I don't understand where lying is the issure here. No matter what was said about moving the team to OKC as a reason to buy the team, an effort was made to fulfill the contract. Bennett spent money and time to get the powers that be to approve a new arena. Those people didn't have any interest in spending money on the Sonics in order to keep them. Bennett gave them a year to change their mind and told them he would move the team if nothing could be worked out. Where is the lie? He did just what he promised to do. Now people are calling him a liar because behind close doors he and his partners where looking at options including moving to OKC (which they went into this in the first place hoping it would work out to do just that). Be this as it may, they tried to fulfill the contract made with Schultz.

I would agree that to lie and cheat to get something is not what we want to put our hat on. I just don't think you can call it lying or cheating in the way Bennett handled the attempt to keep the team in Seattle. Did he have other hopes? You bet he did. But he did all that he promised in the contract.

BTW, Seattle is a nice city and one that I have enjoyed going to. I couldn't live there due to the weather. I think they have the highest suicide rate in the country. Most of that attributed to the weather. But I digress....