Brock Huard: Not enough tax money to entice NBA, David Stern
May 16, 2013, 8:26 AM | Updated: 12:53 pm
Seattle was brokenhearted, and the words of NBA commissioner David Stern only made it worse. As he stepped to the microphone to announce the Board of Governor’s decision he said, “This is going to be short for me. I have a game to get to Oklahoma City.”
Sonics fans hoped that even if the Kings stayed in Sacramento, expansion could be on the table, but Stern said it wasn’t.
710 ESPN Seattle’s Brock Huard thinks the issue is still about ego: “Don’t get this wrong. Seattle, the mayor, the political people, you didn’t bow to [David Stern.] You didn’t cower to the NBA like many of these other municipalities do.”
Huard thinks because Seattle didn’t throw a lot of tax money at the NBA, and instead looked to get a majority of the funding privately, the NBA didn’t like the proposal.
While other cities, like Sacramento, are using tax money to entice David Stern and the NBA or keep them content, it could really hurt them in the long run. Huard has read the plan that raises money from their parking revenue and garages. He’s concerned about what it will do to the city if it spends $250-$350 million that they don’t have from parking meters.
Meanwhile, Chris Hansen is laying his chips on the table. Huard is positive with Hansen still intent on purchasing 20 percent of the Kings, it’s leverage to find the middle ground with the NBA. That median, Huard said, will be expansion.
