The Sonics are sold

Maybe we don’t follow the Sonics as closely as we should.

We were aware of the arena issues and quality of play issues, but we had no idea the team was this close to being sold.

There’s supposed to be a press conference tonight, and at said conference, the new ownership group from Oklahoma City will be introduced, or announced, or something.

Neither side would confirm the sale, however, those sources from within the Basketball Club of Seattle said it is a $350 million agreement with the group from Oklahoma City. And although the announcement will say the new owners will try to make a go of it in Seattle, they could move the team to Oklahoma City as soon as the 2007-08 season. Even though the lease at KeyArena runs through 2010, the city has claimed it loses money every time the Sonics play — so some sort of buyout could be made in the near future.

While this is undoubtably a sad situation for the people of Seattle, for the rest of us, it must be categorized as, more than anything, strange.

If you don’t follow things like the NBA, last season (and next season) the New Orleans Hornets have been playing in the OKC, due to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Although everyone has sworn otherwise, common thought was that villianous Hornets owner George Shinn was angling to keep the team there permanently, as the city embraced the team like N.O. never did. Lots of money to be made, and George spent an ungodly amount of it in free agency this summer, which fed the “stay in OKC” theory.

That leaves us to believe one of two things: either George Shinn had no idea he was really gonna have to go back to New Orleans, or he’s going to move the team to Seattle when the Sonics move to the OKC. That leaves us with the Oklahoma City Sonics and the Seattle Hornets.

Easy solution for all of us who aren’t involved – Seattle keeps their name and colors, and the Oklahoma team rebrands the franchise in the image of the state Governor.