Durant has two years to make things right

"It's apparent to all who are watching that the Sonics are heading out of Seattle," commissioner David Stern said recently. "I accept that inevitability at this point. There is no miracle here."

The Seattle Supersonics have had relocation rumors since the turn of the century. Ex-owner Howard Schultz was constantly shopping the Sonics, who have been losing money for a while despite posting high attendances for a bad team. Then the New Orleans Hornets temporarily moved to Oklahoma City and averaged nineteen to twenty thousand a night. A year later, Schultz sold the team to a group of Oklahoma businessmen headed by Clay Bennett. And the rest is history.

Seattle faces the same outlook as the '83 Baltimore Colts and '95 Cleveland Browns: build a new stadium or else. But the city of Seattle has refused, having already funded a remodeling of Key Arena in 1995.

Now the question isn't if, but when. The Sonics' lease with Key Arena ends in 2010, though they could leave this year if they manage to buy out their lease with the city. In all likeliness, the Sonics have two years to play in Seattle.

Kevin Durant has two years to give Seattle something to cheer about, two years to possibly get to the playoffs or become a contender. Bennett hasn't made it easy though. He allowed both Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis to leave, and the Sonics are one of the worst teams in basketball. Hopefully Durant can evolve into the player he's supposed to be, because it's doubtful Seattle will ever get an NBA team back.