Keep the Sonics in Seattle

I shouldn't even have to post this. Moving the Sonics is like moving the Suns or the Pacers or Spurs. It just should not be done. The Seattle Supersonics have provided many great memories for the city of Seattle. Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp (before he got fat), Ray Allen, their NBA Finals run in 95-96, their surprisingly playoff run in 04-05, the 79 championship team, Lenny Wilkens, Nate McMillan, Spencer Haywood, the X-man, Dennis Johnson, Vin Baker (before he got fat), Derrick McKey's one good season, Desmond Mason's high-flying dunks, Flip Murray's one stretch of good games back in 03 when he was going off on a nightly basis for like a week and then disappeared forever, Paul Silas, that time Jerome James played half-way decent defense against Tim Duncan, Rashard Lewis draining 3s in the corner, drafting Kevin Durant. Look, Seattle is a world-class city that loves its Sonics. Oklahoma City just doesn't have the basketball tradition that the great Northwest does. Not a knock on Oklahoma City, I'm sure it's a fine city, but the Supersonics are Seattle sports. They were the first professional franchise in the city, and they're still the only ones to win a championship. Please, David Stern, don't take this team away from this city. Don't make the league even more generic by having a team name and a city that don't match (see Utah Jazz). Or worse yet, don't rename the team and make them into a generic animal name. Don't relegate the Northwest into cheering exclusive for the Portland Trailblazers. Think of the rivalry that could grow between the Blazers and Sonics over the next 10 years with Durant and Oden in their primes. In Oklahoma City, the Sonics become just another team, akin to the Charlotte Bobcats or the New Orleans Hornets. Hey, the Hornets are a fine team with a great point guard, but I just can't get excited about them. There's not a lot of history there. Owners move teams if they're not making money or if the fan base evaporates. This is so not the case with the Sonics. The new owner just happens to be from Oklahoma City and wants to move the team just because of that fact:

We didn’t buy the team to keep it in Seattle; we hoped to come here.” McLendon indicated that finances might not be the prime consideration in a move, stating that the team would likely perform better financially in Seattle.

Don't let this happen, NBA!