Please let me off this Sonics ride

On the commute into Seattle for my real job I let the possibilities wash over me.

True, the city of Seattle sold out its basketball fans for $45 million. But Howard Schultz could be the long-awaited white knight. Albeit, a heavily-stained white knight covered in f-bombs and used coffee grounds.

But Schultz’s litigation against Oklahoma City Whatevers owner Clay Bennett just might be the answer. It’s a long shot, but it really could work. We’ve never seen anything like it, but maybe, just maybe a miracle could happen.

And then I stopped.

I can’t do this again. Not for another year. I cannot invest any more energy or time into reversing a deal that never should have happened in the first place. I’ve ranted and raved. Railed and rallied. Sorry, there’s nothing left in the tank.

Schultz will meet the OKC ownership in court this Friday for their first conference, whatever that is. A joint status report will be due July 25 to Marsha Pechman, the same U.S. District Court judge who pitched a tent presided over the city’s circus trial against the Sonics.

Schultz’s fraud and breach case has merit. The OKC boys have made so many e-mail gaffes no reasonable human being would believe their intent all along was to keep the team in Seattle. Anyway, their actions speak louder than words.

Schultz isn’t looking for money, he wants the team returned to Seattle to be held in trust until another local owner can buy them. I’m assuming it would be Steve Ballmer and friends. But according to legal experts big and small, forcing the OKC team to move back to Seattle is a near impossible outcome.

Do I hope Mr. Coffee’s half-court buzzer beater finds nothing but cotton? Sure, I do. But I’m not going to be in the stands to watch.

Do I hope the legislature pulls together a funding package to save Seattle Center, the arena and lure another team to Seattle? Sure, I do. But I’m not going to be at the table handing them a pen.

You see, I’ve already been there and done that. Maybe I’ll feel differently as the months pass, but now it’s time for the truly influential to influence.

The fatal blow for me was watching NBA Commissioner David Stern turn around, minutes after the city and the OKC owners settled their suit, and say that an upgraded KeyArena would be a fine option. This conclusion was reached after years of telling us that KeyArena was a hopeless dump?

It was a true Twilight Zone moment. I felt like John Lithgow in “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,” wondering if I was going mad or if anyone else was seeing what I was seeing.

Stern has no principles whatsoever. He really will say and do anything as long as it feeds the NBA’s bottom line and keeps the owners signing his checks. Stern’s new assessment sent me over the edge.

I don’t like this ride and think I want off it now.