Gregoire positive on Sonics, but cautious

The two major Seattle papers have conflicting headlines tonight about the Sonics' future. The Times is quite dark, while the P-I spins a sunny forecast.

Ralph Thomas at the Times is reporting that Christine Gregoire has realized that there is no future for these Sonics in Seattle, namely citing the following quote from the Governor about Sonics principal owner Clay Bennett.

"He made it very clear to me — and not in a nasty way at all — in his words, unequivocally, 'Not for sale,'" Gregoire said, later adding, "At some point, we have to accept that."

The P-I's Chris McGann also acknowledges that statement, but instead focuses on the potential for a positive future.

"We're not done talking about what we are going to do this session," Gregoire said. "We're still talking."

Asked if there might be something done on basketball this session, Gregoire said. "Yeah."

Later, the article concludes with Gregoire's promise to keep it alive if given the power.

"It's a fragile discussion ... and I'm sure not going to be the one to stymie it, because I want something to happen."

So what does this ultimately mean? It is difficult to tell based on the widely varying angles shown by the Seattle papers. There are certainly a number of different ways this Sonics drama could turn, and ESPN's Bill Simmons discusses a few ways to save the Sonics here that state lawmakers might well consider as they hope to think outside of the box.

But two things are clear: Clay Bennett does not want to sell the team, and the new potential ownership group is making the issue much more politically salient for Washington's legislators and governor. And that last bit is what makes all the difference.