GDT: Seattle Kraken Free Agent Frenzy Discussion

[KrakenSabresMike]

Well, that's a big if. Sure, if you acquire DeBrincat you would need to dump Schwartz or someone. There were rumors about both Karlsson and DeBrincat but apparently neither player wanted to come to Seattle.

With such a poor free agent class and with the trade market being so sluggish due to the flat cap, I'm not surprised that RF hasn't made any big moves.

Free angency is for fools - trade and draft are the way to go. Not sure if there’s been any trade that the Kraken absolutely needed to be in on this far and most of the other trade targets haven’t moved. Eventually the dam will break and bet we are in on 1-2 trades. The reality is we need to try to find our way to one or two more borderline star level players, and that’s why we left our fourth liners to go and get paid elsewhere … That’s ( a great 4th line ) not what’s going to win as a cup eventually.

 

[finnishflash13]

seattlehockeyinsider.com referenced Mikhail Sergachev as a comparable contract that Dunn could be seeking. Sergachev's comtract is an 8 year/$8.5 million contract with the Lightning. He and Dunn have similar stats/TOI.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

seattlehockeyinsider.com referenced Mikhail Sergachev as a comparable contract that Dunn could be seeking. Sergachev's comtract is an 8 year/$8.5 million contract with the Lightning. He and Dunn have similar stats/TOI.

That is actually a good comparable but I feel Sergachev has slightly outperformed Dunn. Also, I would be surprised if Francis would give Dunn that. If Dunn is really stuck on both the term and AAV, we may be heading for a breakup.

 

[RainyCityHockey]

This is kind of aligned with my thoughts too. Can anyone emphatically say that the team is better this season than last? I certainly can't. I agree with @RainyCityHockey that the UFA class this season sucks, but if the team wanted to get better, there is always a way. And there still is via trades. It is not our job as fans to make the team better, that is the GMs.

Also, as to what @Irie said if the team really needs to be successful to land the NBA franchise, wouldn't we expect us to me more Vegas like? Mortgage the future for immediate success? I am not sure if Francis is the right GM for that but if he wants to be around, he will have to because this team is unlikely to repeat what they did last season with the roster as it stands.

No, the team, on paper, is not better than last season.
Though, there's a chance for internal growth with Beniers having a full season under his belt and guys like Wright, Kartye and Evans(if he can beat out about five guys) are getting closer and could come in.

There's also the chance for one of the goalies actually posting numbers like a solid NHL tender. I mean, potentially....

Though, even if you brought the same guys back there was no guarantee you'd be back in the playoffs unless you once again shoot an insane percentage as a team or you play better defense.

BTW: The record of the Kraken has absolutely nothing to do with a potential NBA return.
The city has done what was always asked(build an arena) and the fans have shown how well they support their teams with selling out those season tickets within hours.

If the NBA expands and doesn't come back to Seattle they can officially stop using/associating the city's name with their sport cause it would be the 2nd time they'd f*** over Seattle and most likely the end of people being interested in bringing back an NBA team.

seattlehockeyinsider.com referenced Mikhail Sergachev as a comparable contract that Dunn could be seeking. Sergachev's comtract is an 8 year/$8.5 million contract with the Lightning. He and Dunn have similar stats/TOI.

The problem with that is that Sergachev was three years younger when he signed that deal and was part of three runs to the stanley cup final, winning two of them, for that team.

The Lightning had more of a sample size with him and he actually improved quite a bit during last season.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

No, the team, on paper, is not better than last season.
Though, there's a chance for internal growth with Beniers having a full season under his belt and guys like Wright, Kartye and Evans(if he can beat out about five guys) are getting closer and could come in.

There's also the chance for one of the goalies actually posting numbers like a solid NHL tender. I mean, potentially....

Though, even if you brought the same guys back there was no guarantee you'd be back in the playoffs unless you once again shoot an insane percentage as a team or you play better defense.

BTW: The record of the Kraken has absolutely nothing to do with a potential NBA return.
The city has done what was always asked(build an arena) and the fans have shown how well they support their teams with selling out those season tickets within hours.

If the NBA expands and doesn't come back to Seattle they can officially stop using/associating the city's name with their sport cause it would be the 2nd time they'd f*** over Seattle and most likely the end of people being interested in bringing back an NBA team.



The problem with that is that Sergachev was three years younger when he signed that deal and was part of three runs to the stanley cup final, winning two of them, for that team.

The Lightning had more of a sample size with him and he actually improved quite a bit during last season.

Not the record of the Kraken but more to do with how successful they are. I was going off on what @Irie had mentioned earlier about the city/ownership wanting an NBA team. If the team really wants to improve on last season, they definitely have not done anything to show that.

Regarding Sergachev, his new contract actually kicks in this season. He is 1.5 years younger than Dunn though and has more of a proven record at producing, so I agree they are not the best comparables. But I don't think they are that far off.

 

[Irie]

If the team really wants to improve on last season, they definitely have not done anything to show that.

I am sure Francis has been trying to improve the team, but the cap constraints are bogging down everyone's ability to make moves.

Due to Seattle's cap situation, Francis had to stick to 2nd day+ bargain ufa shopping. To move out any contracts, other teams are asking you to take salary back or the return is peanuts.

26 goal scorer Rielly Smith went for a 3rd.
Edmonton had to add Kostin to move Yamamoto, who was then bought out.
Edmundson was retained at 50% for a 3rd
Maroon was retained on by Tampa and returned a 7th
Duclair went for a 5th and Lorentz.

I strongly believe Francis is dead set against mortgaging the future to slightly improve now, so he's trying to ice the most competitive roster without trading picks/prospects, but he is not building the "best" team for the future because he is being pressured to win now. It's a bad situation to be in, especially for a guy who's entire GM career has been built on patience and building teams slowly. Normally, either you are building for the future, or you are all in. Being on the fence usually leads to accomplishing neither.

Regarding Sergachev, his new contract actually kicks in this season. He is 1.5 years younger than Dunn though and has more of a proven record at producing, so I agree they are not the best comparables. But I don't think they are that far off.

I believe Sergachev's career seasdon high 40 points when he signed his 8x8.5 extension last summer. Had he waited till this offseason after producing 64 points like Dunn, he probably would have gotten more. All in all it is not a terrible Comp. Dunn got way more of his points this season at even strength than Sergachev, so i think that if this thing goes to arbitration, league wide comparable contracts favor Dunn getting paid well.

 

[RainyCityHockey]

Not the record of the Kraken but more to do with how successful they are. I was going off on what @Irie had mentioned earlier about the city/ownership wanting an NBA team. If the team really wants to improve on last season, they definitely have not done anything to show that.

What exactly should Francis have done?

The only one I'm a bit unhappy about is Geekie cause he was a solid #4C that one some faceoffs and played well enough on the wing during the playoffs.

Sprong wasn't coming back unless you completely forgot how much Hakstol loathed playing him on the 4th line or Francis comments(or lack thereoff) when we aquired him or after July 1st this year.
Donato's a great guy but the only reason he got that deal was because the Kraken came into existence and gave him a shot to be an NHL'er.
Good on him for using that but it's not like he was a regular every game for us.

Also, if reports are correct Francis was in talks for Erik Karlsson(just like he was last year for Kevin Fialla) but ultimatly that didn't work out/Karlsson supposedly wouldn't waive for us.

Overall this team can still make the playoffs but I doubt there were many moves available to Francis in order to take that next step and sometimes the best move to make is none at all.

I mean, success in the NHL isn't linear and even if we don't make the playoffs it wouldn't be the end of the world depending on how the younger guys play and hopefully a couple more than Beniers can establish themselves with the Kraken.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

What exactly should Francis have done?

The only one I'm a bit unhappy about is Geekie cause he was a solid #4C that one some faceoffs and played well enough on the wing during the playoffs.

Sprong wasn't coming back unless you completely forgot how much Hakstol loathed playing him on the 4th line or Francis comments(or lack thereoff) when we aquired him or after July 1st this year.
Donato's a great guy but the only reason he got that deal was because the Kraken came into existence and gave him a shot to be an NHL'er.
Good on him for using that but it's not like he was a regular every game for us.

Also, if reports are correct Francis was in talks for Erik Karlsson(just like he was last year for Kevin Fialla) but ultimatly that didn't work out/Karlsson supposedly wouldn't waive for us.

Overall this team can still make the playoffs but I doubt there were many moves available to Francis in order to take that next step and sometimes the best move to make is none at all.

I mean, success in the NHL isn't linear and even if we don't make the playoffs it wouldn't be the end of the world depending on how the younger guys play and hopefully a couple more than Beniers can establish themselves with the Kraken.

I think you misunderstood the point I was making. I am not advocating that Francis should have done something or that he should do something. For me, the status quo is just fine. But that shows he is taking the patient approach towards building the team, which I prefer to the Vegas approach. It does not align with what others have said about needing to win now. Because, if he has been asked to win now, this is not the way to do it. If he is realistically expecting this team to outperform last seasons team, I do not think the odds are in his favor.

Francis could have done multiple things to win "NOW". As I said earlier, it would involve mortgaging the future. Moving out any of our top-end prospects and this years picks is one approach he could have taken. There could have been others but I am not a GM so asking me that is not really ideal.

 

[RainyCityHockey]

I think you misunderstood the point I was making. I am not advocating that Francis should have done something or that he should do something. For me, the status quo is just fine. But that shows he is taking the patient approach towards building the team, which I prefer to the Vegas approach. It does not align with what others have said about needing to win now. Because, if he has been asked to win now, this is not the way to do it. If he is realistically expecting this team to outperform last seasons team, I do not think the odds are in his favor.

Francis could have done multiple things to win "NOW". As I said earlier, it would involve mortgaging the future. Moving out any of our top-end prospects and this years picks is one approach he could have taken. There could have been others but I am not a GM so asking me that is not really ideal.

I honestly don't know about that one either.

For example.
If he's taking a slower approach he's not signing Doumoulin but gives Evans an actual chance to make the team this year without having to hope for an injury.

Like I've said, I'm very curious to see how he wants to keep on building this one cause right now we seem to be a bit in the middle of things(unless the team either plays out of their minds or totally crashes and burns) which is not where you really want to be longterm.

 

[finnishflash13]

Not the record of the Kraken but more to do with how successful they are. I was going off on what @Irie had mentioned earlier about the city/ownership wanting an NBA team. If the team really wants to improve on last season, they definitely have not done anything to show that.

Regarding Sergachev, his new contract actually kicks in this season. He is 1.5 years younger than Dunn though and has more of a proven record at producing, so I agree they are not the best comparables. But I don't think they are that far off.

it's definitely clear that a lot of kraken fans, on here and other social media, do not want Dunn to stay at the cost of him receiving the highest paying contract that he can possibly receive. either Dunn is going to get paid as a Kraken or his time in Seattle is going to be short-lived.

 

[rsteen]

For example.
If he's taking a slower approach he's not signing Doumoulin but gives Evans an actual chance to make the team this year without having to hope for an injury.

I think that's more a factor of how ready they assess Evans to be. He looks great in the AHL, but it's a big ask to step from AHL rookie to an everyday NHL player the following season. If they don't sign Dumoulin and Evans isn't ready, then Megna has to play every game. Also they were unusually healthy on defense last season I think, otherwise we probably would have seen his NHL debut already.

Look at Kartye. I saw him listed on a top 100 prospects list for the whole NHL. This time last year he was an undrafted nobody. I think that shows that if a kid is ready, he'll get the opportunity.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

I honestly don't know about that one either.

For example.
If he's taking a slower approach he's not signing Doumoulin but gives Evans an actual chance to make the team this year without having to hope for an injury.

Like I've said, I'm very curious to see how he wants to keep on building this one cause right now we seem to be a bit in the middle of things(unless the team either plays out of their minds or totally crashes and burns) which is not where you really want to be longterm.

I disagree. A slower approach would mean giving the kids more of a chance to be ready than throwing them into the fire. Dumo is a stop-gap.

Personally, I enjoyed the run last season, but I am ok regressing this season. Be patient and wait to see if some subset of Wright, Winterton, Melanson, Evans, Nelson, Firkus, etc. are impact players in 2024-25.

I do agree with you that we are a middling team right now. This team could repeat and make the playoffs again but that is far from a guarantee.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

I think that's more a factor of how ready they assess Evans to be. He looks great in the AHL, but it's a big ask to step from AHL rookie to an everyday NHL player the following season. If they don't sign Dumoulin and Evans isn't ready, then Megna has to play every game. Also they were unusually healthy on defense last season I think, otherwise we probably would have seen his NHL debut already.

Look at Kartye. I saw him listed on a top 100 prospects list for the whole NHL. This time last year he was an undrafted nobody. I think that shows that if a kid is ready, he'll get the opportunity.

Right. It is hard to say if Evans will be NHL ready or not. He sure looks like it, but playing Megna over Dumo would be a big step back.

I do not know where Evans is on the callup order though. Megna is likely to be our 7D through the season. I expect they call up Evans first because he is waiver exempt as opposed to Fleury.

 

[RainyCityHockey]

I think that's more a factor of how ready they assess Evans to be. He looks great in the AHL, but it's a big ask to step from AHL rookie to an everyday NHL player the following season. If they don't sign Dumoulin and Evans isn't ready, then Megna has to play every game. Also they were unusually healthy on defense last season I think, otherwise we probably would have seen his NHL debut already.

Look at Kartye. I saw him listed on a top 100 prospects list for the whole NHL. This time last year he was an undrafted nobody. I think that shows that if a kid is ready, he'll get the opportunity.

According to everyone who watched Evans play he looked really good especially during the pressure moments of the AHL playoff run and the calder cup final.

Still, I'm not sure you sign a guy for two years with Megna around as well.
Of course unless Francis watched Megna and doesn't rate him at all.

Comparing Kartye to Evans makes no sense.
Evans was an overager taking at 19 years old in round two of the draft and also has just as much AHL experience as Kartye.

Kartye is a great story and it's easier for forwards to make the jump but he doesn't have more experience at the pro level than Evans.

Though, I agree you don't rush prospects.

I disagree. A slower approach would mean giving the kids more of a chance to be ready than throwing them into the fire. Dumo is a stop-gap.

Personally, I enjoyed the run last season, but I am ok regressing this season. Be patient and wait to see if some subset of Wright, Winterton, Melanson, Evans, Nelson, Firkus, etc. are impact players in 2024-25.

I do agree with you that we are a middling team right now. This team could repeat and make the playoffs again but that is far from a guarantee.

It depends on the prospects.

Like I've said Evans was drafted as an overager potentially keeping in mind he might be faster to the NHL and help inject more youth in an expansion draft roster that was mostly betweend the ages of 28 - 32.

Overall I've got no problem with grooming those guys, even a little bit longer than most would, but I still don't really get that Doumoulin signing for two years.

I also don't have a problem with us maybe regressing a bit and drafting closer to the top ten, cause I think another higher end prospect would be good going forward to build around Beniers, Wright, Sale and those other guys.

Though, I'm not going to be mad if we have another year like last season but at that point you probably have to start looking into trading a first round pick in order to find that game changing player we're lacking.

So let's see what Francis does and how that Dunn contract will look like.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

According to everyone who watched Evans play he looked really good especially during the pressure moments of the AHL playoff run and the calder cup final.

Still, I'm not sure you sign a guy for two years with Megna around as well.
Of course unless Francis watched Megna and doesn't rate him at all.

Comparing Kartye to Evans makes no sense.
Evans was an overager taking at 19 years old in round two of the draft and also has just as much AHL experience as Kartye.

Kartye is a great story and it's easier for forwards to make the jump but he doesn't have more experience at the pro level than Evans.

Though, I agree you don't rush prospects.



It depends on the prospects.

Like I've said Evans was drafted as an overager potentially keeping in mind he might be faster to the NHL and help inject more youth in an expansion draft roster that was mostly betweend the ages of 28 - 32.

Overall I've got no problem with grooming those guys, even a little bit longer than most would, but I still don't really get that Doumoulin signing for two years.

I also don't have a problem with us maybe regressing a bit and drafting closer to the top ten, cause I think another higher end prospect would be good going forward to build around Beniers, Wright, Sale and those other guys.

Though, I'm not going to be mad if we have another year like last season but at that point you probably have to start looking into trading a first round pick in order to find that game changing player we're lacking.

So let's see what Francis does and how that Dunn contract will look like.

You sign Dumo because it gives you flexibility. Schultz is off the books next season. Evans may or may not be ready. Megna is pretty much a goner. Fleury really confuses me. I thought he would be the 7D but if Francis is too afraid to lose him to waivers, then what is the point?

The other thing with Dumo simply could be he wanted more than 1 year. Wouldn't be the first time a player did that and given his AAV, Francis probably felt comfortable enough.

These short term contracts don't bother me and are simply a safety valve. It also makes Borgen and Oleksiak expendable. Not that I am advocating trading them but at some point, someone will need to be.

 

[majormajor]

According to everyone who watched Evans play he looked really good especially during the pressure moments of the AHL playoff run and the calder cup final.

Still, I'm not sure you sign a guy for two years with Megna around as well.
Of course unless Francis watched Megna and doesn't rate him at all.

Comparing Kartye to Evans makes no sense.
Evans was an overager taking at 19 years old in round two of the draft and also has just as much AHL experience as Kartye.

Kartye is a great story and it's easier for forwards to make the jump but he doesn't have more experience at the pro level than Evans.

Though, I agree you don't rush prospects.



It depends on the prospects.

Like I've said Evans was drafted as an overager potentially keeping in mind he might be faster to the NHL and help inject more youth in an expansion draft roster that was mostly betweend the ages of 28 - 32.

Overall I've got no problem with grooming those guys, even a little bit longer than most would, but I still don't really get that Doumoulin signing for two years.

I also don't have a problem with us maybe regressing a bit and drafting closer to the top ten, cause I think another higher end prospect would be good going forward to build around Beniers, Wright, Sale and those other guys.

Though, I'm not going to be mad if we have another year like last season but at that point you probably have to start looking into trading a first round pick in order to find that game changing player we're lacking.

So let's see what Francis does and how that Dunn contract will look like.

I think this is healthy depth. Given the normal rate of injuries (that we haven't had yet), I suspect all of Evans, Megna, Fleury, and Dumo will play a good number of games.

 

[Fuhrious]

You sign Dumo because it gives you flexibility. Schultz is off the books next season. Evans may or may not be ready. Megna is pretty much a goner. Fleury really confuses me. I thought he would be the 7D but if Francis is too afraid to lose him to waivers, then what is the point?

The other thing with Dumo simply could be he wanted more than 1 year. Wouldn't be the first time a player did that and given his AAV, Francis probably felt comfortable enough.

These short term contracts don't bother me and are simply a safety valve. It also makes Borgen and Oleksiak expendable. Not that I am advocating trading them but at some point, someone will need to be.

I love Oleksiak but felt like his game really took a step back last season. Unless he definitively bounces back, at his cap hit I definitely feel like he’s expendable.

 

[Scomerica]

They are all useful players, but they are not great value contracts. Looking at comparable players and what they are returning now, no one is trading for them without returning their own bad contracts. There is just zero cap available to teams that would be interested. The teams with cap space mostly have internal budgets, and most of these Seattle players are paid more than their actual cap hits, making them undesirable to that group. For the few teams with cap and deep pockets, they are selling their capspace to desperate GMs and asking for premium returns.

If Francis is retaining, then he is further limiting his available cap to find replacements.

Bottom line is that good players on good contracts are just not available. Teams hold on to them or require massive overpayment, which makes acquiring them not worth the cost.

Fans all assume that there are good deals for good players on good contracts to be had if a GM is smart, but right now, everyone is looking for the same thing and no one is selling for reasonable prices. Several GMs have commented that "everyone wants to make moves, but there is just nothing of interest available." It takes two to tango.


Ownership has been extremely vocal about wanting the NBA expansion. I am not a basketball fan either, but the NBA franchise is the financial prize. The value of the Supersonics would likely be three times or more than what they Kraken are worth, and the Arena cost modifications would be minimal, maximizing the return.

If they don't get an NBA franchise, than the huge investment in the arena and the Kraken won't be profitable for a very long time, if ever. The Kraken were always the Gateway to the Supersonics and a foot in the door to the NBA for this ownership group. My concerns are for the season after next. The NBA decision will probably come down in 2025, and so the 2024-25 roster decisions may be all about sacrificing the future to keep the team in the bubble for that single season.

I don't think the Sonics will have an impact on ownership regarding spending. I'm pretty certain for the NBA they'll have another couple of 'whales/names' a billionaire or 2 to help fund it.

What I am concerned about is attendance once the Sonics come back. I know some people like hockey and don't like basketball (and vice versa) but i'm sure there are many casual fans with disposable income who may be forced to pick what they spend their money on. Kraken tickets aren't cheap.

 

[RainyCityHockey]

You sign Dumo because it gives you flexibility. Schultz is off the books next season. Evans may or may not be ready. Megna is pretty much a goner. Fleury really confuses me. I thought he would be the 7D but if Francis is too afraid to lose him to waivers, then what is the point?

The other thing with Dumo simply could be he wanted more than 1 year. Wouldn't be the first time a player did that and given his AAV, Francis probably felt comfortable enough.

These short term contracts don't bother me and are simply a safety valve. It also makes Borgen and Oleksiak expendable. Not that I am advocating trading them but at some point, someone will need to be.

Schultz is an RHD, both Doumoulin and Evans are LHD.
I don't really see a connection there.

I'm also not sure about Fleury but I'm pretty sure we'll have someone come in and tell us why he's so great and needs to sit in the press box for 65 out of 82 games so we don't lose him on waivers...

BTW: Moving Oleksiak might be an idea given his age and play last season.
I mean he's still 6'6 and NHL folks really like that.

Overall I'm interested to see how this all works out and what we'll be next season.
Also, Francis has ten more days to re-sign or even make a decision on Dunn if he wants to avoid arbitration.

 

[Irie]

I don't think the Sonics will have an impact on ownership regarding spending. I'm pretty certain for the NBA they'll have another couple of 'whales/names' a billionaire or 2 to help fund it.

What I am concerned about is attendance once the Sonics come back. I know some people like hockey and don't like basketball (and vice versa) but i'm sure there are many casual fans with disposable income who may be forced to pick what they spend their money on. Kraken tickets aren't cheap.

I agree, spending is not the issue. Leiweke has been extremely transparent that the focus of the ownership group now is to lock down the NBA expansion. It is a very unorthodox position for an ownership group to come out publicly with, and I have a feeling it is not sitting well with the NBA who prefer to keep discussion like expansion behind closed doors - The NBA commissioner even had a little bit of a veiled barb in his press conference about it.

The question is, can Francis take a major step back in 2024-25 as he tries to build a champion? or is ownership pushing him to make the playoffs given that the NBA decision may come down in 25'? Having the Kraken be front and center in the news with hype and excitement is a boost for the Sonics case regarding the area and city's fans.

The team has been hemorrhaging it's prime year players, Dunn would be another one if they move on from him due to contract demands. They are looking at being a team who's majority of players are guys 22 or younger or guys over 30+ in a year or two. That's a tough demographic to have if you want to compete now in this league.

As far as ticket prices, If the Sonics are as popular as most people are predicting, their tickets will be much more expensive and harder to acquire. May mean the Kraken ticket prices fall some, but hopefully the team has built enough of a following already that demand and season ticket sales will not suffer a drop-off.

 

[gstommylee]

I agree, spending is not the issue. Leiweke has been extremely transparent that the focus of the ownership group now is to lock down the NBA expansion. It is a very unorthodox position for an ownership group to come out publicly with, and I have a feeling it is not sitting well with the NBA who prefer to keep discussion like expansion behind closed doors - The NBA commissioner even had a little bit of a veiled barb in his press conference about it.

The question is, can Francis take a major step back in 2024-25 as he tries to build a champion? or is ownership pushing him to make the playoffs given that the NBA decision may come down in 25'? Having the Kraken be front and center in the news with hype and excitement is a boost for the Sonics case regarding the area and city's fans.

The team has been hemorrhaging it's prime year players, Dunn would be another one if they move on from him due to contract demands. They are looking at being a team who's majority of players are guys 22 or younger or guys over 30+ in a year or two. That's a tough demographic to have if you want to compete now in this league.

As far as ticket prices, If the Sonics are as popular as most people are predicting, their tickets will be much more expensive and harder to acquire. May mean the Kraken ticket prices fall some, but hopefully the team has built enough of a following already that demand and season ticket sales will not suffer a drop-off.

The NBA isn't going to tell a fellow NBA owner David Bonderman (minority owner of boston celtics) and the Leiweke's no you aren't getting a team.

 

[Irie]

The NBA isn't going to tell a fellow NBA owner David Bonderman (minority owner of boston celtics) and the Leiweke's no you aren't getting a team.

When asked about expansion, Silver said-

We are looking at Las Vegas.

There is no doubt there is enormous interest in Seattle. That is no secret. There are also other markets that have indicated interest.

..... We are not engaged in that process right not. We are not taking meetings right now with any interested groups.


The decision is at least two years away, and the actual expansion is probably two more years away after that. I think Vegas is about as close to guaranteed to get a team as possible. Seattle may be the second favorite, but they are not a sure bet, and is there even any guarantee that two teams come in at the same time? They might follow the NHLs lead and add Vegas in 27 and Seattle or another city in 2031. To pretend Seattle is guaranteed to land a team is optimistic fiction.

 

[RainyCityHockey]

When asked about expansion, Silver said-

We are looking at Las Vegas.

There is no doubt there is enormous interest in Seattle. That is no secret. There are also other markets that have indicated interest.

..... We are not engaged in that process right not. We are not taking meetings right now with any interested groups.


The decision is at least two years away, and the actual expansion is probably two more years away after that. I think Vegas is about as close to guaranteed to get a team as possible. Seattle may be the second favorite, but they are not a sure bet, and is there even any guarantee that two teams come in at the same time? They might follow the NHLs lead and add Vegas in 27 and Seattle or another city in 2031. To pretend Seattle is guaranteed to land a team is optimistic fiction.

I think you're reading way too much into things a commissioner says about something that he, officially, can't openly talk about yet.
Hence his sentence about not being engaged in that right now.

The decisons also not two years away.
As Silver said they first want to negotiate the tv deal which will happen in spring of 2024 as every NBA expert will tell you.

Overall you're making things up a bit here about Seattle being maybe the 2nd favourite and what not and having to wait longer than Vegas.
There's also absolutley nothing saying that just like your talk about Silver being "pi$$ed off" at Leiweke.

The Seattle owners have done everything the way the NBA has wanted it and they all know Silver and the other front office members of the NBA having worked for and with them for decades.
And that doesn't even include a current minortiy owner of the Boston Celtics...

And like I've said before, if the NBA expands and Seattle doesn't get a team that league can f**k off and never even has to pretend of trying to come here.
There's also no fu*** way the Leiweke's and Bonderman are spending all that money on the arena and making it state of the Art for the NBA(spending more money on it then originally planned) without a clear understanding that if the league expands they'll get one of those teams.

So I think you're reading too much into some comments of Silver and are creating doomsday scenarios because Silver didn't outright say that Seattle's guaranteed a team.
Something he actually can't even do because expansion is supposed to be a bidding for those teams and not something that's just handed to places.

 

[Irie]

I think you're reading way too much into things a commissioner says about something that he, officially, can't openly talk about yet.
Hence his sentence about not being engaged in that right now.

The decisons also not two years away.
As Silver said they first want to negotiate the tv deal which will happen in spring of 2024 as every NBA expert will tell you.

Overall you're making things up a bit here about Seattle being maybe the 2nd favourite and what not and having to wait longer than Vegas.
There's also absolutley nothing saying that just like your talk about Silver being "pi$$ed off" at Leiweke.

The Seattle owners have done everything the way the NBA has wanted it and they all know Silver and the other front office members of the NBA having worked for and with them for decades.
And that doesn't even include a current minortiy owner of the Boston Celtics...

And like I've said before, if the NBA expands and Seattle doesn't get a team that league can f**k off and never even has to pretend of trying to come here.
There's also no fu*** way the Leiweke's and Bonderman are spending all that money on the arena and making it state of the Art for the NBA(spending more money on it then originally planned) without a clear understanding that if the league expands they'll get one of those teams.

So I think you're reading too much into some comments of Silver and are creating doomsday scenarios because Silver didn't outright say that Seattle's guaranteed a team.
Something he actually can't even do because expansion is supposed to be a bidding for those teams and not something that's just handed to places.

So Seattle is being guaranteed an NBA team? You know this because???? This is what it sounds like you are saying.

I am saying nothing is certain, if you somehow know for fact that that is incorrect, please post your information, if you don't know for fact, then why are you attacking my position that the decision is undecided at this time?

Your post makes zero sense.

Why I believe it is relevant that the NBA is undecided is because of the interviews Leiweke gave where he flatly said that he wants the Kraken to be competitive to show the NBA how great the area's fans are and that securing the NBA expansion was the number one goal of the ownership group. That is not reading into anything, that is taking the owner directly at his words.

As far as creating doomsday scenario, how did you get that from my post? All I said is that we do not know if Seattle will get an NBA expansion in 2025, and it was not guaranteed. Hell, the league may not expand for a decade if the economy tanks - anything is possible.

*If* Seattle were guaranteed the NBA expansion then there would be no talk from ownership about how they want to convince the league that Seattle is the best choice. This is why I do not believe there is some pre-arranged agreement and why I think ownership is pushing Francis to build the team a bit different than he had originally planned (his expansion told one story, his moves this past year seem to be facilitating a different plan). I believe next year we will see a commitment to winning in the present, which is not the slow build mentality Francis is known for, but we shall see.

 

[The Marquis]

Go Blazers