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710 KIRO staff
Remember when the Seattle Supersonics had a really good basketball team?
The Sonics of the 1990s were among the NBA's elite teams. Between 1991 and 1998, the team averaged 59 wins a season, never missed the playoffs and went to the NBA Finals.
Former SuperSonics head coach George Karl says he can't believe the once great franchise is now teetering on the brink of leaving town.
"Never in the wildest dreams," Karl said on 710 KIRO's Dori Monson Show. "People forget how hot that building was, how loud it was, how energized it was (and) how it was sold out every night."
Karl, who now coaches the Denver Nuggets, says he remains positive as the Sonics organization paves the way for the team to leave Seattle.
| listen > | Former SuperSonics coach George Karl George Karl, the coach who built the great Sonics teams of the 1990s, discussed the current plight of the Sonics and his bout with cancer on the Dori Monson Show. |
"I'm kind of a believer in miracles," Karl said. "I still think there's a passion and pride for Sonic basketball in Seattle."
Karl said he believes there's still room for negotiations that could keep the NBA franchise in the Emerald City.
"If we're going to take basketball to Europe, I think we definitely should be able to keep basketball in Seattle," he said.
Karl was the architect of a team, anchored by forward Shawn Kemp and guard Gary Payton, that became an annual playoff contender during all seven years of his tenure in Seattle. His Sonics teams passed the 50-win mark in every year between 1992 and 1998.
It was 12 years ago when they were the toast of the town after defeating the Utah Jazz for the Western Conference championship in 1996.
"It was a team that really fought hard for the city of Seattle and was proud," Karl said of the 1996 Sonics. It was a team that put a scare into Michael Jordan and the mighty Chicago Bulls before losing the NBA Championship series in six games.
The post-Karl era, however, has been rough for the team. Seattle has averaged 39 wins per year in the past nine seasons between 1998 and 2007 - about 20 fewer wins a year than under Karl's tenure. That includes just three playoff appearances since 1999.
The team has also gone through five coaches - Paul Westphal, Nate McMillan, Bob Weiss, Bob Hill and current coach P.J. Carlesimo - since Karl's departure.
The likelihood of the SuperSonics remaining in Seattle beyond 2010, however, may be as good as the team's chances of making the playoffs this year.
Oklahoma City Councilmembers will vote March 4 whether to extend a $125 million sales tax that would fund the renovation of the Ford Center - possibly the future home of the SuperSonics.
Earlier this month, City of Seattle officials rejected a $26.5 million offer from the Sonics organization to buyout the rest of the team's lease on Key Arena. It was a part of the team's bid to move the Sonics from the northwest to the Midwest.
League commissioner David Stern has said he fully expects the Sonics to move to Oklahoma City by 2010 - if not by the end of this season.
Although Karl said he's staying positive about the plight of the Sonics, he admits the news he's hearing is bleak.
"Commissioner Stern's comment at the All-Star Break wasn't very advantageous or positive in anyway," Karl said.
Karl, who is currently 12th on the all-time win list for NBA coaches, says he fondly looks back on his time with the Seattle SuperSonics.
"There's a lot of great memories," Karl said. "I say all the time, 'In my lifetime, I'd like one more run like Seattle.' "
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