The next day, the NBA, Hansen, and the Maloofs all released statements announcing the agreement, which also included the 12% minority stake of owner Robert Hernreich, and based the sale price on a team valuation of $525 million. On July 20 the SuperSonics used the trade exception and a second-round draft pick to acquire Kurt Thomas and two first-round draft picks from the Phoenix Suns. But Ballmer just wasn’t there yet. However, the ruling also said the team could bring up the issue again if it could prove the relevance or the confidentiality of the records. The rivalry was fairly equal in accomplishments, with both teams winning one championship each. Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett was quoted as saying, "I think it's presumptuous to assume that Clay Bennett and his ownership group won't own that Seattle team for a long, long time in Seattle or somewhere else. In months prior to the settlement, Seattle publicly released email conversations that took place within Bennett's ownership group alleging they indicated that some members of the group had a desire to move the team to Oklahoma City prior to its purchase in 2006. The NBA claimed the lawsuit was void because Schultz signed a release forbidding himself to sue Bennett's group but also argued that the proposal would have violated league ownership rules. After the Ballmer gift got shot down, Seattle’s only hope was wrapped up in this pending lawsuit. Ben Arthur covers sports for SeattlePI. He was replaced by former Sonic Paul Westphal for the 1998–99 season. The Sonics no longer existed. "Sonics ushered Seattle into the big time 40 years ago Saturday", http://www.seattlepi.com/basketball/335376_originals13.html, Suns gain $8M trade exception by trading Thomas, http://www.sportslogos.net/team.php?id=241, https://basketball.fandom.com/wiki/Seattle_SuperSonics?oldid=67661. The show, co-hosted by Karl, had former NBA and NFL executive Bob Whitsitt as a guest. But there was a hitch: There’s a law in Washington that requires any spending measure on any ballot to be approved by the state legislature. By a vote of 7–2, the Seattle City Council approved the amended MOU on September 24, 2012. [47][48], The release of email conversations between members of Bennett's group[49] prompted former Sonics' owner Howard Schultz to file a lawsuit that sought to rescind the sale of the team and alleged that Bennett's group used fraud and misrepresentation to purchase the Sonics without making a "good faith best effort" to keep them in Seattle as mandated by the original sales contract. But Ballmer stayed at Microsoft for a few more years. In 2001, ownership of the Seattle SuperSonics transferred from Barry Ackerley to Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz. After failed efforts to persuade Washington state government officials to provide $220 million in public funding to update KeyArena, the SuperSonics' ownership group, led by Howard Schultz, sold the team to the Professional Basketball Club LLC (PBC), an investment group headed by Oklahoma City businessman Clay Bennett.