Mike Vorel: If Sonics return, would Kraken group be good owner?

SEATTLE — Bring on the bids.

So said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who announced Wednesday that his league’s board of governors had greenlighted formal talks with interested ownership groups in Seattle and Las Vegas. If those discussions and dollar signs sway the NBA’s existing owners, two expansion teams could be added as soon as the 2028-29 season.

An expected franchise fee will balloon to the $7 billion-$10 billion range, according to reports, and Silver expects multiple bids in both markets.

“To people who may be listening or watching this: if you are interested, call the league office. Call PJT Partners (an investment bank working with the NBA) directly in New York,” Silver said. “I just want to make sure everybody understands there’s been no handshakes on the side. There’s been no commitments. There’s been no promises to anyone. This is a completely transparent process. Nothing is set in stone right now.”

Not set in stone, exactly. Perhaps set in one million square feet of concrete and 8,900 tons of structural steel, which were added under an iconic 44-million-pound roof to prepare Climate Pledge Arena for the Kraken, Storm … and yes, someday, the SuperSonics.

Which is why, in Seattle, one prospective ownership group appears to sit in pole position:

One Roof Sports and Entertainment.

That umbrella brand was unveiled by Kraken majority owner Samantha Holloway this week to “oversee a growing portfolio of properties and fuel new opportunities.” The company, which features Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke assuming the same role, purchased additional equity in Climate Pledge Arena to become the building’s majority owner in a public-private partnership with the city of Seattle.

Though that doesn’t guarantee Holloway, Leiweke and Co. (or anyone else) will win the bid to bring back the Sonics, their stake in the arena is significant. Should a competing ownership group be chosen instead, it would have to either build its own arena or negotiate with One Roof to use Climate Pledge. To date, the Kraken contingent is the only group to publicly express interest.

So let’s call One Roof Sports and Entertainment the leader in what may or may not become a crowded clubhouse.

With a nearly five-season Kraken sample size, should that make Seattle sports fans excited or concerned?

Not to be boring, but the answer is both.

Because the Kraken have excelled in just about every area but the one that matters most. They poured resources into expertly renovating Climate Pledge Arena into a state-of-the-art home for hockey, basketball and entertainment. They built an equally impressive practice facility and headquarters, the Kraken Community Iceplex in Northgate. They became embedded in the community and nailed the Kraken’s marketing, branding, merchandise and presentation. They made games free to watch for fans and stagnated season-ticket prices when the team didn’t win.

Amid a pandemic, they essentially constructed the Kraken from scratch. Silver and the NBA’s existing owners should feel confident about their ability to build — or restore — a Sonics brand that sparkles just the same.

Leiweke, too, has a track record that engenders respect — with stints as CEO of the Seahawks and the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning, president of the Minnesota Wild, chief operating officer of the NFL and more.

But there’s an elephant in the arena.

Namely: not enough wins.

“It takes time to build an organization, and now it’s been four years. What we would like to be is a sustained playoff team,” Holloway said after the Kraken fired coach Dan Bylsma last offseason. “You can’t 100% define success that way. I think this organization is obviously bigger than what we do on the ice, and I’m very proud of what we’ve done in the community and at KCI (Kraken Community Iceplex), CPA (Climate Pledge Arena), all the people that work here, One Roof. We’ve done a tremendous amount of work in the community that I’m really proud of.

“I think that last step, and the most important step, is to get where we want to be on ice.”

On ice, the Kraken leave cause for concern. They produced a single postseason trip in their first four seasons and are positioned to miss the playoffs yet again. Though the Western Conference’s Pacific Division is historically weak, the Kraken have been unable to capitalize. They’ve fired coaches in back-to-back offseasons, while promoting executives Ron Francis (from general manager to president of hockey operations) and Jason Botterill (from assistant general manager to GM).

And though Seattle has a formidable prospect pool, it’s yet to develop any actual diamonds. It’s a franchise with nearly five seasons, a single playoff series win, two fired coaches and zero established stars.

In short, the Kraken don’t appear particularly close to becoming a “sustained playoff team.”

At least, to us outside of the organization.

“I, at the end of the day, salute our ownership,” Leiweke said after Bylsma was fired and Francis and Botterill were promoted last April. “Because today was not the path of least resistance. People weren’t saying we had to part company with our coach. But our owner has been incredibly supportive and pushes us for excellence.

“So when you talk about a pedigree of winning and dreaming about winning and building a long-term winner here, it does start with ownership, and we’re all incredibly blessed to have a great owner.”

In professional sports, great owners go a long way. The Super Bowl champion Seahawks, under first Paul and then Jody Allen, are proof of an owner’s positive impact. Likewise, an incompetent or unmotivated owner can irrevocably torpedo a team. An owner’s influence touches every tip of their organization.

Holloway may be a great owner. It’s too early to tell.

But at some point, hopefully, it won’t be about winning a bid.

It’ll be about winning basketball games.

For now, though, on-court concerns are absurdly secondary. Fans should support whichever ownership group finally brings the Sonics back. One win at a time.

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