Name the Oklahoma City......

[Montrossity]

Does the NBA even let teams change names?  I mean right now we have Lakers in an ocean side city, Jazz in a whitebread Mormon state, and Grizzlies in the heartland.  While I suppose all of that is better than Raptors roaming Toronto, it still seems rather silly. 

I take that back, the league let the Bullets change to the Wizards, but they had to change their name because it was too true to their location. 

[Roy Hobbs]

Does the NBA even let teams change names?  I mean right now we have Lakers in an ocean side city, Jazz in a whitebread Mormon state, and Grizzlies in the heartland.  While I suppose all of that is better than Raptors roaming Toronto, it still seems rather silly. 

I take that back, the league let the Bullets change to the Wizards, but they had to change their name because it was too true to their location. 

Yes, they do.  In this case, it's actually required, because the name "Sonics" is being kept by the city of Seattle.

[Section 87]

Bullets->Wizards
Braves->Clippers
Royals->Kings
Nationals->76ers
Packers->Zephyrs->Bullets

Those are the ones I remember, in the NBA. There may be more. And some NBA teams had name changes in the ABA before they joined the NBA (e.g. Americans->Nets).

[Roy Hobbs]

Bullets->Wizards
Braves->Clippers
Royals->Kings
Nationals->76ers
Packers->Zephyrs->Bullets

Those are the ones I remember, in the NBA. There may be more. And some NBA teams had name changes in the ABA before they joined the NBA (e.g. Americans->Nets).

How could you forget Blackhawks->Hawks?

The shame.

Here's a list of all the franchises (and franchise names) in league history.

[wdleehi]

Devil Rays --> Rays


Knickerbockers --> Knicks

[Montrossity]

Does the NBA even let teams change names?  I mean right now we have Lakers in an ocean side city, Jazz in a whitebread Mormon state, and Grizzlies in the heartland.  While I suppose all of that is better than Raptors roaming Toronto, it still seems rather silly. 

I take that back, the league let the Bullets change to the Wizards, but they had to change their name because it was too true to their location. 

Yes, they do.  In this case, it's actually required, because the name "Sonics" is being kept by the city of Seattle.

I was sort of half kidding, but I am glad to hear that Seattle is keeping the rights.  It actually disappoints me that that hasnt happened more often.  A team and its fans deserve to have a name that represents its location.  Especially the way OKC seemed to welcome an NBA franchise with the Hornets, they really deserve a mascot that represents them.  

Plus, Sonic fans shouldnt have to watch their team carry on elsewhere.  Something about that just seems cruel.  A few of my friends from Seattle were talking about it like their girlfriend who they love, had left them for another guy. But now they have to sit around and hear all the time about how happy the girl is with her new boyfriend and how much better he is for her.

[celticsfan8591]

The rumor is that the colors will be red, white and blue.

Really?  I heard that Bennett wanted his team's colors to be rainbow. 

[ACF]

He clearly doesn't know NBA history:

 

[celticmaestro]

okc pillagers.

if they don't have the bottle to call it that then they should be (apologies if someone's called it already) the oklahoma chiefs - it's in keeping with the oklahoma flag, too. i mentioned this last year in a related thread and for anyone who thinks it's not complying with political correctness, we already have the kansas city chiefs in the nfl. i think it suits.

no one sold on pillagers or chiefs?

[CoachBo]

Conspirators.

In honor of Slade Gorton and the conspiracy hatched in the city to force Bennett out of town.

 

[nickagneta]

How about the:

Oklahoma City There's Really Nothing Interesting Or Well Known About This Area Yet We Need To Be Extremely Politically Correct And Not Upset Native Americans Or Torando Victims Or Possible Oil Company Sponsors Or The Local State Univerisities So We'll Go With Flatlands Oh No We Can't Use That Because The Land Might Think We're Saying Something Bad About It's Breast Size So How's Ponies.

It might be hard to fit on a uniform but it sure does encompass what this franchise will probably be all about. They already p---ed off the entire state of Washington so a name that explains how thoughtful they are being to people might work.

Of course

Oklahoma City Stampede works too.

[indeedproceed]

How about the:

Oklahoma City There's Really Nothing Interesting Or Well Known About This Area Yet We Need To Be Extremely Politically Correct And Not Upset Native Americans Or Torando Victims Or Possible Oil Company Sponsors Or The Local State Univerisities So We'll Go With Flatlands Oh No We Can't Use That Because The Land Might Think We're Saying Something Bad About It's Breast Size So How's Ponies.

It might be hard to fit on a uniform but it sure does encompass what this franchise will probably be all about. They already ****ed off the entire state of Washington so a name that explains how thoughtful they are being to people might work.

Of course

Oklahoma City Stampede works too.

haha.

Aren't the Stampede something else? Like a soccer or arena football league or something?

I like the roughnecks.

Oklahoma City Roughnecks

[amenhotep04]

The size of the market is only one part of the story (See Miami).  You have to take into consideration the allegiance of the fans.  They'll be all over the team there.  It's the first professional major sports franchise in Oklahoma, providing of course you don't count OU in football.  They'll sell-out like crazy. 

Regarding the name, they cannot be the Cowboys.  OSU is the Cowboys. 

What I do hope is that they do change the name.  I hate that the Lakers and Clippers are in L.A., and that the Jazz are in Utah.  Things like the Pistons in Detroit, the 76ers in Philly, or the Spurs in San Antonio are reflective of the location.  I hope they come up with something creative that goes beyond Tornado.

Hey Doc!!  It's DJsFreckles from the espn board. [dang] glad to run into ya.

Hey DJ, glad to see you around.  Where you living at these days? For whatever reasons I cannot even access the ESPN board now.

[TripleOT]

The Oklahoma City Poachers. 

[bbc3341]

Oklahoma City HAD TO REMOVE, total loser am I...
My dad is from Spokane and I have 2 Uncles who live there and the fans support the team, but not to the level that would make it impossible for the legislature to not step up, the attendance has been weak the last few years with a ton of empty seats. Plus the corporate sponsors go for the baseball and football much more than basketball in that town because the Seahawks and Mariners have better support, it's sad... look for Portland to be picking up some fans, though...