Lots of former SuperSonics superstars including Ray Allen, Spencer Haywood and Lenny Wilkens are involved in the efforts to bring an NBA team to Seattle, and Gary Payton is confident that the plan is on course.
"We already got the arena approved to get remodeled, KeyArena, build it up from the ground, get something great so the NBA can look at it and say, 'OK, good,'" Payton told ThePostGame. "We got the NHL on board. Our great commissioner Adam Silver, he's going to try to think about either expanding or getting something there. I know he can get it done. I think Seattle will have a team in the next 3-4 years."
Before it gets torn down for remodeling in the fall, KeyArena will host its first NBA game since the SuperSonics left to become the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2008. The Golden State Warriors, featuring Kevin Durant who played one season in Seattle, will face Sacramento in an exhibition game October 6.
NHL owners are expected to approve Seattle's application for an expansion team. Although there have been conflicting reports on when that decision might become official, all indications are that Seattle will be home to the NHL's 32nd franchise. The earliest that KeyArena would be ready is projected to be the fall of 2020.
The NBA has 30 teams. Speculation of other cities in the running for an NBA franchise has included Kansas City, Louisville and Pittsburgh.
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