With the SuperSonics having applied to relocate to Oklahoma City, tonight's game might be the Jazz's last ever at KeyArena. Even the possibility seemed to catch the Jazz players off-guard when they were asked about it before Tuesday's practice.
"It'd be unfortunate,'' Kyle Korver said. "I like Seattle. I've always enjoyed it. It rains a lot, but it's got a nice little feel downtown. Hopefully, that'll be our last win there, if that's the case."
Having grown up in Juneau, Alaska, the closest Carlos Boozer gets to playing in front of his hometown fans comes each season in Seattle. Usually, Boozer has between 20 and 30 supporters in the crowd. Next season, who knows?
"In my opinion, they have good fans there,'' Boozer said. "Oklahoma City has great fans, too, but it's been in Seattle for so long, it'd be nice to see the team be able to stay there."
The Sonics have called Seattle home for 40 years and brought the city its only major pro sports championship in 1979.
The Jazz have played 62 regular-season games in Seattle, plus playoff series in 1992, 1993, 1996 and 2000.
Back in the 1996 Western Conference finals, the Jazz nearly overcame a 3-1 series deficit to beat the Sonics. They won an overtime Game 5 in Seattle to stay alive, but lost Game 7 on the road, 90-86.
Shawn Kemp sank four free throws in the last 1:07 while Karl Malone missed two with 8.2 seconds left.
At the time, the Jazz talked about squandering the last - and best - chance for Malone and John Stockton to play for a championship. They reached the NBA Finals the next two seasons, however, ultimately losing to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls twice.
Asked about that Seattle series, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said: "I've always said . . . the teams that lose, 'Can you fight back?' And I thought our guys did a great job of that over the years."
Much has changed for the Sonics in the dozen years since they reached the Finals. The team is now 13-37, having suffered through a 14-game losing streak last month, and its days in Seattle appear to be numbered.
Unable to secure financing for a new arena in either the city or suburbs, owner Clay Bennett has filed to relocate the team to Oklahoma City. The city has sued to force the Sonics to honor the terms of their lease through the 2009-10 season.
A federal judge has set a June 16 trial date. As part of their case, the Sonics have said they will provide results of a survey in which 66 percent of local respondents said the team leaving would make "no difference" in their lives.
Even if the Sonics are able to break their lease, the case might not be resolved before the NBA announces its 2008-09 schedule this summer, effectively keeping the team (and prized rookie Kevin Durant) in Seattle another season.
Oklahoma City, meanwhile, will vote next month on whether to approve $121 million in funding to upgrade Ford Center and build an NBA practice facility. The Hornets relocated to the city for two seasons following Hurricane Katrina, but have since returned to New Orleans.
Bennett is from Oklahoma City and has faced questions since buying the Sonics in July 2006 about his true intentions of keeping the team in Seattle. NBA commissioner David Stern also declared in November that the league would not return to Seattle should the Sonics leave.
As much as he believes the Sonics should stay in Seattle, calling it a "wonderful city" with longstanding fan support, Sloan said: "People got to do what they've got to do in that business. You just go along for the ride."
The Sonics rank 26th in attendance this season, averaging 13,375 fans a game, but the consensus among the Jazz is that Seattle is a good basketball city.
"Since I've been there, [the Sonics] haven't been very good, so the fans haven't been out,'' Deron Williams said. "But it used to be, I know. I used to watch a lot of games when Gary Payton was there, Shawn Kemp. It used to be rocking."
Even if the Sonics move to Oklahoma City, the Jazz believe the NBA will not reshuffle divisions, thus keeping them in the Northwest Division with Utah, Portland, Denver and Minnesota.
rsiler@sltrib.com
Jazz at Seattle
Today, 8 p.m., FSN
Seattle Oklahoma City
Metro area population 3.3 million 1.2 million
Media market No. 14 No. 45
Arena KeyArena Ford Center
Capacity 17,072 19,599
Renovated/Built 1995 2002
State's greatest basketball product John Stockton Wayman Tisdale
Favorite son Bill Gates Will Rogers
1992: Jazz def. Sonics 4-1 in conference semifinals
1993: Sonics def. Jazz 3-2 in first round
1996: Sonics def. Jazz 4-3 in conference finals
2000: Jazz def. Sonics 3-2 in first round
