Oklahoma Group Buys SuperSonics

A group from Oklahoma City agreed to buy the Seattle SuperSonics and the WNBA’s Seattle Storm, the SuperSonics said Tuesday.

The Basketball Club of Seattle will sell the teams to the Professional Basketball Club LLC, headed by Oklahoma City businessman Clay Bennett, for $350 million.

Bennett said that whether the SuperSonics remain in Seattle for the long term would depend on whether the team can reach an agreement with the city to replace or renovate KeyArena.

The new owners have set a 12-month deadline to reach a new arena deal with Seattle officials -- something the previous owners didn’t accomplish in two years. After that, the new owners gain the option to move the team to Oklahoma.

SuperSonics majority owner Howard Schultz said the team turned down higher bids from groups that appeared likely to move the team immediately.

Bennett was instrumental in the temporary relocation of the New Orleans Hornets to Oklahoma City following Hurricane Katrina and emerged as a potential investor in the Hornets. He has previously discussed his desire to bring a team to Oklahoma City permanently, but insisted his first choice would be to keep the SuperSonics and Storm in Seattle.

In February, Schultz threatened to possibly move or sell the SuperSonics, saying the team has lost about $60 million in the last five years because of a KeyArena revenue-sharing lease with the city that lasts until 2010.

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LeBron James ended the Cleveland Cavaliers’ anxieties by finally signing a three-year contract extension worth about $60 million, cementing a deal announced last week.

The deal will keep James with the Cavaliers through the 2009-10 season. The extension is for two fewer years than the deal the Cavaliers offered, a five-year package worth about $80 million.

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The Detroit Pistons re-signed backup point guard Lindsey Hunter to a two-year, $4.5-million contract.