Durant is not the only one excited about game in Seattle
The movement looked so precise and purposeful. This time, though, Kevin Durant made his footwork look distinguishable in another way.
The Warriors’ star rocked a dark green pair of his KD 11’s during Wednesday’s practice that ended once again with a shooting session with AllStar teammate Stephen Curry. Before that, Eric Housen, the Warriors’ director of team operations, immediately saw the symbolism in Durant’s footwear. Or, so he thought.
“Way to represent the A’s, KD!” Warriors coach Steve Kerr recalledHousen saying in reference to the Oakland Athletics’ wild- card appearance against the New York Yankees. “Well, that too,” Durant said smiling. Durant had a different reason for wearing those dark green shoes. He wanted to honor the former Seattle SuperSonics, the team he played for his rookie season a decade ago before
they left for Oklahoma City. It appears likely Durant will wear those same kicks when the Warriors (01) play an exhibition game against the Sacramento Kings (1- 0) today at Seattle’s Key Arena.
“I love Kevin’s connection to the Sonics and the city,” Kerr said. “I think it’s really cool we’re going up there.”
Somuch that Kerr ranked today’s game as more exciting than the Warriors’ week-long trip last season to China for exhibitions in Shenzhen and Shanghai.
As Kerr said, “I don’t remember a game I looked more forward to than going to Seattle.”
Neither does Warriors president Rick Welts, who played an instrumental role in ensuring this game for various reasons.
Ever since Durant signed with the Warriors as a free agent in 2016, Welts talked with NBA officials for permission to have an exhibition that would allow Durant to return to where he was the NBA’s 2007- 08 Rookie of the Year as the No. 2 pick over a decade ago. Today’s game will be the last event at Key Arena befor it undergoes a $700 million renovation.
Welts also has personal ties. Before becoming a key NBA executive (1982- 99), the Phoenix Suns president (2002-11) and the Warriors president (2011- present), Welts’ Hall-of-Fame career began in 1969 as the Sonics ball boy. He later became the Sonics’ public relations official through the 1979 NBA championship season.
“It’s awesome. I’m so excited,” Welts said. “I can’t even tell you.”
But then he does. Welts said he “felt a punch to the gut” when the Sonics relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008 amid disagreements with the NBA, owner Clay Bennett and city officials over the feasibility and cost of renovating Key Arena or building a new arena. Since then, Welts senses that Sonics luminaries and local fans have “lingering hard feelings” over the circumstances.
All of which poses the question: could today’s exhibition eventually yield more consequential NBA games in Seattle soon?
“There’s no master plan here on the NBA. The NBA doesn’t plug into this at all,” Welts said. “But it’s obvious this has got to be the next North American market.”
The reasons? There are many.
Welts called the Sonics the “first major-league franchise in Seattle.” From 1967, they had existed for 41 years and preceded Major League Baseball’s Seattle Pilots (1969 before moving to Milwaukee) and Seattle Mariners (1977) and the Seattle Seahawks (1976) of the NFL. Beyond winning the 1979 NBA title, the Sonics have a rich history that includes a Hall of Fame coach ( Lenny Wilkens) and six players with retired numbers ( Wilkens, Jack Sikma, Fred Brown, Spencer Haywood, Nate McMillan and Gus Williams).
Kerr was a member of the Chicago Bulls team that faced a Sonics team in the 1996 NBA Finals that included Shawn Kemp, Gary Payton and Detlef Schrempf. With the Bulls winning in six games after the Sonics won two games at home, Kerr likened the Sonics’ fanbase to the Warriors’ because of their enthusiasm and ability to create a strong atmosphere.
No wonder Kerr argued the Sonics’ departure “was a real black mark on the NBA.” But even if those in NBA circles place more fault at Seattle city officials for balking at public funding for a renovated or new arena, when will the NBA be able to wipe away that blemish?
“We’re at a funny time in our history where it doesn’t appear to be an appetite for expansion among owners,” said Welts, who had worked in the NBA office (1982-99). “With our current success in the system, there isn’t a team looking to move. You don’t know how it happens or when it happens.”
Welts openly wondered if Seattle’s plans to have a new arena and an NHL team could pave the way for the NBA to return. But it is unlikely to happen any time soon. The NBA views Seattle as a great basketball city, but does not currently consider expansion a priority. The NBA ismore focused on competitive balance among its 30 teams. In the past decade, the league has also prevented the Sacramento and New Orleans franchises from moving while also ensuring Milwaukee has support for a new arena.
“We need a teamin Seattle. But I’mnot a proponent of expansion,” Kerr said. “I don’t think the league is in a position to expand. I don’t think the talent calls for that. But I do think Seattle is the logical next choice for a team if there’s amove or if there is expansion. Seattle has got to be No. 1 on that list.”
And, if nothing else, perhaps today’s Warriors-Kings exhibition could spark more conversation and demand about Seattle’s NBA future. The Warriors-Kings game will also be televised on ESPN.
“That wouldn’t be a bad thing,” Welts said, smiling. “I’d be less than forthcoming if I didn’t say I knew this would focus a lot of attention on Seattle and the NBA. I’m happy about that.”