Bennett to Sonics players: 'Boo hoo' E-mails reveal his reaction to news that some were upset about leaving Seattle

Among the hundreds of thousands of words transcribed on 470 pages of depositions taken by lawyers for the upcoming trial between the city of Seattle and the Sonics' ownership group over the team's KeyArena lease, there are two Clay Bennett would surely love to take back.

Boo hoo.

In an e-mail to Oklahoma-based public relations consultant Brent Gooden after hearing some of the Sonics players were upset about the prospect of moving the franchise to Oklahoma City, Bennett responded by writing, "Boo hoo," according to a line of questioning by city of Seattle attorney Jeff Johnson.

To which Gooden replied, "Great response. I would play wherever for half of the lowest paid player on the team."

While Bennett's own deposition is almost entirely redacted in the documents released last week via a public-records request, this particular e-mail exchange was contained in Gooden's deposition.

Under questioning from Johnson, Gooden said he remembered that correspondence with Bennett and then tried to explain his own response.

"I believe that there had been some politicians who had criticized the salaries of some of the NBA players within that context and there was, you know, some, you know, exchange on that matter," Gooden said.

While that particular testimony should have little affect on Bennett's court case with the city, it doesn't figure to prove popular with players dealing with the franchise's uncertain future.

More damaging in terms of the trial figure to be other previously undisclosed e-mails indicating Bennett's ownership group's desire to move the team out of Seattle well in advance of his initial Oct. 31, 2007, deadline to get a new arena deal worked out in the Seattle area.

Another e-mail from Gooden to Bennett, written in May 2007 when the Save Our Sonics fan group was trying to put together a referendum making it impossible for the city to negotiate with the Sonics for an early buyout of the KeyArena lease, said, "(NBA commissioner David) Stern should take note and help us get out of Dodge ASAP."

Then there's an e-mail from minority partner Aubrey McClendon to Bennett after McClendon was quoted in the Oklahoma Journal Record as saying the group never intended to keep the team in Seattle.

"Oh no. Just read this," McClendon wrote. "Have I caused a problem for you. I am so sorry. The truth is we did buy it with the hope of moving to Oklahoma City."

Gooden, hired by Bennett to head his public-relations efforts, admitted he was disappointed that McClendon got "off message" in his remarks to the newspaper after Gooden had provided numerous directives concerning how the owners should respond to questions regarding the team's future.

"Sort of ironic that you had been so worried about a Seattle newspaper guy getting in and hassling the owners and trying to muck up some story and it turned out to be the local guy that did it?" Johnson asked.

"Maybe you're right," said Gooden.

The city's attorneys continually pounded away in the pretrial interviews about how Bennett never indicated how much money his group would contribute to a proposed $500 million Renton arena, thus making it difficult for Seattle politicians and residents to get behind the plan.

After a Seattle P-I reporter sought comment from Bennett over how much money his Professional Basketball Club would commit to the project, Bennett e-mailed Gooden, "Please stay WAY AWAY from talking about our investment in the building."

Jim Kneeland, a longtime Seattle public relations consultant, apparently told Bennett he needed to make some such commitment and also should leave the door ajar for a potential KeyArena solution, but neither idea took hold and Kneeland eventually was fired.

McClendon testified in his deposition that he never recalled Bennett raising the question among the ownership group over how much money they should contribute to a Seattle arena solution.

Oklahoma City manager Jim Couch said Bennett talked to him in the spring of 2007 about holding dates open at Ford Center, Oklahoma City's basketball arena, for the upcoming season in case the Sonics could move quickly.

Johnson, the city's attorney, also questioned Gooden about whether he'd heard that Bennett tried to get the NBA to consider a special relocation process to avoid playing the 2007-08 season at KeyArena, but the league said it couldn't meet such requirements by its June 1 deadline.

"I may have heard something, but I don't recall anything specific," Gooden said.

Such conjecture over an early departure wasn't limited to the Oklahoma group. Sonics vice president Terry McLaughlin met with Seattle Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis in May 2007 to discuss a potential buyout of what at the time was the remaining three years of the KeyArena lease.

The two sides view that meeting in different terms, however. Ceis said he listened to McLaughlin, told him he would talk to Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels about the idea and ultimately was told no deal by Nickels. Ceis said he didn't think a buyout was a good idea and "I don't believe I conveyed optimism to Mr. McLaughlin."

Sonics CEO Danny Barth, however, testified in his deposition that the Sonics heard the city originally was interested in a negotiated settlement.

"Based on what Terry told me, the initial meeting went very well and Mr. Ceis was favorable to look at the settlement for the lease, that they were planning on having another meeting, and the question came up about whether or not they needed lawyers there to start looking at potential drafting or something along those lines," Barth said. "But at the same time, Mr. Ceis wanted to go back, I believe, and check with the mayor."

Barth also said it was his understanding that a later $26 million buyout proposal from Bennett to the city came at the request of Seattle City Attorney Tom Carr, who ultimately rejected that offer.

Nickels has since remained firmly entrenched in his belief that the Sonics should play their final two years at KeyArena and will pursue that outcome with the city's trial against Bennett's group starting June 16 in U.S. District Court, unless the two sides come to some sort of settlement in the next 19 days.