There's nothing like watching the success of someone else to show you all too well what you could have had. Basketball fans in the city of Seattle must be reeling right now watching the Oklahoma City Thunder blossom before their eyes. Instead of enjoying the sights of Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant close up, they have to wonder what might have been if their team had not been manipulated, sold and shipped out to OKC. Now it appears they want the NBA back in town.
Word leaked yesterday that Seattle mayor Mike McGinn met with David Stern to inquire about bringing the league back to Seattle. "We met so the mayor could show his commitment to bringing an NBA team back to Seattle," wrote McGinn spokesman Aaron Pickus in an email.
Seattle is currently working on a project to build a new arena worthy of an NBA franchise, but McGill is not the only one working on such measures for the city. As the Seattle Times notes, "The visit came as a surprise to local representatives of Chris Hansen, the San Francisco hedge-fund manager who is proposing to spend up to $800 million to partially finance a new arena and buy an NBA team."
No matter how many are fighting for Seattle to get a team, it will be interesting to see if Stern believes the city would support it the second time around.