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Sports Radio 93.3 KJR host Ian Furness weighed Seattle's chances of once again landing an NBA franchise for the first time since the Seattle Supersonics moved away and rebranded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2008.
Furness acknowledged that the Emerald City was being used as leverage for the Portland Trail Blazers during their ongoing sale. The NBA and incoming Blazers' ownership are expected to pursue a "massive facelift" in renovating Moda Center or seek a new arena completely, with Furness claiming "the boogeyman is Seattle" in terms of potential relocation.
"So here's the problem and here in lies the rub," Furness said. "How long will they use Seattle as leverage to get what they want done in Portland?"
Furness acknowledged that "Europe is ahead of us" but said other teams facing possible relocation scenarios were aware that Climate Pledge Arena was a great venue to host basketball after noting that it was part of a growing development.
"Europe is obviously ahead of true expansion in North America on the pecking order and No. 2 on the list, 100%, figuring out the arena situation in Portland and, I don't know, looking what [the Athletic Senior NBA Columnist John] Hollinger wrote, there's probably two or three other teams around the league that want to get something done. They don't want to move but the only leverage you have is, 'hey, man, Climate Pledge Arena is really good for basketball," Furness said.
"I just don't believe that [20]27 is on the table anymore," he added. "I'm worried about [20]28, I'm thinking we're looking even further down the road. The NBA, I thought, inevitably was going to come here in 2027 and that doesn't appear the case anymore."
Seattle was home to the Supersonics from 1967 to 2008, with the franchise having played the majority of its games at the now-Climate Pledge Arena, as well as the Kingdom from 1978 to 1985 and Tacoma Dome from 1994 to 1995.