Sonic Gloom

I had never seen my friend Carter so perturbed.

“This is a load of crap,” he said, reflecting the views of NBA fans across the city. “I’m starting to wonder if this is ever going to happen.”

Carter — who remains an avid NBA fan, unlike many other Sonics loyalists — was reacting to an announcement this week by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who said the league would deal with expansion at some point in the season. Fans have been expecting an announcement for years now, and rumors have been swirling that it would happen before the start of this season.

The Sonics left Seattle after the 2007-2008 season for Oklahoma City, a highly controversial move at the time. Their departure came after the city and state failed to secure public funding to build a new arena. Their final home game was against the Dallas Mavericks in April 2008.

Since then, the city has rebuilt the old KeyArena — now called Climate Pledge Arena — with the goal of securing another NBA franchise. Climate Pledge is home to the NHL’s Seattle Kraken and the WNBA’s Seattle Storm, and has also been the site of both women’s and men’s NCAA tournament games. The arena will again host NCAA tourney games next March.

Seattle fans figured the waiting was over, especially after the NBA signed a new broadcast rights agreement. The league recently signed a new TV deal with Disney (which owns ABC and ESPN), Amazon, and Comcast — which operates NBA TV and Peacock — for about $76 billion for the next 11 years.

I’m convinced the NBA will “eventually” grant Seattle another franchise. At least this time Silver put a definitive timeline on any announcement: “this season.”

But, and I speak for most of the city here, my patience is on life support.