{ "blocks": [ { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Above Photo: Bah Gawd! It's Sonics great Detlef Schremph at an NBA exhibition game in Seattle! No one saw this coming! " } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "The intrigue around the firing of Seattle Kraken coach Dave Hakstol keeps getting intrigue-ier." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Like any good mystery story, a surprise character has emerged from the shadows: the Seattle Supersonics." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Wait. What? The city's NBA team has been dormant since carpetbagging owners moved the franchise to Oklahoma City in 2008." } }, { "type": "image", "data": { "file": { "url": "https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjA2MTc4OTc4NjczNzMwOTcx/snapshot2.jpg" }, "caption": "Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke (right) speaks with KING-5's Paul Slivi." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Looking back a few days, there were clues. " } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Foreshadowing was provided during Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke's recent interview with KING-5 sports director Paul Silvi. " } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Leiweke hinted that the investment to privately finance Climate Pledge Arena wasn't made just to host an NHL team or first-tier concerts." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "\"Oklahoma City took our basketball team,\" Leiweke offered, unprompted. \"If I'm a betting man, we're going to have an NBA team (again), by the return of the Sonics.\" " } }, { "type": "header", "data": { "text": "Decoding The Sonics Connection", "level": 2 } }, { "type": "image", "data": { "file": { "url": "https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjA2MTc4NDU4MTc3MzgxNDc1/32.png" }, "caption": "32 Thoughts: The Podcast is a weekly deep dive into the biggest hockey news." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "On their 32 Thoughts podcast, NHL insiders Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman decoded the implicit suggestion within Leiweke's comments." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Elliotte Friedman: It's kind of a known secret in the NBA that after they get their TV deals done, they're going to consider expansion, bringing back the Supersonics. " } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Part of this (Hakstol firing), if not most of this, was about, 'We need to make sure if the Supersonics come back, that our team is a little bit stronger.' " } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "I watched that media conference with Ron Francis. He's a poker face, he doesn't give away a lot - he did not look happy. So not only am I looking at where they're going to go to replace Hakstol. I'm also wondering about the overall sense of the organization." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "They need to be more successful, they need to be more entertaining, because the sports marketplace there might be getting a little more crowded. They want to make sure their place is secure." } }, { "type": "header", "data": { "text": "Dan Could Be The Man", "level": 2 } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Marek and Friedman admitted the Hakstol dismissal caught them off guard. They suggested the Kraken might find his replacement already within the organization." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "Jeff Marek: Caught many by surprise. Some looked at this one and said, 'I don't know. This is a third year expansion team. They're doing okay.' Last year they made the playoffs. I know they had a super-high shooting percentage that they dined out on. That was going to take a dip this season, and it did." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "EF: I was surprised. Emily Kaplan of ESPN reported that (player) exit interviews played a very big role. I think things like that are always a factor." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "JM: I just assumed it was Dan Bylsma coming up from (Kraken AHL farm team) Coachella Valley at the end of their season." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "EF: I have, too. He's a very serious contender." } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "JM: I wonder if there are more moves coming from the Seattle Kraken this summer. " } }, { "type": "paragraph", "data": { "text": "EF: I think they want to be more aggressive. I do. " } } ] }

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Did Specter Of NBA Return Hasten Kraken's Firing Of Coach Hakstol?