NBA Commissioner David Stern regrets the Sonics’ contentious exit from Seattle.

“My regrets are that we didn’t do a – weren’t able to do a better job of getting a building moved along so that we could have kept a team there,” Stern told ESPN.com’s Bill Simmons during Simmons’ podcast Tuesday.

Simmons prompted Stern by asking him about previous comments on the departure of the Grizzlies from Vancouver.

“I have regrets about both Vancouver and Seattle,” Stern said.

Stern seems eager to fix the problem. he said Seattle is an attractive destination for a team in the future once it solves its arena problem.

“I think it’s a very prime city for an NBA franchise,” Stern said.

Stern said Kansas City, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, the Tampa Bay area and Anaheim are cities with serviceable arenas that could host NBA teams in the future.

“But our goal here is to keep all of our teams where they are,” Stern said, “but recognizing that that hasn’t been a goal that we have successfully achieved in the past.”

Listen the Simmons’ podcast here. The discussion of the Sonics starts after the 27-minute mark.

For more Seattle sports news, visit the front page of the Seattle Sports blog.

H/T @Sonicsgate.