersonics. That’d be awsome.
Aug.13 at 4:27 pm
Ang says:
anyone else think that teams should change their names when the move cities? memphis grizzles doesn’t make any sense. neither will Oklahoma supersonics.
Aug.13 at 4:48 pm
Mo Charlo says:
Ang, The grizz wanted to be the Express, or some variation, but Stern wouldn’t let them, because they would be too closely tied to Federal Express (Memphis’s biggest business). There was a SLAM quote a few years back that said the grizzlies and Jazz should trade names straight up, which I liked. Memphis should change their name to something from Hustle and Flow. Or something to do with the Mississippi River. Or Egypt. Hawaii Supersonics all the way. Or Cuba Supersonics.
Aug.13 at 5:02 pm
Ryan Jones says:
Neither does “Los Angeles Lakers,” Ang, but that’s worked pretty well for them.
Aug.13 at 5:10 pm
BigWalt206 says:
But if the Supes do have to move, I’m down with Cuba. I’ll go to more games there than in OKC.
Aug.13 at 5:11 pm
BigWalt206 says:
Yeah jake I’m sure they would appreciate it more. I mean OKC has been a great market for two whole years! I think the Sonics 40 years in Seattle is just mere coincidence. I heard they don’t even show up at Sonics games because their to busy drinking lattes, listening to grunge and surfing the internet all while wearing complete flannel jumpsuits. What vibes are you picking up? I was just out in OKC on a roadtrip wearing my new authentic Durant away jersey (that’s the one that says SEATTLE across the chest for those of you not picking up what I’m putting down) and no one said a word to me about the Sonics. Not one damn word. Not when was at Half-Time Sports Grill, not at Coaches, and not at Catchers. What I’m trying to convey here is that I went looking for a good bout of sh!t talking (what can I say, I was raised by GP) and nobody gave a 747 flying fluck about the Sonics in OKC. I’m not trying to hate on the people of Oklahoma, but they seemed much more interested in getting a table at Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill then talking NBA hoops. I didn’t even see any Hornets stuff around the city or even a single person sporting a CP3 jersey (or Hornets shirt…nothing at all, its like they don’t exist). But I’m sure they’ll be the greatest NBA market of all time…Oklahoma forever!
Aug.13 at 5:40 pm
Anthony Verna says:
Why would you move a team to a place where they’d make less money?
Aug.13 at 5:52 pm
Sam says:
Not strictly on the subject, but i need an answer, why is Bargnani holding a Magic jersey with his name on it on NBA.COM?
Aug.13 at 6:15 pm
RiseKing says:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003834577_websonics13.html Retraction and spin control time for McClendon & Bennett…PR is not this ownership group’s strong suit.
Aug.13 at 7:13 pm
Hoodoo says:
Kinda early to be wearing Sonics’ gear, Big Walt. That’s a jinx for those of us who are superstitious. Plus the word on the street is if the Sonics arrive in OKC they’ll be sporting a different name. Most of us have enough Hornets’ gear in our closets to outfit a small third world country, but wearing that stuff doesn’t feel right right now either. We’re kind of betwixt and between, if you know what I mean.
Aug.13 at 9:11 pm
prov says:
f*uck Clay Bennett and his buttboys. Where is the all powerful Stern-bot to lay down the law when we need him…
Aug.14 at 3:44 am
Russ Bengtson says:
The Sonics should move to Brooklyn.
Aug.14 at 6:28 am
Madtice says:
You americanists!!! Get this team to Europe. They’ll have a sold out stadium every single game… That’s a huge market for you. And change the name according to residency as well. The Berlin Walls, the Paris Eiffel Towers, The Legion of Rome, the Madrid Matadores, the London Big Ben’s (pun intended)and, my personal favorite, the Amster-damns…
Aug.14 at 7:46 am
Hisham says:
The Amsterdamn Atsronauts don’t even sell out games, madtice.. come on now.. pro Basketball is about as alive as roadkill in amsterdam
Aug.14 at 9:53 am
paper says:
this guy is the biggest liar in the world. he actually said if we break even we would be thrilled like these dudes are lookin to make no money. i don’t believe you. all these people care about is money.
Aug.14 at 2:03 pm
Madtice says:
Yeah, that’s Dutch league, Hisham, here we’re talking about NBA. It will attract fans from far away, like belgium and germany. There are belgians who go to Ajax every week. This is a whole other ‘ballgame’ than the Dutch League. But off course, Paris, London, Rome, Madrid, Berlin, those would be huge markets…
Aug.14 at 7:00 pm
ChinaOWNS says:
the owner of the sonics is too cheap all the city ask is for 100 million from them for the new areana, which cost 500 million.. but the sonics are very too cheap plus they suck NOW more than ever with all rookies and no super stars
Aug.15 at 10:59 pm
Klymaxin says:
Sonics are still in Key Arena for 3 years, and by then Durant and Green will have won the hearts and minds.
Stern knows Bennet is a mo-ron and won’t let him run the Sonics into the ground. His first clue was Bennet over paying by $50 mill and trying to move the team to OKC. They’d go bankrupt in less then 5 years with Bennet’s boys in control.
Aug.23 at 10:59 am
SLAM ONLINE | » The Cost of Truth: $250K says:
[…] For being dumb enough to tell the world his true intentions regarding the Oklahoma City Firebirds Seattle Sonics, minority partner Aubrey McClendon was fined $250,000 by the League. The lesson here: Lie. Always lie. var staf_confirmtext = ‘Mail sent’ #stafBlock { position: absolute !important; z-index: 100000; display: none; width: 200px; } #stafForm { background-color:#f60; border: 2px solid #000; padding: 5px; margin:0; } #stafForm h2 { margin:0 0 4px;color:#fff;font-size:12px !important;} #stafForm input,label, h2 {font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; color: #222222; } #stafForm .input_text { width: 90px;margin-bottom: 5px;padding:2px; } #stafForm label { float: left; display: block; width: 75px; line-height: 16px; } #stafForm .input_submit {color:#fff;padding:0 5px;} #stafClose { float: right; margin-right: 5px; } x […]
Aug.23 at 5:09 pm
Hoop Dreamz says:
Whoa whoa whoa! What was that about Bargnani? I can’t find this alleged picture on NBA.com! Forget it… it’s 8 minutes after 5, why am i still at work?