Let the Seattle-OKC Healing Begin, Part 2

Clay Bennett is the devil. The city of Seattle decided to play chicken rather than admit that Key Arena is a high school gym. They deserve each other, but please fans, let not the seeds of hatred be sown between thee. You are all just fine men and women who crave the basketball.

What's done is done, and now, let the healing begin. So for those of you in one of these two cities, kindly open up the phone book of your rival city, dial at random, and read the following script.

To the Seattle Fan, From OKC:
You know, there's been a lot of heated back and forth between our two cities over these last couple years. You think we're too backward to warrant an NBA franchise; we wonder why it is that, on size and location alone, you seem to feel entitled to a team. But now that the drama is resolved, we see it a little differently now. We were so ecstatic about getting a team, and so appalled at your city government's refusal to hang onto the Sonics tooth and nail, that we questioned your love of the game. Much as, so we hear, you wondered whether we actually knew what the hand-check rules were.

This lead to a war of culture. You made fun of the cowboy hats that we all own, but wear only on special occasions. We said you were all married to lesbians who beat you each night with a branch of pure Arctic moss. It wasn't pretty, and maybe not altogether incorrect. Really, though, this should never have been about difference. It was about common ground. Some of you really loved those Sonics, and when we got to see Chris Paul (and local legend Chris Andersen) in the post-Katrina era, we fell in love with this strange game full of speedy, flying athletic people. This should be the first step in coming to understand each other's disparate lifestyles, not a battle line drawn in the sand.

We love this game, and if anything, feel the pain of those of you trying to save the team. We wanted them as bad as you did, as bad as some city officials seemed not to. That much emotion, going in so many directions at once, it's bound to get messy. Now, let's all take a deep breath. We're not getting a perfect organization. Sure, there's Durant, but Clay Bennett's still in charge. You think we like this guy? You hire the blood-letting divorce lawyer, the corporate jackal to close the deal, but you don't want him sticking around for dinner. We know that, to get this team, we made a deal with the devil and stepped on some toes. But know that we're not looking forward to him at the helm for year, and that honest, we would've rather fate delivered us a team in a less shady fashion. Like if those Hornets had stuck around.

That said, we're not crying too long for you, city of Seattle. You're a famous town, with lots of famous citizens and oodles of money. You have a multi-million dollar museum that looks like a crashed UFO dedicated to science fiction and Jimi Hendrix. Things will come back your way. You kept the colors and name, Stern's wink-winking a new team your way if you just sink some money into Key. . . in the end, you'll get your new team, and we'll be wrestling with the challenges of our Bennett custom job. You didn't want him around any longer, anyway, and all he would've done is continue to mess up the lives of the players who make this game go 'round.

So if nothing else, friend in the Emerald City, be happy for that superstar-in-training Kevin Durant. Now, Sam Presti's free to try and actually get him some help, get him some context, help him make a legend. It's like that movie where Barbara Stanwyck lets her daughter go forever so she can live a better life. Not to say that Seattle couldn't have reared him just fine, but given this impossible situation, this way the only way he was going to get a chance at a normal career. I know that's no consolation, but every time he makes an All-Star team, we'll remind him where it all started. And when he gets his first ring in 2014, playing for the Bulls with Rose and Brandan Wright, maybe he'll thank you guys right after he mentions us. Like KG did.

Previously: Let the Healing Begin, Part 1

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.