Sonics Notebook | Ticket sales going well despite an uncertainty

DENVER — Sonics chairman Clay Bennett's threat to move the team after this season hasn't dramatically slowed ticket sales, according to Brian Byrnes, senior vice-president of sales and marketing.

About 1,500 tickets remain for the home opener tonight against Phoenix and the team is near last season's pace in season-ticket sales.

"We're pleasantly surprised," he said. "We're encouraged that we continue to sell ticket packages every day. I think that's obviously a statement that fans are interested in basketball. They're excited about the new team and the new players."

While the Sonics sold out just five games last season and averaged 15,955 in attendance, which ranked 25th in the NBA, Byrnes said those numbers are misleading because 17,072-seat KeyArena is one of the smallest venues in the league.

A truer reflection is the percentage of ticket sales related to the building's capacity. The Sonics sold 93.9 percent of available tickets, which ranked 15th in the NBA.

The Sonics announced a crowd of 9,861 at the exhibition game against Golden State and 10,854 for the Houston exhibition.

"It's pretty comparable to last year, so we're not too concerned," Byrnes said. "We decided to put more marketing resources toward the start of the regular season.

"With so many new faces on our team, we had to work harder to put our marketing campaign together."

The Sonics have purposely not saturated their promotions with Kevin Durant-themed advertising.

"Our philosophy is to promote the team as best we can [in a way] that supports the characteristics of what our team is trying to accomplish," Byrnes said. "Our team does have some new faces. We are developing a new identity and the marketing campaign is being true to that."

No extensions

Another late October deadline passed with no action from the Sonics.

Seattle did not give contract extensions to Robert Swift and newcomer Delonte West before the Wednesday deadline, allowing both to become restricted free agents after the season.

"Everybody is focused on the season, me included," said Swift, who will earn $2.6 million in the fourth year of his rookie contract.

"I forgot today was the deadline. It doesn't even bother me at all. I'm thinking about getting back and playing as soon as I can and the other stuff will take care of itself."

Swift's surgically repaired right knee was too sore for him to play Wednesday and he'll be inactive tonight.

He hopes to return Sunday against the Los Angeles Clippers on the road.

"I have more important things to worry about," he said. "I've got to get back on the court. Prove to myself I'm ready to play again and getting ready to play again. All of that other stuff would have been a distraction and I don't need any distractions right now."

West, who was acquired from Boston in the Ray Allen trade, will earn $1.9 million this season.

NOTES

• Bennett attended the game Wednesday, and is expected to attend the home opener tonight at KeyArena. Team officials said Bennett will hold a news conference Friday to give an update on the arena situation in Seattle.

• Former Sonics guard Mike Wilks joined the Nuggets as a reserve.

SEATTLE
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Durant	31:34	7-22	2-4	0-5	1	3	18
Wilcox	28:46	7-14	0-0	4-8	4	4	14
Collison	29:32	4-8	0-0	5-11	3	3	8
Watson	23:44	1-8	1-2	1-3	7	3	3
Wilkins	35:17	7-14	3-3	4-8	2	4	21
West	24:16	8-13	2-4	0-0	5	1	19
Szczerbiak	17:06	0-3	2-2	0-0	5	2

Petro23:563-82-30-10028Green18:541-23-70-2015Gelabale3:351-30-00-1012Sene3:201-11-20-4033Totals40-9616-2714-522727103Percentages: FG .417, FT .593. Three-point goals: 7-17, .412 (Wilkins 4-6, Durant 2-7, West 1-1, Watson 0-1, Szczerbiak 0-2). Team rebounds: 15. Team turnovers: 21 (29 PTS). Blocked shots: 5 (Petro 2, Durant, Green, West). Turnovers: 19 (West 5, Collison 2, Durant 2, Green 2, Petro 2, Szczerbiak 2, Watson 2, Wilcox, Wilkins). Steals: 9 (Durant 3, Collison 2, Green, Watson, West, Wilkins). Technical fouls: Defensive three second, 1:30 first; Defensive three second, 4:52 first; Defensive three second, 10:29 second; West, 1:09 third.

DENVER
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Anthony	39:23	10-21	9-10	3-5	5	3	32
Martin	18:10	3-7	1-2	1-5	1	3	7
Camby	34:07	1-5	2-2	3-15	3	2	4
Iverson	36:13	9-22	7-9	0-5	14	2	25
Diawara	27:54	5-8	1-2	1-3	3	2	12
Najera	24:21	6-7	0-0	2-4	0	2	14
Kleiza	27:15	6-12	1-4	0-6	3	4	18
Wilks	11:47	1-3	2-2	0-0	0	1	4
Nene	15:25	1-5	2-2	3-5	2	0	4
Jones	2:29	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	2	0
Hunter	1:28	0-0	0-2	0-2	0	0	0
Wafer	1:28	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0
Totals		42-91	25-35	13-50	31	21	120

Percentages: FG .462, FT .714. Three-point goals: 11-27, .407 (Kleiza 5-10, Anthony 3-6, Najera 2-3, Diawara 1-3, Wafer 0-1, Wilks 0-1, Iverson 0-3). Team rebounds: 9. Team turnovers: 16 (18 PTS). Blocked shots: 10 (Camby 5, Martin 3, Anthony, Najera). Turnovers: 15 (Iverson 7, Anthony 3, Camby 2, Nene 2, Najera). Steals: 11 (Iverson 7, Anthony, Diawara, Kleiza, Najera). Technical fouls: None.

Seattle	31	27	23	22 — 103
Denver	35	24	27	34 — 120

Attendance: 19,380 (19,099). Time: 2:30. Officials: Dan Crawford, Rodney Mott, Eli Roe.