Commentary: 15 years after Sonics left, there’s more hope than ever – and a lot of revisionist history
What always sticks with me is how unnecessary the last 15 years have been, the hurt felt among devoted fans, and the way the Sonics departure has been incorrectly attributed to fan apathy by so many who really have no idea how it all went down.
Today marks the 15th Anniversary of the Sonics departure – considered one of the worst days in Seattle sports history. And I bring it up to focus on two aspects: one good and one bad.
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First, the good. From everything we’re hearing, not only is Seattle in position to be a frontrunner for a future NBA team, league commissioner Adam Silver is finally openly talking about expansion being inevitable, that Seattle is a possibility, and once the league’s new media rights package is done, the league could begin the expansion process.
That could be as soon as next summer, and who knows – Seattle could have an NBA team playing alongside the Seattle Storm and Seattle Kraken in Climate Pledge Arena as early as October 2025.
And the rhetoric we hear from Tod Leiweke – someone who’s come through in so many spectacular ways when it comes to Seattle sports – most recently with the Kraken – is full of confidence.
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“We’re ready,” Leiweke recently told Fox 13 in an exclusive interview. “The building was built for it. The locker room is ready to go. The economics are built for it. Our ownership is committed to it.”
That’s exciting, albeit frustrating it’s taken this long for the NBA to openly acknowledge expansion and Seattle in the same breath.
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But to me, it’s still not as maddening as the revisionist history I’ve run into fairly frequently over the last few years from out-of-town fans – this idea that Seattle lost the Sonics because the fans just didn’t care.
It has become the most shameful and contemptible notion I’ve encountered during my time here. A throw-away line, erroneously passed off as common knowledge by your everyday NBA fan: that fan apathy somehow led to the Sonics departure.
I’m mostly preaching to the choir here, aside from recent transplants who have been exposed to this blatant lie. And to them I’d say, “Name me a current local franchise that lacks significant fan support despite the current saturation of teams in this market. You can’t find one, because Seattle sports fans care. They show up. They show out.”
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And for me at least, even after the NBA returns, there will be no remorse for the key individuals who played roles in ripping the hearts out of fans who had supported a team for 41 years – and depriving close to a generation of men’s pro basketball in this city.
I take this 15-year anniversary to set the record straight once again: That the Sonics left because of a former owner in Howard Schultz who sold out this city for his own personal gain, to the tune of an estimated $80 million in profit. A buyer in Clay Bennett who blatantly lied to the team’s fans about keeping the Sonics here. A commissioner in David Stern who allowed it to happen, and seemingly held a grudge after his unsuccessful visit to the state legislature.
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And a Seattle mayor in Greg Nickels who cowardly buckled and settled with Bennett, hours before a final ruling by a U.S. District judge in the city’s lawsuit, in an attempt force the team to continue playing in Seattle for two more years. Two years that, given the upcoming recession, might have actually helped keep the team here for good.
Tonight, on this bittersweet anniversary, I’m much more optimistic about the Sonics return than I’ve ever been before.
But what will always stick with me is how unnecessary the last 15 years have been – the hurt felt amongst devoted fans – and way the Sonics departure has been incorrectly characterized by so many who really have no idea how it all went down.
On Thursday night, it was announced that Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh had finished 12th in the American League MVP voting. This concluded an unbelievable award season for the M’s catcher. In addition to finishing 12th in the MVP voting, Raleigh was a finalist for the American League Silver Slugger. He also won both the Gold Glove at catcher and the Platinum Glove in the American League.
However, the MVP news wasn’t the biggest piece of Raleigh-related news on Thursday. According to Kiley McDaniel of ESPN, Raleigh dropped agent Scott Boras in favor Excel Sports Management.
Seattle Mariners Gold Glove catcher Cal Raleigh has switched his representation to Excel Sports Management, per sources.
Now, we don’t officially know the reason for the change, but some Mariners fans online took it to mean that the M’s have a greater chance of signing Raleigh to an extension now.
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Take @MarinerMuse for example:
Fine, I’ll say it out loud:
This is the move you make if you want to sign an extension and you have the free agency manipulation agent.
Fine, I’ll say it out loud:
This is the move you make if you want to sign an extension and you have the free agency manipulation agent.
Raleigh is headed into arbitration this season and is under contract through the 2027 regardless. The M’s certainly would want to lock Raleigh up long-term as he’s one of the best catchers in all of baseball, but it only gets harder to do as he gets closer to free agency.
Furthermore, he’s 27 years old now, making an extension that takes him to 32-33 more desirable than giving him a long-term deal in the future. He’ll be 30 when his rookie deal ends and any extension would likely take him deep into his mid-30s.
Raleigh hit 34 homers this year to lead all catchers. He drove in 100 runs also, in addition to his defensive prowess.
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Seattle Sounders FC (16-9-9, fourth in the Western Conference during the regular season) vs. Los Angeles FC (19-8-7, first in the Conference during the regular season)
The MLB offseason is in full swing, but things have been rather quiet for the Seattle Mariners so far.
Seattle Mariners have a new TV situation, according to The Athletic
President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto and general manager Justin Hollander are both on record saying the team is looking to add to its offense, particularly on the infield. But the team hasn’t been committal to how exactly they’ll approach that.
Seattle could look to upgrade in free agency. This year’s class isn’t very strong on the infield, but there are still a handful of options that seem to fit the club’s needs.
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The team also could go the trade route and offload some of its touted hitting prospects or a proven starter from its talented starting rotation to address its offensive needs. It seems more likely the trade route would include a package built around prospects rather than one of the team’s current starting pitchers. Both Dipoto and Hollander have said trading a starter isn’t one of their top options, with Dipoto calling it “Plan Z” during an end-of-season interview.
Seattle Sports’ Michael Bumpus is trying to read between the lines and figure out what the real plan is for the M’s this offseason. During Thursday’s edition of Bump and Stacy, he asked ESPN baseball insider Kiley McDaniel about the team’s offseason approach.
“They’re in a spot now where they have tried for, I guess, a couple offseasons now to shore up the offense while staying within their spending parameters,” McDaniel said. “There was that time four or five years ago (the 2019 season) where there was the quick reset where they underpaid relative to what they could have paid the payroll to then have more money to, then ramp up spending when the team was good. And that has now happened and they need an extra bat or two, but they don’t have the money to go on the free agent market and just pay $20-25 million per year to get the two bats they need.”
That puts the Mariners in a difficult spot decision-wise, McDaniel said. They could trade from the farm system and risk dealing away a future star for a shorter-term solution. Or they could go for under-the-radar signings of cheaper players, which hasn’t worked out in past seasons with the likes of AJ Pollock and Tommy La Stella.
“There’s no easy solution to this the same way that like (if) the Mets or the Dodgers want a hitter, they just get a hitter,” McDaniel said. “The Mariners have a puzzle and they’re missing a piece. So how do they manufacture that extra piece to solve the puzzle, which is basically spending $1 million on a guy that will be worth 20, or not trading a prospect that they think is good and getting a good player. They have to conjure something up kind of magically.”
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McDaniel said the easiest route for the front office may be one fans don’t want to hear after the past two seasons, which is being patient and waiting for the group of hitting prospects to start reaching the majors. Just two of the team’s top hitting prospects are projected to reach the big leagues this year by MLB Pipeline – second baseman Cole Young and catcher Harry Ford. Both played at the Double-A level last season, and Young is expected to start the 2025 season in Triple-A.
“They’ve done a really good job creating a good farm system full of young hitters,” McDaniel said. “So I think unfortunately … the easiest answer is to just wait a year or two until these guys come up and then you maybe have the homegrown solution, but then some of the veterans that are contributing right now, they might be gone, which then creates another problem. … There is not an easy solution to this issue other than raising payroll, which is obviously only up to the owner.”
A free agent fit M’s
McDaniel spoke about a few free agents who would fit the Mariners’ needs. Two were players McDaniel would advise teams not to sign: first basemen Justin Turner and Pete Alonso. Both were included as two of his free agents to avoid this offseason.
Someone who McDaniel thinks makes sense for Seattle to go after, though, is former New York Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres.
“Gleyber Torres (is) coming off a slightly disappointing year, one of the youngest guys in the free agent market (at) 28. I think two or three years at $15 to 17 (million) a year is probably what it costs,” McDaniel said. “He’s the guy that I think makes a lot of sense to possibly get some upside, get him locked in for multiple years (and he) can play multiple positions.”
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Torres was an All-Star in his first two seasons (2018-19), slugged a career-high 38 home runs during 2019 and produced a 113 OPS+ or higher in four of his first six seasons.
He hit a combined 49 home runs in the 2022 and 2023 seasons, but saw his power numbers decline and hit just 15 last season. In 154 games in 2024, he slashed .257/.330/.378 with a 1.7 fWAR.
“You have a chance to spend less than $20 million a year and get a guy,” McDaniel said. “But if you miss on him, now you have almost no money left and you’re forced – if you need to find a hitter – to either get lucky on like a minor-league signing or a one-year deal, or to trades some prospects.”
Tune in to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
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