Or if they were going for a team with an expiring lease, no city support, no fan support, no local ownership group willing to step up and no possibility of a new arena. In other words, as dying market that would soon not be a viable NBA market. This is what the Seattle folks don't understand. THAT was them in 2008. Low and declining attendance, no local ownership group stepping up, ZERO city support (in fact, antipathy from the city leaders) and no chance in hell of a new arena. That's how THEY lost the team. Sure, 5 years later that's all forgotten and history is re-written but the truth is that Seattle did the exact opposite of what Sacramento has done. You can argue they deserved to lose the team. There can be no argument - Sacramento DESERVES TO KEEP the team.
By the way, working honestly and transparently hand in hand with the league is what gets you a team. It doesn't make you a puppet, it makes you a SMART person. You go to the league and say "what do we need to do to keep (or, in Seattle's case, get) a team?" and they help you and guide you thru the process. You try to make a backroom deal to sign a "binding" agreement without league approval, and go thru all the measures HBN have gone to strong-arm the league... you reap what you sow.
Our group has gone about this 100% legit, 100% the right way. Seattle's moves have been "dirty" (for the lack of a better word) all the way. It's no injustice (or surprise) that we are where we are.