When I drifted off to sleep at 8:00 pm PDT last night (or 2000 hours, as I am wont to call it), not a whole lot new and different was going on in Seattle.  The Mariners were losing...AGAIN.  The NBA Board of Governors was planning to vote affirmatively on the request to relocate the Sonics to OKC.

A lot can change in seven short hours.  I awoke at 0300 (that's 3:00 am to you non-military, non-healthcare types, AKA O'dark thirty) to find that this man

Starbucks founder and CEO Howard Schultz, had announced last evening that he has retained legal counsel to litigate for nullification of the sale of the Sonics to Professional Basketball Club, LLC of Oklahoma City.

This came almost immediately on the heels of two other daily news articles regarding the Sonics move; a) Daniel Stern's disingenuous claim that he felt that Clay Bennett had negotiated in good faith, despite the fact that he hadn't even read the incriminating e-mails yet and b) the Oklahoma State Legislature ponying up huge, ginormous tax breaks for the Sonics as an incentive for them to complete the relocation.

The new litigation (to be added to the city of Seattle's suit for specific performance of the Key Arena lease (to be heard in June 2008) and the season ticket holders' class action lawsuit (planned to be heard in March 2009)) seeks to nullify the sale of the team and return ownership to Schultz and the previous ownership group, on the basis of breech of contract by PBC related to their failure to honor the side letter commitment to negotiate in good faith with all applicable parties (city, county, state and any/all private parties who would present plans) to keep the Sonics in their home of 41 years.  Said side letter/codicil to the sales contract was required by the previous ownership group as a condition of the sale.

It is this side letter that would have appear to have been violated by all of the e-mails recently (partially) released by the city of Seattle's legal team, led by former Senator (R-WA) Slade Gorton, and which indicate that the PBC was actively negotiating with OKC (and Kansas City) during the time that they were required to be negotiating solely with the Seattle area.

Does this mean that the Board of Governors will fail to rubber stamp approval of the relocation request this Thursday and Friday during their meetings?  Not necessarily, but Clay Bennett and PBC had darn well better think twice about immediately running out and signing that arena lease with the City of OKC, or they could find themselves being sued--AGAIN--for specific performance, but this time by OKC if the team reverts to Schultz and the former ownership group.  And that could cost him a pretty penny, in addition to all of the money they recently spent to push through the sales tax in OKC that would pay for the renovations to Ford Center (reportedly over one half of the monies received by the committee pushing for the tax were received from PBC).

Speculation has it that, if the team is returned to Schultz, he will immediately sell to the local investment group headed by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, so that they can proceed with the planned $300MM re-renovation of the Key Arena.

If I am a member of the BOG, I vote to table the relocation request pending the outcome of all filed and planned litigation, in an effort to protect what little dignity and credibility the NBA has in this issue (but then, me being me, I probably also ask David Stern for his immediate resignation as commish, too).

More to follow as developments occur.