Seattle 206ers

It was a spring afternoon just a few years ago and I was pressure washing some random persons deck. I had a rickety little AM only radio attached to my sweatpants and 950 KJR, Seattle's live and local sports station was competing against the rattling, humming and spraying of my pressure washer. Then, the deadly news dropped. The host came on the air and announced that the Sonics had just been sold to a group of businessmen from Oklahoma City.

I instantly felt a pain in my stomach. It was similar to the pain that comes after downing a plate of tortilla chips smothered in that runny nacho cheese. It was not a good feeling. My mind began to swirl with memories:

-Sitting courtside for a Vin Baker game winning shot, then watching myself on King 5 News later that night.

-Attending a playoff game against the lakers.

-Driving south on I-5 with my dad to watch the Patrick Ewing and the Knicks take on the Sonics in the Tacoma Dome.

-Correcting my buddies when they called #33 "HERSHEY HAWKINS".

-Playing against Jamelle McMillan in 5th grade and seeing his father Nate in the stands.

-Collecting trading cards given out at Taco Time.

-Constantly cracking jokes about Predrag Drobnjak.

-Hitting up the "Kids Zone" food vendor when I was in high school to save a few bucks.

-Being on vacation in Boston in 2006 and watching Ray Allen guard Allen Ray.

-Calling my friends when I heard that the Sonics got the #2 pick in the Greg Oden / Kevin Durant draft.

-Wanting to get a flattop haircut like Detlef Schrempf.

-Pretending I was Gary Payton while playing hoops by myself in my room on a mini hoop.

It has now been 3 seasons since the Sonics became the Thunder. The nacho cheese continues to swoon in my stomach because of the tremendous success in OKC. I'm still not sure whether it's ok for me to root for the Thunder.

What I do know is that Seattle needs an NBA team again.

About 9 months ago I came up with an outside the box idea to bring the NBA back:

In the near future some NBA team will flounder because nobody is showing up to their games (IE- Sacramento Kings, New Orleans Hornets, Indiana Pacers, Toronto Raptors). Seattle is the 12 biggest media market in the US...so we can't be ignored for long.

When Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, builds a new stadium, buys one of these franchises and moves them here...I hope he follows this model.

MAKE IT SEATTLES TEAM!!!

Team Name: Seattle 206ers (that's the Seattle area code...also gives us a natural rivalry with the 76ers).

Coaches: We pay Nate 'Mr. Sonic' McMillan as much money as necessary come back to coach here. His assistants are: Jack Sickma, Detlef Schrempf and Gary Payton.

Mascot: A mix between Squatch and the numbers 2-0-6. very similar to the furry numbers on the Free Credit Report commercials.

Players: Here is where it gets good. There has been an influx of NBA talent coming out of Seattle. All current players from the inherited team are traded to fill our roster with players that have ties to the state of Washington. Here is how it would look.

Starters

PG Aaron Brooks Rockets (Franklin HS)

SG Brandon Roy Blazers (Garfield HS, 4 Years at UW)

SF Jamal Crawford Hawks (Rainer Beach HS)

PF Marvin Williams Hawks (Bremerton HS)

C Spencer Hawes 76ers (Seattle Prep HS, 1 Year at UW)

Bench

G Nate Robinson Celtics (Rainer Beach HS, 3 Years at UW)

G Jason Terry Mavericks (Franklin HS)

G Luke Ridnour T-Wolves (Blaine HS)

G Rodney Stuckey Pistons (Kentwood HS, 2 Years at Eastern Washington)

G Martell Webster T-Wolves (Seattle Prep HS)

F Adam Morrison Wizards (4 Years at Gonzaga)

F Terrence Williams Rockets (Rainer Beach HS)

F Brian Scalbrine Bulls (Enumclaw HS)

F Jon Brockman Bucks (Snohomish HS, 4 Years at UW)

C Ronny Turiaf Knicks (4 Years at Gonzaga)

Other Options

G Avery Bradley Celtics (Bellermine Prep HS)

G Will Conroy D-League (Garfield HS, 4 years at UW)

G Justin Dentmon D-League (4 years at UW)

G Kyle Weaver D-League (4 Years at Washington State)

G Marcus Williams D-League (Roosevelt HS)

F Bobby Jones D-League (4 Years at UW)

C CJ Giles Europe (Rainer Beach HS)

Up And Coming

G Isaiah Thomas Washington

G Tony Wroten Committed to Washington

G Gary Bell Jr. Committed to Gonzaga

G Peyton Siva Louisville

G Klay Thompson Washington State

F DeAngelo Casto Washington State

F Elias Harris Gonzaga

F Terrence Ross Washington

F Justin Holiday Washington

F Matt Bryan-Amaning Washington

C Josh Smith UCLA

C Robert Sacre Gonzaga

This is an idea that I would love to see happen. I foresee that one of the best days of my life will be when Seattle gets an NBA team back. Seattle has great basketball fans...we need the NBA again.