OKLAHOMA CITY – Clay Bennett is the leader of Professional Basketball Club LLC, the local outfit that bought the Seattle Sonics of the NBA.
Bennett is spokesman for
the group, but Aubrey McClendon doesn’t duck
away from talking about the NBA club.
McClendon said he is
“under a self-imposed gag order” regarding much
of the business end of the basketball franchise,
but he doesn’t have a problem with showing
enthusiasm regarding the team.
“Clay is my good friend
and general partner in the club, so he speaks
most accurately and eloquently for the club,”
McClendon said. “However, I’m very excited about
Kevin Durant and the other draft picks we had.”
Durant, a standout from
the University of Texas, was the Sonics’ lottery
pick this year
“I think we have a team
that probably has as much on the ball for the
next five or ten years as any team in the
league,” McClendon said.
It’s that kind of
enthusiasm that makes McClendon a good business
associate, Bennett said.
“One could not hope for a
better business partner,” Bennett said. “After
exhaustive due diligence and endless
questioning, Aubrey develops a very clear
understanding of the business. After he makes a
decision to invest he moves forward providing
creative, positive, additive input and supports
the company in any way he can. His personal
connection to the company and its people is more
important than the financial investment.”
Bennett said the year
since Professional Basketball Club bought the
Sonics, along the WBNA’s Seattle Storm, has not
been all that easy.
“Our experience in Seattle
with our investment in the SuperSonics and Storm
has had many challenges,” Bennett said. “That
said, we are as committed as ever to a
successful outcome. We have a diverse and
extremely talented ownership group. Aubrey has
helped define who we are and how we approach the
remarkable demands of this dynamic and highly
competitive business. His support of our process
and of me personally is something I will always
be grateful for.
“”He inspires by example,”
Bennett continued. “He is constantly thinking
ahead and aspires to do everything at the
highest level. In his interactions with those
around him be it business or personal, he always
challenges to think bigger and better and for
the long term.”
McClendon said the future
of the team is in the hands of the city
leadership of Seattle.
“They’ve got 60 days to
make some decisions they haven’t been willing to
make in the past year, and if they make them in
a way that satisfies Clay, then the team will
stay there,” he said. “If they don’t meet the
requirements he’s laid out, the team will move
and Clay has indicated they’ll come to Oklahoma
City.”
Basketball is more than an
investment for McClendon. He could be seen on
many occasions on Hornets telecasts, pumping an
arm in the air and cheering on the then-local
club.
“I’ve had good seats,”
McClendon grinned. “I’ve now been really caught
up in the excitement of the (Sonics) because
there is a certain stamp of ‘we’ve arrived,’ and
the people of Seattle kind of look down their
nose at us and think these guys are trying to
climb the civic ladder. They take pride in
Seattle not needing a NBA team to be considered
a world-class city. That’s probably true, they
don’t. But I think for Oklahoma City to distance
itself from other midsize cities, I think
enthusiastic support of a well-run, successful
NBA team says a lot about the spirit of this
community. We’ve got a can-do spirit and we’ve
got a fan base that’s turned out. This is a
sports town; nobody ever knew it was a pro
sports town. I think it is.”
McClendon got involved in
NBA ownership when civic leaders here wanted to
hang on to the Hornets, who played two seasons
here after Hurricane Katrina forced a move out
of New Orleans.
“When I first heard about
it I was in New York and got a phone call from
Clay and (Mayor) Mick Cornett,” McClendon said.
“They said we had a chance to get the Hornets. I
probably was immediately (doubtful) of our
chances, just figuring there would be another
city that would snatch the team away. But I also
thought ‘why not us?’ If the league was going to
serious consider us, I knew Clay and Mick
working together could be pretty powerful in
bringing a team to town.”
Chesapeake became a
“pioneer” sponsor.
“Tom Ward (Chesapeake
president at the time) was probably a bigger
basketball enthusiast then, but when Clay called
and asked if I’d be interested, I said sure, and
told him Tom would probably be interested as
well,” McClendon said. “We thought it would be a
great employee perk to grab some tickets. Later,
after the first year, we began to get more
serious about buying the Hornets from Mr.
(George) Shinn, and for a while we thought we’d
be able to.”
After a taste of the NBA,
Bennett, McClendon, Ward and others in the group
wanted more.
“We started to look
around, and at that time the Sonics were going
through some ownership challenges in Seattle,”
McClendon said. “So Clay, very artfully and
skillfully, put himself in the middle of those
discussions and to the great amazement and
surprise to everyone in Seattle, some rednecks
from Oklahoma, which we’ve been called, made off
with the team. At any rate I’m pleased to be
part of the ownership group and Clay has done a
terrific job of managing the process.”
McClendon said the team
would probably make more money if it stayed in
Seattle.
“But we didn’t buy the
team to keep it in Seattle; we hoped to come
here,” he said. “We know it’s a little more
difficult financially here in Oklahoma City, but
we think it’s great for the community and if we
could break even we’d be thrilled.”
Bennett said McClendon’s
participation is felt on many levels of local
sports and business, and he’s also a good
friend.
“I really enjoy our social
time together - golf outings, sporting events
around the country, OU football games,” Bennett
said. “Aubrey is the all-time undisputed
heavyweight champion of tailgating. OU vs.
Kansas State at Arrowhead Stadium for the 2000
Big 12 Championship was a performance that will
never be equaled. He is very inclusive and
generous with his friends.”
– Jerry Shottenkirk