There was a brief discussion last week centering on the notion that Sonics owner Clay Bennett might sell the very team he plans to relocate back to local Seattle owners, if the price were right.

Every man has his price, no?

Well, I can't envision a man who is about to be inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame this week selling a pro team central Oklahoma has coveted for so long. He's already a bad guy in a foreign land; why would he risk such status in his home state?

However, the relationship between Bennett and Stern seems telling. In one of the story links I posted below, the columnist notes the close tie between NBA commissioner David Stern and Bennett, noting they go back to Bennett's days with the San Antonio Spurs.

The story notes that Stern has stepped in to speak well of Sacramento while openly lamenting Seattle's situation. Fact is, David Stern is a man ready to adjust as the winds of public relations dictate. If the city of Seattle were to step up and build this team an arena the way Bennett proposed more than a year ago, this debate would be over because the team would have fallen into favor with Stern, whose influence is undeniable.

However, the city hasn't, and it won't.

There will be maverick owners try to buy the team back, yet it's not for sale.

There will be Indian tribes try to build arenas on land outside the city limits, and that will not be acceptable.

What there won't be is a publicly funded modern arena built within a timeframe keeping Bennett from hightailing it to Oklahoma City, and the fault lies with Seattle, a city already beaten down by arenas and tax-supported athletics.

Yet the argument Seattle residents are making now is that they will tie Bennett up in court to the point he bleeds money so profusely that his partners would back out. This is perhaps the lamest argument, the most bogus notion of them all.

Bennett has already said that if the courts say the Sonics must fulfill the agreement at Key Arena, he'll keep his club there through 2010. He has no intention of fighting back in the courts, which means the ball is clearly back in Seattle's court.

It's a publicly financed modern arena in Seattle proper, or the Sonics are headed to Oklahoma City. And while I feel for Washingtonians about to lose their oldest professional franchise, I have to say that with all the columns, article and blogs I read from them regarding this issue, I can't help but think they just don't get it.

It's a publicly financed modern arena in Seattle proper, or the Sonics are headed to Oklahoma City.

Everything else is merely up to negotiation.

But if Seattle can fulfill its part of the deal, watch the NBA commissioner fall back onto their side of things. And in this league, that means everything.

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