NBA needs to quit playing games and bring back the Sonics

The NBA apparently needs more money before it can bring basketball back to Seattle. Of course it does.

According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, the bids for a Seattle expansion franchise are substantially lower than the ones for Las Vegas. So now we’re hearing about the possibility of adding only one team. We’re hearing that losing bidders in Vegas might take a look at Seattle. We’re even hearing about interest from Mexico City.

Some of that may be serious. Some of it may be negotiation. Windhorst suggested that the league’s alternatives could help pressure Seattle’s prospective owners into raising their offers.

Fine. Negotiate. Nobody expects the NBA to hand out a franchise because somebody shows up wearing a Gary Payton jersey.

But at some point, commissioner Adam Silver and the owners should consider what they’re trying to accomplish here. Bringing back the SuperSonics ought to be a priority worth getting across the finish line.

Seattle lost its team in 2008. The people who bought tickets, watched games and raised their kids on the Sonics didn’t decide they were finished with NBA basketball. The franchise left them. There’s a difference, and the league has had plenty of time to appreciate it.

Now there’s an opportunity to restore that relationship, give a major market its team back and create an event that would reach well beyond the first home game.

Think about that opening night. The old players coming back. The jerseys coming out of closets. Parents taking children who have heard all about the Sonics but never had a chance to see them.

You don’t have to be from Seattle to understand why that would be good for the NBA. I’m not, and I’d watch.

The league spends plenty of time looking for ways to make games feel bigger. It has a tournament with special floors. It has international ambitions. It has no shortage of ideas for finding new customers.

Seattle offers customers who have been waiting for the league to come back. That should carry some weight in the room.

To be clear, we don’t know the actual offers or the size of the gap. “Substantially lower” leaves considerable room for interpretation. Existing owners have financial interests to protect, and the NBA needs an ownership group capable of supporting a franchise long after the introductory press conference.

A bad deal wouldn’t become a good one simply because the team has a beloved name. But there’s also value in getting this done. Expansion fees are part of the business. So are tickets, sponsorships, merchandise and rebuilding a relationship with a city that already has a history with your product.

Nobody can promise that Seattle would generate more revenue than Las Vegas. I certainly can’t. But I have a hard time imagining a stronger introduction than the return of the Sonics.

Windhorst still expects Seattle to get a team. His report also notes that NBA ownership groups are counting on the fees from two expansion franchises. So presumably, there’s a deal to be made.

Make it. Get the number to a place both sides can accept and give Seattle something more useful than another round of expansion speculation.

The fans have already spent 18 years waiting. They shouldn’t have to spend another season wondering whether their city is being used to drive up somebody else’s bid.