Seattle thinks Bennet spells our doom

[RookieOfTheDay]

Obviously I see why they'd think that. Sure hope they're wrong. http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlesp...the-chairman-of-the-nba-relocation-committee/

 

[ArcoKings]

Bennet is the master of lying and relocation. Who better than that SOB.

 

[Fear the Putin]

I'm not protecting Bennett by any means, but you do have to take into account that what he did to Seattle was because he wanted to personally benefit from that.

I don't think Bennett may care or benefit one way or the other and the fact that he is on the relocation committee and has a history of being the evil one is what made the Seattle folks say that.

Unless he has a personal fetish for seeing a team relocate, I don't see how it can be a negative.

 

[swisshh]

Why in the world would you pick Clay Bennet if you really want to be fair about the situation. His deception with the Seattle situation is already known. Even if he doesn't have obvious interest in the outcome, his background should make him the last choice.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

Clay Bennet is a dirty backstabbing weasel but no matter what his role he doesn't have the fate of the Kings solely in his hands. Is he buddy buddy with the Maloofs? Maybe he was chosen because he would be the least biased? With the exception of Golden State's ownership who clearly has formed an opinion already, Clay is the junior member in the ownership fraternity which means he's probably less likely to take the side of one of his buddies that goes back 20 years.

 

[Kings Faithful]

I'm not protecting Bennett by any means, but you do have to take into account that what he did to Seattle was because he wanted to personally benefit from that.

I don't think Bennett may care or benefit one way or the other and the fact that he is on the relocation committee and has a history of being the evil one is what made the Seattle folks say that.

Unless he has a personal fetish for seeing a team relocate, I don't see how it can be a negative.

The fear is that he will sway things in favor of the Maloofs in order to make himself look like less of a bad guy for moving the Sonics... if other owners are doing it, it makes him seem less evil. If he recommends they stay or sell, he presents himself as a sort of hypocrite.

 

[RookieOfTheDay]

The fear is that he will sway things in favor of the Maloofs in order to make himself look like less of a bad guy for moving the Sonics... if other owners are doing it, it makes him seem less evil. If he recommends they stay or sell, he presents himself as a sort of hypocrite.

Crap, i hadn't even thought of that angle.

 

[D13]

No kidding. Lets hope this wasn't Sterns way of helping the move. Why the heck didn't he pick Jerry Buss I wonder [sarc]? Hmmm... but Bennett is OK? Somethings fishy.

 

[Fear the Putin]

The fear is that he will sway things in favor of the Maloofs in order to make himself look like less of a bad guy for moving the Sonics... if other owners are doing it, it makes him seem less evil. If he recommends they stay or sell, he presents himself as a sort of hypocrite.

How does that add up?

On the contrary, he would want to recommend they stay to paint himself as a savior to ordinary fans.

If another owner is doing it, now it makes TWO evil owners. Doesn't make one or the other less evil.

 

[bozzwell]

The fear is that he will sway things in favor of the Maloofs in order to make himself look like less of a bad guy for moving the Sonics... if other owners are doing it, it makes him seem less evil. If he recommends they stay or sell, he presents himself as a sort of hypocrite.

Great point. However, by all accounts Bennet is such a SOB that he may not care one bit what anyone things about him moving Sonics. Also, he may reason that him preventing another beloved franchise from moving will redeem him and cast him as a nice guy (moved a team when he "had" to but did not allow another team to move if they didn't have to).

 

[swisshh]

It's not about Clay's personal interests. It's about him being ethically unqualified. If Stern wanted the job botched, he'd be the guy to pick.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

Great point. However, by all accounts Bennet is such a SOB that he may not care one bit what anyone things about him moving Sonics. Also, he may reason that him preventing another beloved franchise from moving will redeem him and cast him as a nice guy (moved a team when he "had" to but did not allow another team to move if they didn't have to).

Yeah, I considered this "nice guy" angle too. Plus he moved from a larger market to a smaller market and from a city that would not commit public funds to one that renovated the arena for him. Which may be irrelevant, but I think he doesn't want to send a message to OKC that he could move to NY one day and obviously what it comes down to is what level of commitment Sacramento can present at the next meeting.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

It's not about Clay's personal interests. It's about him being ethically unqualified. If Stern wanted the job botched, he'd be the guy to pick.

Who would be a better pick?

Is there an owner that you can say is 100% by the books guy that would not already lean one way or the other? Is there an owner that you think is 100% committed to their market that if things went South they wouldn't consider flying the coop?

 

[swisshh]

I am sure every owner is thinking about having to get out one day. Not every owner has exhibited the dishonesty in doing it that Bennett did. That's the difference.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

I am sure every owner is thinking about having to get out one day. Not every owner has exhibited the dishonesty in doing it that Bennett did. That's the difference.

Not my question. Who specifically should he have appointed instead?

 

[Kings Faithful]

Great point. However, by all accounts Bennet is such a SOB that he may not care one bit what anyone things about him moving Sonics. Also, he may reason that him preventing another beloved franchise from moving will redeem him and cast him as a nice guy (moved a team when he "had" to but did not allow another team to move if they didn't have to).

I still think bennet will be inclined to go the Maloofs way unless their is overwhelming evidence that going to Anaheim is a terrible idea. Its hard to take a slice of the cake and tell the guy next to you he can't have any because it will make him fat. Who knows... maybe he is a stand up guy and won't be conflicted... but his history says otherwise.

 

[BradC79]

Bennett is just researching each situation in sac and anaheim and giving a recommendation. All the owners still have to vote on it so its not like bennett has final say on anything.

 

[RookieOfTheDay]

Who would be a better pick?

Is there an owner that you can say is 100% by the books guy that would not already lean one way or the other? Is there an owner that you think is 100% committed to their market that if things went South they wouldn't consider flying the coop?

Anyone?

 

[swisshh]

I don't know all the owners that well to pick. I'd be okay with a stable owner of a franchise. I'd be okay with Mark Cuban since he likely isn't looking to move and Dallas isn't big enough to worry about having two/three teams. My point is that Clay Bennett would be at the bottom of my list for obvious reasons.

 

[hrdboild]

Can I pick Jerry Buss?

To answer the question seriously though, what about the owner of the Spurs? Comparable market, good standing in the league, unbiased opinion.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

I don't know all the owners that well to pick. I'd be okay with a stable owner of a franchise. I'd be okay with Mark Cuban since he likely isn't looking to move and Dallas isn't big enough to worry about having two/three teams. My point is that Clay Bennett would be at the bottom of my list for obvious reasons.

Are you kidding? After NY, LA and Chicago, Dallas has the most money of any city in the NBA and favorable tax laws to megamillionaires. The NBA is no longer about true fans and their money, it's about how many luxury boxes you can fill and how you can find a way to get some sucker to pay $5000+ a game for a premium seat. Dallas has that kind of corporate money in abundance.

My bet is that Cuban would oppose it. But I wouldn't be surprised if Cuban was considered a controversial pick by those who thought he was another of the "new breed" of playboy owners and maybe too buddy buddy with the Maloofs. He's actually right at the top of my list of names you can cross off.

The one guy I think maybe you could have do it is Sen. Herb Kohl but I suspect his other job keeps him a little too busy to get involved in this kind of bs.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

To answer the question seriously though, what about the owner of the Spurs? Comparable market, good standing in the league, unbiased opinion.

I'd support that. But then what if Spurs guy had already indicated which way he was leaning. Or maybe he is buddy buddy with one of the other owners that has a strong opinion. He's been in the game a long time and must run with the old guard. That's the kind of inside stuff that we aren't privy to. And that's why I think that despite outward appearances of Clay Bennet his "freshness" to the league may be what got him this role.

 

[hrdboild]

I'd support that. But then what if Spurs guy had already indicated which way he was leaning. Or maybe he is buddy buddy with one of the other owners that has a strong opinion. He's been in the game a long time and must run with the old guard. That's the kind of inside stuff that we aren't privy to. And that's why I think that despite outward appearances of Clay Bennet his "freshness" to the league may be what got him this role.

I would agree on the last point except it's no secret that Clay Bennett bought the team with the intentions of moving them to his hometown of OKC and while he pretended to negotiate with the city of Seattle he was in fact assuring his buddies for two years that the move was basically a done deal. New to the league yes, but unbiased? He's probably the last guy in the world we should want deciding the fate of Sacramento. I knew I heard his name like a slap in the face of Sacramento (not to mention Seattle) and I'm not the only one.

Regarding Peter Holt (owner of the Spurs), I didn't know anything about him before, but this description on Wikipedia does make him sound like the perfect guy for this:

Holt believes in a values-based management philosophy, in which the community gains benefits from association with a company that is committed to proper business ethics. A company's responsibility leads to the company supporting community projects, leading to mutual benefit for the community and company. These values were one of the primary factors in Holt's 1993 decision to invest in the Spurs. His desire was to keep the team in San Antonio to help the community and vice-versa. He and his wife Julianna Hawn Holt are now the franchise’s principal owners.

Holt and the Spurs later purchased other franchises – the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League, the San Antonio Rampage of the American Hockey League, and the renamed San Antonio Silver Stars of the WNBA. In each case, the team colors were changed to silver and black, the motif used by the Spurs.

In the last several years, Holt has seen his "community project" succeed in extraordinary ways. In June 1999, Holt joined with hundreds of thousands of Spurs faithful in celebrating the team’s first NBA Championship. In order to keep the team in San Antonio, Holt led a successful effort to secure community support to build a new community arena, the AT&T Center. The new home to the Spurs and the San Antonio Livestock Exposition broke ground in August 2000 and opened with the 2002 season. Holt's Spurs secured three more championships in 2003, 2005, and 2007. He is one of the few owners in the league that has not gone over the luxury tax threshold to secure needed talent.

With a long commitment to community service, Holt served as Chairman of the United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County. He is a member of the World Presidents’ Organization, and is a trustee of the Palmer Drug Abuse Program. Governor Rick Perry appointed Holt as a commissioner of the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife. A strong supporter of international trade, Holt is a board member of Free Trade Alliance-San Antonio, as well as the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation. He also served as Chairman of the Board of St. Mary’s Hall, a private school in San Antonio, and is on the corporate board of Chase Bank-San Antonio.

Keeping consistent with his desire to see the Spurs organization lead in the community, Holt has mandated that the Spurs have the first Green facilities in American professional sports.

Holt plans on staying in San Antonio, and active in the Caterpillar business, looking forward to the possibility of welcoming his children into the family business.

Peter Holt was inducted to the Texas Business Hall of Fame in 2004 and information in this article was obtained from a short biography listed on their website.

 

[Section 101]

Another point that hasn't been brought up. I think Bennett would be against the move since that would mean one for vote against revenue sharing if the Kings move. He stands to lose money.

 

[Fireplug]

If, heaven forbid, the Kings do move... wouldn't Bennett be the best guy for us to have on the committee if we were to try and relocate another team back to Sacramento? Since KJ knows that Maloofs wont sell, he seems to have pretty much decided to go this route as an alternative.

 

[Tetsujin]

The one guy I think maybe you could have do it is Sen. Herb Kohl but I suspect his other job keeps him a little too busy to get involved in this kind of bs.

Kohl is a democratic senator. One of the biggest Democrat fundraisers? Ron Burkle.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

I thought the Maloofs also gave to Dems, I don't think it would come down to that. Plus Kohl is expected to retire.

 

[beb0p]

I think Bennett was picked because being a successful small-market team owner, he would know if Sacramento still contains the ingredients of a successful small market.

But yes, I was taken back by this selection because I think he'd be very sympathetic to owners who have to fight thru red tapes to move a team.

 

[Circa_1985_Fan]

Another point that hasn't been brought up. I think Bennett would be against the move since that would mean one for vote against revenue sharing if the Kings move. He stands to lose money.

Yeah, I actually was pondering this earlier today...and I doubt that Bennett wants to be known as 'the grim reaper' that served up relocations for 2 cities in less than 5 years. I do believe that this is the best situation for keeping the Kings in Sacramento...the community/business leaders just need to continue to unite like it has been the past few weeks. Positive thinking people, positive thinking...this arena will get done and the Kings will stay!!