City of Seattle Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Odds & Ends: Blake, Seattle, Fegan, Millsap, Uzoh

September 24th, 2012 at 5:19pm CST by Luke Adams

According to the team's official website, Lakers guard Steve Blake suffered a puncture wound after stepping on a spike strip in a parking lot. The statement says Blake will be restricted from team activities for at least three weeks. Despite not being one of the bigger names on Los Angeles' roster, Blake's role as the team's veteran backup point guard is quite important, especially considering incoming starter Steve Nash's inability to log major minutes.

Here are a few more Monday odds and ends from around the NBA:

Later today, Seattle City Council is expected to formally approve Chris Hansen's plan to build a $490MM arena in downtown Seattle, according to an Associated Press report (via the Seattle Times). Hansen and city council reached an agreement two weeks ago on financing for the arena proposal, meaning today's vote is expected to be merely a formality. Hansen's plan will still require an okay from the King County Council, but the city's approval would allow him to start looking for a franchise to bring to Seattle.
One NBA GM tells Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio that he expects veteran free agents like Derek Fisher and Michael Redd to sign deals late in training camp or even after the season begins.
It appears agent Dan Fegan will join Happy Walters at a newly-created agency called Relativity Sports, according to Darren Heitner of Sports Agent Blog. Fegan, who represents Dwight Howard, Nene, and John Wall, among others, recently left Lagardère Unlimited.
Paul Millsap hasn't really begun thinking about free agency yet, stressing that he's "still with the Utah Jazz" and he'll consider his options when the time comes, as Brian T. Smith of the Salt Lake Tribune writes.
Jonathan Tjarks of RealGM.com views Joe Johnson's and Manu Ginobili's career paths as two examples for James Harden to consider as the fourth-year guard weighs his contract options.
Ben Uzoh has parted ways with French team Cholet, making him a free agent again, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Uzoh has appeared in 60 total games for the Nets, Cavs, and Raptors over the past two seasons.
Many of the storylines that SI.com's Sam Amick will be watching this season involve players on new teams, including Raymond Felton in New York, Andre Iguodala in Denver, and Andrew Bynum in Philadelphia.

Aldridge On Harden, Thunder, Seattle, Williams

September 17th, 2012 at 5:38pm CST by Zachary Links

In today's column, David Aldridge of NBA.com runs down the particulars of one of the more fascinating off-the-court battles the league has encountered in its history. The Silnas brothers, the former owners of the Spirit of St. Louis, rejected a $3MM flat buyout offer in 1976 from the four ABA teams that got to make the leap to the Association. Instead, they opted for a one-seventh share of the TV money earned by the Nets, Spurs, Pacers, and Nuggets. While the sliver of the pie wasn't worth much 26 years ago, it has now given the Silnas brothers a whopping $250MM+ with no end in sight. Now, the brothers are set for battle with the league as they also demand a cut of international TV money, League Pass, and other broadcast revenue streams. While a good chunk of NBA teams struggle to get in the black, the former Spirit of St. Louis owners have managed to rake in major money for more than a quarter-century. Here's more from Aldridge..

The Thunder have carved out a tremendously strong and loyal fan base in Oklahoma City, but their financial limitations will make it difficult to keep James Harden long-term. As a small-market club, they do not have a local television on the same scale as a team like the Lakers, who are receiving roughly $200MM more per year under their contract. OKC is also the second-smallest city in the US with a professional team, meaning that they cannot milk their season ticket holders for more money or press corporate sponsors for larger suite and signage deals. However, Aldridge notes that the Thunder can look to the Spurs as inspiration – R.C. Buford & Co. have faced similar circumstances but managed to build a perennial contender by making sacrifices along the way.
According to a source with knowledge of the negotiations between investor Chris Hansen and the city of Seattle, the NBA has informally indicated that if he is successful in buying a team and moving it to Seattle, the league could live with the team playing temporarily at Key Arena until a new facility is ready. Last week, a major stumbling block was removed in Hansen's effort to get Seattle to approve a new arena for an NBA team and final approval would appear to be a formality.
Deron Williams says that he opted to re-sign with the Nets in part because things finally appear to be stable for the franchise from top to bottom. After ten years of limbo in New Jersey, the Nets finally ironed things out in Brooklyn and got the Barclays Center ready for the 2012/13 season. The Nets also appear to have stability on the court with a strong core group in place.

Pacific Notes: Seattle, Kings, Warriors, Barbosa

September 12th, 2012 at 11:24am CST by Luke Adams

The Seattle arena proposal, led by investor Chris Hansen, still requires the approval of Seattle City Council and King County Council, but the plan took a major step forward yesterday, as Lynn Thompson of the Seattle Times writes. It was announced that Hansen and the city council have reached an agreement on financial terms for the arena, with official approval expected later this month. At that point, Hansen can begin "shopping" for an NBA franchise. Let's round up the latest links on the Seattle situation and a few other topics from around the Pacific Division….

Former SuperSonic Lenny Wilkens believes Seattle could land a team as early as next season, according to Percy Allen of the Seattle Times. Allen says that the Bucks, Bobcats, and Timberwolves are all realistic candidates for relocation, though the Kings remain the odds-on favorite to move.
The cost of relocating an NBA franchise means Sacramento should still have a reasonable chance at keeping the Kings, writes Tom Ziller of SBNation.com.
Marcos Breton of the Sacramento Bee wonders if the city of Seattle would want to bring the Kings to town even if the Maloofs were still a part of the package.
The threat of a lawsuit may impact the future of the Santa Cruz Warriors, says J.M. Brown of the Santa Cruz Sentinel. The city of Santa Cruz had been expected to approve a plan to build a 30,000-square-foot facility to host Golden State's D-League team.
Sean Deveney of the Sporting News believes the Lakers are still the most likely landing spot for unrestricted free agent Leandro Barbosa.

Latest On Seattle Arena Proposal

September 11th, 2012 at 9:13am CST by Luke Adams

Investor Chris Hansen has reached a tentative agreement with Seattle city council on the financial terms of a proposed new sports arena for the city, according to reports by the Seattle Times and KING 5 News. Both reports suggest that Hansen and his group have agreed to establish a $40MM transportation fund, reducing the financial commitment for taxpayers and alleviating concerns about traffic near the proposed arena.

Nothing is official yet, but the agreement between the two sides is expected to be announced later today. If things go smoothly, the proposal should be officially approved by city council within the next few weeks, at which point Hansen could tell the NBA that the city of Seattle is ready to host a franchise. Of course, that doesn't guarantee an NBA team will come to Seattle, but it would give the city a leg up on many other potential destinations if a franchise were to relocate.

Seattle mayor Mike McGinn released a statement late last night expressing enthusiasm about the latest step forward in the process, according to the KING 5 report:

"I welcome the news that the City Council has decided to support bringing basketball back to Seattle. [King County] Executive [Dow] Constantine and I negotiated a proposal with Chris Hansen, an Arena Review Panel vetted it and the County Council approved it. The City Council was the last piece of the puzzle. We haven't gotten a team yet, but Sonics fans have a reason to smile today."

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City of Seattle

Latest On Kings, Potential Move

September 2nd, 2012 at 10:15am CST by Chuck Myron

SUNDAY, 10:15am: Mike Gruss of The Virginian-Pilot examines how five highly sought-after retail stores are an indicator of whether a market is likely to be suitable for the NBA. His research shows that the fewer Apple, Ikea, Anthropologie, Crate & Barrel and Brooks Brothers stores located in a market reflects an area less likely to be able to support an NBA franchise.

Simply put, these particular companies avoid areas where they believe consumers do not have enough money to spend at their stores. Gruss contends that if these stores won't come to a particular market due to financial concerns, then it is even less likely that a professional franchise would make such a move.

FRIDAY, 6:42pm: The Kings don't appear to be heading to Virginia Beach anytime soon, despite a local report last week that suggested otherwise. Still, an executive from another team told Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com that the general sentiment around the league is that chances are "more and more remote" that the Kings will remain in Sacramento (Twitter link). Howard-Cooper isn't sold on that idea, and says Sacramento may still win out in the end since the Maloof brothers, who own the Kings, face roadblocks between them and any new destination (Twitter link).

Josh Kerns of MyNorthwest.com yesterday passed along a report from Sacramento radio host Carmichael Dave that the Maloofs rejected a recent bid by investor Chris Hansen of upwards of $400MM to buy the Kings. Hansen, who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, has been the primary force behind an effort to attract an NBA team and build a new arena in Seattle. Earlier this week Hansen purchased an $8MM piece of land in Seattle that he plans to use for the arena. That gives him all the land he's said he'd need for the project, according to Nick Eaton of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Howard-Cooper believes Anaheim, where the Kings almost moved in 2011, is still in play, and says the 20-year local TV deal between the Lakers and Time Warner Cable that kicks in for the Lakers this season could help Anaheim's case. Former Lakers broadcasters Fox Sports West and KCAL-TV could use the Kings as replacement programming (Twitter links).

Thunder Notes: Westbrook, Lakers, Heat

August 30th, 2012 at 12:20pm CST by Luke Adams

They may have been one of the NBA's least-active teams in free agency this summer, but the Thunder have remained in the news in recent weeks — in August alone, Oklahoma City had four players in the gold medal game in London and signed Serge Ibaka to a long-term extension.

In yesterday's round-up of Northwest Division notes, we heard that the head coach of the Thunder's D-League affiliate in Tulsa had been hired away by the Trail Blazers, and received the latest updates on a potential extension for Eric Maynor. Here are today's Thunder-related links:

Russell Westbrook appeared on 710 ESPN in Los Angeles, and was asked about the Lakers' summer acquisitions of Dwight Howard and Steve Nash. As Sports Radio Interviews notes, Westbrook wouldn't concede that the pickups were more than "good."
Westbrook also called the Heat the team to beat in 2012/13 and said he wouldn't mind seeing the Lakers in the playoffs again.
In an Insider piece for ESPN.com, Chris Broussard explains why he thinks the Thunder are still the favorites in the Western Conference.
The franchise's old home, Seattle, continues to make progress toward building a new arena. King 5 TV in Seattle reports that Chris Hansen has purchased another parcel of land for $8MM in the area where he hopes to construct the new building.

Pacific Notes: Warriors, Jenkins, McGuire, Kings

July 31st, 2012 at 2:33pm CST by Luke Adams

With the most active weeks of the 2012 free agent period behind us, it's never too early to start looking ahead to 2013 free agency. Stephen Brotherson does just that today, ranking the best of the 2013 free agent class in a piece for HoopsWorld. There's a heavy Los Angeles presence at the top of his list, with Andrew Bynum coming in third, Chris Paul in second, and Lakers' trade target Dwight Howard in the top spot. I examined Bynum as a potential extension candidate earlier today, but here are a few other Tuesday notes on L.A.'s rivals in the Pacific Division:

Matt Steinmetz of CSNBayArea.com notes that Charles Jenkins' contract with the Warriors becomes guaranteed if he's not waived by tomorrow. Despite the team's proximity to the tax threshold after agreeing to sign Carl Landry and Brandon Rush, Golden State will almost certainly be keeping Jenkins, according to GM Bob Myers. At this point, only about $200K of his 2012/13 salary is guaranteed, but as of tomorrow he'll be in line for his full $762,195 salary.
Meanwhile, given their recent signings, the Warriors appear very unlikely to re-sign Dominic McGuire. According to Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group (via Twitter), McGuire would like to return, but the Warriors think they can get similar production out of Draymond Green.
Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld examines what the future holds for the Kings, pointing out that there's no guarantee where the team will play starting in 2013/14. Kyler says to keep an eye on Seattle, which is making progress toward building a new arena.

Odds & Ends: McGuire, Wafer, Hinrich, Magic

July 30th, 2012 at 10:19pm CST by Zachary Links

The Metropolitan King County Council took the initial step towards bringing an NBA arena to Seattle, according to the Associated Press. Investor Chris Hansen's $490MM plan calls for nearly $300MM in private funds and $200MM in public contribution. Here's tonight's look around the Association..

If the Warriors re-sign Brandon Rush, they'll have 15 players on the roster and virtually no wiggle room under the luxury tax threshold. With that in mind, Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group looks at moves that Golden State can make to keep Dominic McGuire.
Von Wafer's deal with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers of the Chinese league will be for one-year at $2MM, a source tells Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (via Twitter). The Chinese season wraps up much earlier than the NBA season, giving the 27-year-old a chance to sign with a team down the home stretch.
Kirk Hinrich's new two-year deal with the Bulls is fairly balanced as he will make $3.94MM in year one and $4.06MM in the second season, according to HoopsHype (via Twitter).
The Magic need to move Dwight Howard in order to give their new coach Jacque Vaughn a fresh slate to work with, opines Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel.

Odds & Ends: Evans, Bulls, Magic, Seattle

June 23rd, 2012 at 10:38pm CST by Sean Highkin

The latest news and notes from around the NBA on Saturday night:

Odds & Ends: Knicks, Shaw, Celtics, Seattle

June 19th, 2012 at 3:35pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA TV's recent "Dream Team" documentary revisited the developments that earned NBA players the right to compete in the Olympics 20 years ago, something that continues today. But there's a chance that the 2012 games in London will be the last time the Association's biggest stars participate in Olympic play. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, David Stern and the league are pushing for an under-23 Olympic team, with NBA players only participating in a rebranded world championships, called the World Cup of Basketball. A World Cup would allow the NBA to benefit finanically from letting its players play internationally, Wojnarowski explains.

Here are a few more Tuesday odds and ends from around the NBA: