710 ESPN Seattle hosts on Russell Wilson’s Sonics announcement
Nov 15, 2016, 11:15 AM
What would the reaction be if Russell Wilson is a catalyst to bringing the Sonics back to Seattle? (AP)
(AP)
The effort to bring the NBA and NHL to Seattle received another boost from a big name when Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson announced via Twitter Monday that he has partnered with the Sonics Arena Group. Wilson wrote a post for the Player’s Tribune Tuesday about how his love of the Sonics began with NBA Jam, but many of the specifics of the arrangement remain unknown.
Here is reaction to the announcement from 710 ESPN Seattle hosts.
Danny O’Neil: “First he goes on national TV and bests Tom Brady and now he’s gonna solve our arena. Is there anything he can’t do?”
Mike Salk: “I don’t know whether he’s got that kind of cash and I don’t know whether he’s got any local political influence, which are the two things I believe Chris Hansen truly needs, not to mention connections with the NBA specifically, but I’d really like to know who approached who on this. Is this Russell Wilson reaching out to Hansen and saying, ‘I really like where this thing is going, I’d like to be a part of it and I’d like to help’? Or is this Hansen going to Russell Wilson and saying, ‘Hey, I’d really like to bring on another popular public figure with some local ties here; would you be interested in joining what we are doing?’ I would love to know some of the history of how this thing started because I think it would be telling as to who exactly is trying to do what.”
Brock Huard: “There is no downside to this whatsoever. There is also little upside. He doesn’t have the money, he doesn’t have hundreds of millions of dollars that he’s gonna invest. He doesn’t have the time. His schedule, not only during the season but out of season, is so incredibly scheduled. As a guy who has tried to reach out to him to do different things, it is mapped out for months if not years ahead. So it’s not as if he’s gonna clear his whole schedule and he’s going to be sitting in these city council meetings and meeting these people.”
Bob Stelton: “I don’t know what he’s going to do but if he’s the face of this thing and it gets done, he’s already a superhero in this town, he will become a deity.”
Tom Wassell: “I don’t know that this is all that meaningful. It is only a PR thing but if he is investing money it is at least something. But can Russell Wilson as a popular figure have that kind of sway in this city? That remains to be seen. On the other hand, it can’t hurt.”
