Jamal Crawford has seen enough failed attempts to return the NBA to his hometown of Seattle to maintain a healthy bit of caution as the NBA's expansion process nears its final stretch, but he's hoping he's aligned with the group that will finally bring the SuperSonics back 17 years after the franchise relocated to Oklahoma City.
"When they first left, it was like, 'Oh, they'll be back in five years,'" the three-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year told ESPN. "They kept trying, and it just never happened. But this time feels different and I'm hoping that this is it."
Crawford said he has been working as an advisor with the group led by Seattle Kraken owner Samantha Holloway which has emerged as a frontrunner in Seattle, with a valuation, sources with knowledge of the process currently estimated around $6 billion.
Holloway's ownership group, which also includes Melinda French Gates and Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, holds tremendous leverage because her company, One Roof Sports & Entertainment, has a majority share of Climate Pledge Arena, which already hosts the WNBA's Seattle Storm and the Kraken, and could easily convert to host NBA games.
Any other bidder would either have to build their own arena or negotiate with Holloway to use Climate Pledge Arena, a state-of-the-art arena built in 2021, which has also hosted NCAA tournament games.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has said he hoped to have a resolution to the expansion process by the end of 2026. ESPN's Shams Charania reported last month that there are three finalists for the Las Vegas expansion team and the final price could be over $10 billion with an additional $2-3 billion allocated for the construction of a new arena.
One question that's emerged, according to sources with knowledge of the process, is whether one of the runner-up groups in Las Vegas will pivot to challenge Holloway's group and drive up the price in Seattle.
ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported last month that Silver also reintroduced Mexico City as a potential expansion candidate at the most recent Board of Governor's meetings.
If the Las Vegas franchise ends up with a valuation of at least $10 billion, it would be the second highest amount ever paid for an NBA team, behind only the record-shattering $12.5 billion valuation of the Los Angeles Lakers that American businessmen Josh Kushner and Bob Iger recently agreed to with Mark Walter.
Those sales have generated discussion around the league as to whether the valuations for the Lakers and Las Vegas expansion teams outliers or the new normal?
Last year, the Boston Celtics were sold at a $6.1 billion valuation which could reach up to $7.3 billion. Last month the Minnesota Timberwolves were sold for $4.5 billion. The current Seattle bid would fall more in line with those franchise sales and valuations.
Crawford says he's known Holloway - a fellow University of Michigan graduate - as well as some of the other Seattle-based partners in her group, for many years.
"But you don't stand by a person because they're in a position of power. You stand by them because their vision and their goals align with this community," he said. "That's my whole existence is being a service and serving in the community that I've grown up in. When I heard, got a chance to know them and what they were about, it was a no brainer for me."
Crawford grew up in Seattle going to games and working at Key Arena, which was rebuilt as Climate Pledge Arena.
"I was the kid who would bring up pretzels and cotton candy from the concession stands," he said. "Something that should've taken me five minutes would take me an hour because I'd be in the hallways watching (Sonics stars) Detlef (Schrempf) and Nate MacMillan play."
Crawford has taken over Seattle's Summer Pro-Am league, which has drawn players like Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Blake Griffin, Kyrie Irving, Kobe Bryant and Jayson Tatum over the years.
"I'm truly a Seattle basketball lifer," Crawford said. "It's cool to be in this position and think about the people that came before me. Mr. Bill Russell was a mentor. I would go to his house sometimes. Lenny Wilkins, who truly was like the father of Seattle basketball. Then little brothers of mine are Brandon Roy and Paolo Banchero, Dejounte Murray and Isaiah Thomas.
"After all this time of 17 plus years being gone, it's as hot as it's ever been and we cannot wait."
Crawford is among dozens of Seattle natives or former Sonics players who've either officially joined Holloway's group as advisors or unofficially been liasoning to help bring a franchise back to Seattle.
Schrempf says he's done calls and been in group texts about what they can do to help return a team to Seattle with Sonics legends like Gary Payton, Sam Perkins, Dale Ellis, MacMillan and Jack Sikma.
"It's been a long road and I think it's quite amazing that our market is still so excited about it," said Schrempf, who still spends most of his time in Seattle. "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."
Cedric Walker was a college student when the Sonics left for Oklahoma City after the 2008 season and has been a part of a fan group that's been campaigning to bring them back ever since.
"The thing is, this isn't a fan base you have to try to build up and create. This is a fan base that's ready to be unleashed again," Walker said. "It's just one of those things that the culture of basketball has just, it's never left. Obviously it sucks that we don't have a men's professional team, but the Storm are wonderful, the Pro-Am, high school basketball. If you go out, there's always people walking around Seattle rocking Sonics gear.
"It's so entrenched in the culture that it's just a part of the identity of the city."