Gary Payton ‘hopes’ Sonics return to Seattle in ‘next few years’

LAS VEGAS, NV — The NBA plans to expand in the United States, with markets like Seattle and Las Vegas is at the forefront of those negotiations. Speaking at the NBA Cup, commissioner Adam Silver addressed the league’s prospects for expansion, which featured guys like former Seattle SuperSonics great gary payton excited.

A nine-time NBA All-Star and Hall of Famer, Gary Payton played 13 of his 17 seasons with the SuperSonics franchise that relocated to Oklahoma City in 2008. He, along with tens of thousands of fans in the Pacific Northwest, yearned for an NBA basketball team that was still stripped back to the club. them.

At the NBA Cup in Las Vegas, ClutchPoints spoke with Gary Payton, who said he hopes the Seattle SuperSonics bounce back soon.

“We’re working on it,” Peyton told ClutchPoints. “Adam Silver and the Board of Directors are doing a great job trying to get the expansion team to come back. I’m very hopeful that it will be in the next few years.”

Speaking at a press conference in Las Vegas during the NBA Cup, Silver said that in addition to the European basketball league that the NBA is considering in partnership with FIBA, expansion in the United States is also a priority.

“I would say in terms of domestic expansion, that’s something we continue to look at,” Silver said. “It’s no secret that we’re looking at this Las Vegas market. We’re looking at Seattle. We’ve been looking at other markets. I would say that I want to be sensitive to that idea that we’re kind of teasing these markets, because I know we’ve been talking about it for a while.

“As I said before, domestic expansion, as opposed to creating a new league in Europe, is a sale of equity in this current league. If you own 1/30 of this league, you now own 1/32 if you add two teams. So it’s a much more difficult economic analysis. In many ways, it requires forecasting the future.

“At the same time, I think Seattle and Las Vegas are two amazing cities. Obviously we’ve had a team in Seattle that’s had a lot of success. We have a WNBA team here in Las Vegas in the Aces. We’ve been playing Summer League here for 20 years. We’ve been playing our Cup games here, so we’re very familiar with this market.

I have no doubt that Las Vegas, despite all the other major league teams that are here now, other entertainment facilities, this city could support an NBA team. I think right now we’re in the process of working with our teams and gauging the level of interest and getting a better understanding of what the economics would be on the field for those particular teams and what the pro forma would look like for them, and then sometime in 2026 we’ll make a decision.

Payton remains confident the league will return to Seattle sooner rather than later.

“We’re coming back,” Peyton said. “Don’t worry about it. It’s going to happen in my lifetime. They’re going to have to do it because they’re going to have to retire Detlef (Schrempf), Sean (Kemp) and everybody’s jerseys. We’ll be fine.”

Before the recent Houston Rockets game, ClutchPoints caught up with Jeff Green, who spent his rookie season with the Seattle SuperSonics.

“It’s a basketball town,” Green told ClutchPoints. “They loved us. They were sad when we left. They supported us. They supported us years before. They supported us even when they knew we were leaving. I think they’re a city that deserves an NBA team. I know they’re very supportive. It’s based on what you see with the Mariners and the Seahawks.”

“Besides the fans, just the city in general, I think it’s an amazing city. I think it’s far away for a lot of people, but that city has everything you could ask for. The restaurants, the people are amazing. Great vibes. I really enjoyed my year there.”

The last season the Sonics played in Seattle was the 2007-08 season, which ended with a solid game by Kevin Durant against the Dallas Mavericks as fans serenaded Key Arena with, “Save Our Sonics!” chants for the entire time-out.

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When you walk through the airport, you’ll see no shortage of Sonics gear. And when you walk around town, you’ll still see murals of Gary Payton and Sean Kemp on the walls of businesses.

“I think it’s the buzz of organizations,” Jeff Green added. “It’s still alive. It’s never died down. People still support whether they’re there or not. They still have podcasts dedicated to the Sonics. I did one a few years ago and I still have friends involved in the movement of that organization as far as bringing them back. I’m not going to say I’m shocked that people still support because they still love their team. I think it’s a good example for the city.”

There are no expectations when the league will expand, but when it does, Seattle and Las Vegas are expected to top the list of NBA cities.