Former Washington Huskies Player Attempting to Help Bring Back Seattle SuperSonics

Seattle seems to be as close as it has been to regaining the Seattle SuperSonics since the franchise relocated in 2008 and became the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Talks of expansion have ramped up in recent months, with Seattle and Las Vegas being the two cities that seem the likeliest to land a franchise.

It seems like the biggest hurdle for either franchise in landing a team comes down to money. The assumptive bidding leaders in the Vegas expansion team, an ownership group featuring former Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry and billionaire Steve Apostolopoulos backed out of the bid after the number to gain a franchise rose above $10 billion.

A decision on expansion is expected to take place at the end of this year.

Key figures in the Emerald City have made enhanced efforts in making sure that the NBA comes back to Seattle. Washington state governor Bob Ferguson spoke with NBA commissioner Adam Silver on Thursday about the topic of expansion.

What's likely the biggest road block in the return of the Sonics is money. Currently, there's only legit bidder for the franchise, an ownership group led by the NHL's Seattle Kraken majority owner Samantha Holloway. The group also reportedly features investors such as billionaire Melinda French Gates and Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, among others. The most likely home arena of the Sonics (should they return), Climate Pledge Arena, is owned by Holloway's ownership group (One Roof Sports and Entertainment) and doubles as the home of the Kraken and the WNBA's Seattle Storm.

The NBA wants to get as much money as possible with expansion, and it's likely that Silver and the current NBA owners are waiting for a new bidder for a Seattle team or another city group to emerge to rise the bidding price. The fact that the One Roof Sports group owns Climate Pledge Arena also complicates matters for other potential bidders.

According to a report from ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, Holloway is receiving advisement from multiple former players synonymous with Seattle basketball, including a player who once suited up for the Washington Huskies men's basketball team.

Per Shelburne's report, Seattle native and multi-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford and former Huskies and SuperSonics forward Detlef Schrempf are both advising Holloway in the efforts of getting an expansion team to Seattle. "Dozens" of Seattle natives and/or former Sonics players have officially joined Holloway's advisor group.

"It's been a long road and I think it's quite amazing that our market is still so excited about (the Sonics potentially returning)," Scrempf said in the article. "We have a great basketball culture. A great history with the Sonics, and I think our fan base is still there and ready to go."

Schrempf played with the Huskies from 1981-85, where he helped guide UW to two NCAA tournament appearances in 1984-85, including a Sweet Sixteen berth in '84. He was a two-time first-team All-Pac-10 selection ('84-85) and a third-team All-American in '85. His No. 22 was retired by the Huskies last season.

The German native and Centralia (Wash.) High School graduate was selected eighth overall in the '85 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks. His professional career spanned 16 seasons from 1985-2001 and included a six-season stint with the Sonics in 1993. He made all three career All-Stars with Seattle.