The 1983-84 NBA season was the last of eight Wally Walker played in the NBA, and with he and the Houston Rockets visiting Philadelphia just past that season’s midpoint my mission was to write the obligatory local-boy-still-doing-us-proud piece about the Penn Manor graduate.
Never mind that he wasn’t playing much. Never mind that there wasn’t much left to say about a guy who had been covered extensively. That was the job, and you gotta do what you gotta do.
So before Houston’s game against the Sixers I pushed open the door to the cramped visitors’ locker room in the old Spectrum, only to discover Walker and his teammates sitting before their lockers. I’m talking the entire team. Nobody was in the trainer’s room, because there wasn’t one. Nobody was out on the court, getting shots up. They were just sitting there, apparently awaiting instructions from coach Bill Fitch. And all of them were wearing their red sweats, not to mention who-the-hell-is-this-guy looks.
Shit.
But hey – in for a dime, in for a dollar. So I tiptoed over to where Wally was seated and asked him if he had a minute. He assured me that he could talk a little while later, outside the room, so I turned and headed for the door.
It was then that veteran guard Allen Leavell spoke up.
“Man, you shoulda been talkin’ to him, soon as he walked in the DOOR!” he told Walker, in a very loud voice. “Ain’t nobody wanna talk to you in three MONTHS!”
Thank you, Allen Leavell.
In all I’ve probably interviewed Wally 20 times over the years, and he has typically been generous with his time and insights. The only time he declined comment, in fact, was Tuesday. That’s when I reached out to him via text to ask whether he was interested in discussing the Oklahoma City Thunder being in the Finals, which begin when they host Indiana in Game 1 on Thursday.
He was polite but clear: While any other topic was on the table, that one was not.
It’s not hard to guess why. Those (like Walker) with Seattle ties view the Thunder as they would a young sportswriter venturing into a pro team’s locker room: They have no business being where they are. The Thunder used to be in the Emerald City, used to be the SuperSonics. And they were a vibrant team that gave us Slick Watts and Downtown Freddie Brown, Gus Williams and Jack Sikma, Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp.
Walker, 70, played for the Sonics for five seasons – played on the franchise’s lone championship team, in fact, in 1979. He also spent over a decade as a team executive, and is now part of a group that is seeking to bring an expansion club to Seattle.
The city is widely viewed to be one of the frontrunners, along with Las Vegas, but nothing is definite. The NBA’s Board of Governors is expected to discuss the matter at its annual meeting in July.
Bringing NBA hoops back to the city would right a wrong and ease the sting of the Sonics’ messy departure in 2008, after 41 seasons in the Pacific Northwest. Forbes.com’s Christopher Helman reviewed the manner in which the move unfolded in 2012, the last time OKC was in the Finals. (The Thunder lost to Miami in five games.)
According to Helman, Clay Bennett, Tom Ward and Aubrey McLendon bought the team from Starbucks founder Howard Schultz for $350 million in October 2006, and at first seemed bent on keeping the Sonics in Seattle. But like Schultz they were unable to get public funding for a new arena, which turned out to be immaterial.
In August 2007 McLendon admitted in an interview that the group had no intention of remaining in town when they took over. That was later confirmed in emails between him and his cohorts from April of that year, which according to Helman were acquired by attorneys:
Ward: “Is there any way to move here for next season or are we doomed to have another lame duck season in Seattle?”
Bennett: “I am a man possessed! Will do everything we can. Thanks for hanging with me boys, the game is getting started!”
Ward: “That’s the spirit!! I am willing to help any way I can to watch ball here (i.e., OKC) next year.”
McClendon: “Me too, thanks Clay!”
Bennett eventually moved to get out of the last two years of the team’s lease in KeyArena (which has since been replaced by Climate Pledge Arena), and in April 2008 the NBA owners, by a vote of 28-2, approved the move. (Schultz sued in a belated attempt to keep the Sonics around, then relented.)
So here we are. OKC is a formidable team, and a heavy favorite to win it all this year. It also appears the Thunder has positioned itself, through the shrewd maneuverings of general manager Sam Presti, to be a contender for the foreseeable future.
But to a certain segment of the population, the team has no business being where it is. And you know what? I can relate.