Looming move leaves Storm players uneasy

The voice was groggy.

Lauren Jackson was barely awake in her Sydney, Australia, home when told the news she had hoped to hear: The Storm would return to play the 2008 season at KeyArena. New owner Clay Bennett announced the decision at a sunny Friday afternoon news conference in September, which translated to the wee hours of Saturday morning for Jackson.

"That's great to hear," she sort of grunted.

When she was asked whether Bennett's announcement was enough to convince the two-time league MVP to return after a record-setting season that ended in a third consecutive first-round postseason exit, Jackson couldn't answer the question clearly.

Although the Storm received a reprieve, theoretically nothing has changed. It helped Jackson, the only one of the team's stars under contract, to open the door to "probably" returning, but she still has not said definitively she will play in Seattle next summer.

Holding her back is reality.

Bennett began the September news conference with the announcement the Storm would play at least one more season in Seattle. But after he quickly bobbled through the prepared statement, he segued into his real reason for gathering the media.

More court filings. More threats he'll relocate the Sonics and Storm.

And more declarations that neither team is for sale. Even if the offer is more than the $350 million Bennett's eight-member group paid Howard Schultz's group for the Sonics and Storm.

"I had a very pleasant conversation with Lauren, she's all about winning," Bennett said of speaking with Jackson before she departed Seattle. "We're very supportive of [coach] Anne Donovan and the team. KeyArena is not a viable option. It's not working at all here; we have a significant cash loss."

This time the Sonics will twist and turn as news regarding the arena situation competes with stories about rookie phenom Kevin Durant's fadeaway. During the summer, it was Jackson's MVP season that was clouded by the same topic.

Storm players, scattered across the world for overseas play, say they're relieved to have a place to return for the summer. Still, they're busy checking their e-mail for updates from Karen Bryant, the Storm's chief operating officer. Jackson and teammate Sue Bird, who will also begin play in Russia in November, will pay closer attention because they purchased homes in Queen Anne, knowing their team is the smaller stake in the struggle. WNBA franchises typically sell for $10 million.

Bird, who turned 27 earlier this month, is an unrestricted free agent, hopeful of re-signing with Seattle. But Bryant said no promises have been made to anyone not under contract, though guard Tanisha Wright did say Donovan, also director of player personnel, said the team would pick up the fourth-year option of her rookie contract.

"We need to make changes," said Bryant, whose other players under contract are starting forward Iziane Castro Marques and guard Katie Gearlds. "We weren't happy with the way the season went and we're going to spend all the time in the offseason, nearly every month, to really look at what our options are."

Remaining optimistic, Bryant keeps her focus on team logistics and building the 2,400-season-ticket holder base. The WNBA expanded to 14 teams, with a new franchise in Atlanta, and the league will have to ratify a new collective-bargaining agreement before free agency can open in January.

The WNBA will have a monthlong hiatus for the Olympics, as it did during the 2004 season, when the Storm won its only championship. That would give Jackson, 26, some time to train with her national team, but the Australian federation could restrict all Aussies from playing in the WNBA, as other countries such as Russia have, in order to prepare for the Beijing Games.

"With the Olympics coming up, I have a few things to decide upon," Jackson wrote in a recent e-mail.

And then there's the future. Bennett said his Oklahoma-based group is preparing its application to apply for relocation after the Sonics season starts, so the Storm should know the setting for 2009 before the 2008 season, the ninth for the franchise. If the team is relocating, do established players play in 2008? Do they try to muster support for someone to make Bennett an offer so they can stay in Seattle?

Bennett and Bryant admitted private offers have been made for the WNBA franchise, but Bennett said he isn't interested. Retaining the team in the city would be best for the league, which experienced another slight dip in attendance last season.

It's difficult for the WNBA to attract fans, and though potential new sites such as Oklahoma City are near women's college basketball hotbeds like Oklahoma's campus in Norman, where the Sooners averaged about 10,000 fans last season, the support doesn't always translate to the pro game.

"There are still many unknowns because of the CBA [collective-bargaining agreement] and the future of the Sonics and Storm on a more permanent level," Bird wrote in a recent e-mail. "I'm obviously very excited. I love the city of Seattle. The fans are incredible and deserve to see the Storm play another season."

And more.

Jayda Evans: 206-464-2067 or jevans@seattletimes.com