I could see any of the Bucks, Thunder, or Celtics doing it but could also see all 3 not do it.
I dont see the Thunder doing it. I dont think the Thunder want people to say that they are the same franchise as the Sonics, they want their own identity.
they are the same franchise though. Have all the same records and what not
Yeah, I have a whole thread idea I am ready to post in the offseason about this very concept. Russell Westbrook, their franchise player and the likely MVP this season, was drafted by the Sonics. If Seattle gets another team and calls it the Sonics, which team will Westbrook have really been drafted by? It drives me crazy!
If Allen does get his number retired by a team, I expect it will be by a team 'desperate' for star power in their rafters. The Bucks or 'new' Sonics (who will have no affiliation with Allen) are the most likely teams.
Note: If the Lakers had changed their name when they moved to LA (as many other teams seem to do - see Thunder, Pelicans, Ravens, etc), they would only have 11 championships instead of 16. The name Lakers is ridiculous for an LA team anyway - it's like they are only doing it so they can have all 16 championships attached to their legacy.
It's so fascinating. The Charlotte Hornets thing is fun. The Hornets left Charlotte for New Orleans but were still the same "franchise" so, as far as I remember, retained all of the Charlotte Hornets' records even after the Bobcats came to Charlotte. But when the NO Hornets changed their named to the Pelicans, the Charlotte Bobcats dumped Bobcats as a name and went back to Hornets and now, as far as I know, are considered the same team that existed in the 90's.
Crazy.
The best thing that could happen would be the Lakers decide to change their name (it would never happen) and then the Timberwolves change theirs to the Minneapolis Lakers and usurp those 5 championships from the 50's.
We've had conversations here before about this issue, and it's a pretty messed-up situation IMO. The Pelicans, who are the old Hornets, lost all of the old Hornets history (stats, records, etc.) to the new Hornets, yet the L.A. Lakers get to claim 5 titles that aren't theirs? Absurd.
Maybe the stuff that's in place now can't (or won't) be changed, but the NBA should come up with a better standard moving forward. What I'd like to see:
1) All relocations require a "start from scratch" approach to statistics and other records, even if the team has the same owner/management and keeps the same name. Thus, the Memphis Grizzlies would carry none of the history of the Vancouver Grizzlies.
2) New teams that take the city and name of former teams will not take on the history/records/stats of the former teams. Thus, the new Charlotte Hornets would not carry any of the history of the original Charlotte Hornets.
3) Team names cannot be carried to new locations if they don't make sense. Thus, teams in desert areas cannot be named after bodies of water.
My basic thinking is this: Even if a relocated team has the same owner and name as before, it's in a new city and has a new fanbase, so by definition it's not "the same as it used to be."
Plus, it causes too much confusion to make a distinction between "team that moves but keeps name" and "team that moves but changes names," which seems to me to be a false distinction.
Then there's the question of whether the owner wants a clean break from the team's former situation, as seems to be the case with the Thunder's owner wanting
nothing to do with the Seattle SuperSonics; or wants to maintain nearly
everything from the team's former situation, as Jerry Buss did with the Lakers.
There's just too much confusion.
Topic: Will Anyone Retire Ray Allen's Jersey Number? (Read 9746 times)