Sonics minority owner fined

SEATTLE, Aug. 23 (UPI) -- One of the owners of the Seattle Supersonics was reportedly fined $250,000 for comments he made regarding the team's chances of moving to Oklahoma City.

Aubrey McClendon, a minority owner of Seattle's NBA franchise, was fined by the league for telling an Oklahoma City publication "we hoped to come here," the Seattle Times reported Thursday.

McClendon, in an interview with the Oklahoma City Journal, said: "We didn't buy the team to keep it in Seattle, we hoped to come here. We know it's a little more difficult financially here in Oklahoma City but we think it's great for the community and if we could break even we'd be thrilled."

While Sonics majority owner Clay Bennett issued a statement refuting McClendon's remarks, the team has also set an Oct. 31 deadline for an agreement on a new arena in the Seattle area. If that deadline passes, Bennett said he would petition the NBA to move the franchise and the WNBA's Seattle Storm to Oklahoma City.

A group led by Bennett, an Oklahoma City businessman, bought the Sonics for $350 million in June 2006.