FanPost

A crazy idea to save basketball in Seattle

Right now, it looks like David Stern is either unable or unwilling to intervene and block the Sonics move to OKC. I, like many fans, think this is a bad PR move, a bad business move and a bad basketball move.

However, there may be a way to save the NBA in Seattle. If Jeff Green and Kevin Durant both go on record saying that they will not play unless they are traded or the move is halted, the Sonics' departure could be stopped. Both players would benefit from this gamble by endearing themselves to the fanbase in Seattle. Perhaps more than any other players in professional sports, Green and Durant would become the face and identity of their team. The good will from fans and sponsors across the NBA would more than make it worth their while financially and emotionally.

Of course, the Sonics owner could choose to ignore such demands. However, ignoring the problem comes at the price of alienating the two players the franchise has built its entire future around. To gut the team as they have done and then lose their two building blocks to either trade or bad attitudes would be disastrous. Imagine if Brandon Roy and Greg Oden were to demand trades at the end of this season. After all the good will and positivity the team has created such a blow could be fatal. The same is true for the Seattle franchise.

Some may argue that players holding their teams hostage is inappropriate. Unfortunately, many players in the NBA have already done this and a culture approving, or at least tolerating, such acts already exists. Surely Green and Durant would be acting in a much more noble and tolerable manner than all the players who have refused to play or demanded trades in the past. Considering the current state of the Sonics such an act of cowboy diplomacy could be considered the correct and appropriate course of action.

I realize that this would most likely never happen as such a gutsy and politically bold move by a player is an extremely damaging and potentially costly gambit, but it certainly does not hurt to at least consider the possibility.