Actually, I believe there was no way the owners could completely tell the truth and fulfill their promise to Howard Schultz. When Schultz put the team on the market, he'd already been looking at selling to owners in other cities. Obviously, if possible, he wanted to keep the team in Seattle. But, by insisting on the one year effort, Bennett et al were telling Schultz they only were willing to keep the team in Seattle if they got a new arena. Does anyone really know if they promised Schultz more than that? That's what the letter says. It doesn't say it was the wish of their heart to keep the team in Seattle. It doesn't say they were going to keep the team in Seattle no matter what. It said they would make a good faith effort to get an arena built, which would, by definition, require that the team stay in Seattle.

Every public action by the Sonics owners was designed to get an arena built, which was what they had promised to do. Every interview indicated they intended to stay in Seattle if they got an arena, and they continue to give interviews to that effect into the fall of 2007. There are contradictory e-mails that exist, some of which show that they were accepting of the fact that the team would stay in Seattle if an arena was built. I think contradictory e-mails are easy to explain. They had to act in public as if their greatest wish was to get an arena built, in order to have any hopes of accomplishing that task. Telling the truth would have violated the agreement with Schultz far more seriously than private e-mails.

We were all excited when Bennett bought the team. We all thought the team would be moving to OKC. So did all the people in Seattle. Suddenly, we heard the interview that told us that the team would be staying in Seattle if an arena was built. But, everyone knew it was a long shot, even the people in Seattle. So, did a "woohoo, Oklahoma City Sonics" equivalent exultation equal a deliberate plan to move the team? Or, was it simply a quick impulsive statement that was replaced by the reality of Tom Ward saying he might consider selling if an arena was built and "work on a team for OKC"? Were the e-mails after the legislature adjourned refusing to consider an arena plan also part of a diabolical plot, or were they simply the expression of frustration with the political leaders and process in Seattle.

The truth was known by Howard Schultz, regardless of his current law suit. He knew that if an arena was built, the Sonics would stay in Seattle. He knew that if it was not, the team would move. It doesn't matter if the owners hoped an arena would never get built, because their hopes didn't matter. All that mattered was what action or lack thereof was taken by the city of Seattle. The city determined the fate of the Sonics, not Clay Bennett.