The award this week of the NBA's Most Valuable Player trophy to Houston's James Harden produced some locally depressing poignancy, at least if you're in the sepia-toned crowd who remembers when Seattle had an NBA franchise.

Harden was the third member of the 2009-12 Prairie Pirates (whom some continue to call the Oklahoma Thunder) to have won an MVP award.

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Seattle native Rick Welts, whose career in professional basketball began with a stint as a ballboy with the Seattle SuperSonics, Saturday was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA. A graduate of Queen Anne High and the University of Washington, Welts also worked for the club as an equipment manager and public relations director before striking out for the league office in New York.

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Former Huskies and Trail Blazers star Brandon Roy, who in one freaky season at Nathan Hale High School was named national coach of the year, will take his coaching talents to the south end of Seattle and his alma mater, Garfield High. On its sports Twitter account, the school confirmed Thursday earlier media reports.

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Hal Childs, called by former Seattle sports executive Dick Vertlieb “a promoter extraordinaire who helped put Seattle on the map of major sports franchises,” and was the first public relations director for the Sonics (1967-71) and the Mariners (1977), died Sunday in Dublin, CA., from complications of heart disease. He was 84.

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The 22-year-old sister of Boston Celtics and former University Washington star Isaiah Thomas was killed in a one-car crash at 5 a.m. Saturday on I-5 in Federal Way. Chyna Thomas, of Tacoma, was traveling southbound near 288th Street when her car went off the road, landed atop a highway barrier and hit a sign post head-on, according to the Washington State Patrol. She was not wearing a seat belt.

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As expected, the University of Washington’s Kelsey Plum went to the San Antonio Stars with the first overall pick in the WNBA draft Thursday in New York, while former Husky teammate Chantel Osahor went 21st overall (second round) to the Chicago Sky. Due to a trade, the Seattle Storm did not have a first-round pick and had to wait until the second round (15^th overall) before taking Alexis Peterson, a 5-7 guard from Syracuse.

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Seattle Mayor Ed Murray Thursday announced a 10-person Arena Advisory Panel, which includes former SuperSonics head coach Lenny Wilkens, that will provide counsel to the mayor and his staff as they consider proposals to redevelop KeyArena. Panel members were selected based on their expertise in sports, music, transportation, neighborhood interests and design.

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Mayor Ed Murray and the City of Seattle Wednesday issued a request for proposals (RFP) for the redevelopment of KeyArena that includes the possibility of tearing down the 55-year-old facility. Proposals are due April 12, and two Los Angeles-based global arena entities have indicated they plan to participate.

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The 10th anniversary Monday of the sale by Howard Schultz of the SuperSonics to Clay Bennett, who two years later moved the club to Oklahoma City, is one of those moments everyone in Seattle wants to wipe from their shoes. But to dismiss an understanding of the events before and after July 18, 2006, would be a mistake, because the episode informs what may come regarding the return of the NBA.

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Rarely a speaker known for subtlety from his days at Microsoft, Steve Ballmer laid it out Wednesday for those at the Geekwire Sports Tech Summit who pine for the return of the Sonics: Expansion isn't on the NBA agenda, so be prepared to poach a team from another market -- should there ever be an arena in Seattle.

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In the fight over Chris Hansen's proposed arena in Sodo, a major issue for the Port of Seattle was its belief that vacating Occidental Avenue on behalf of another pro sports venue on its doorstep would be a major impediment to freight mobility, hastening the container port's economic demise.

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Former University of Washington star Brandon Roy is the new head coach at what was perhaps the worst basketball program in Seattle's 3A Metro League, Nathan Hale High School. But he may have one of the nation's best players in the fall, Michael Porter Jr., a prized recruiting target of the Huskies, who is transferring in for his senior season.

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Not only did the NBA Finals' storylines seduce even the crustiest Seattle cynic, who learned to dismiss pro hoops because of the dubious dealings of David Stern, the NBA-free town found out this week that the beloved voice of the Sonics, Kevin Calabro, was hired to be the TV play-by-play man of the Portland Trail Blazers.

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Historically, Pacific Northwest men’s college basketball teams on the national level have played like they’re using underinflated balls provided by Tom Brady. A Northwest team has not won an NCAA championship since Oregon won the inaugural title in 1939.

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The voice of the Sonics is now the voice of the Portland Trail Blazers.

Kevin Calabro, for 21 seasons a fixture with Seattle's former NBA franchise, has joined Paul Allen's franchise, the club announced Friday. The Blazers Thursday fired longtime host Mike Barrett along with color analyst Mike Rice.

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Former Bellarmine Prep of Tacoma star Avery Bradley of the Boston Celtics was named to the NBA's all-defense first team Wednesday. His vote total was third behind the Spurs' Kawhi Leonard and the Warriors' Draymond Green. DeAndre Jordan and Chris Paul, both of the Clippers, round out the first team.

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A little Sonics basketball magic happened the past weekend. Lenny Wilkens, Jack Sikma and Slick Watts were there, along with lots of gray-hairs who remembered them all. Young people were there too, curious about stories they heard, but never connected because the NBA franchise is eight years gone and grows a bit smaller every day in the rear-view mirror.

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Never has Paul Allen been more at one with the national pro hoops constituency than when he was captured by TV cameras slackjawed at Stephen Curry Monday night. Sitting baseline at Moda Center in Portland, the Trail Blazers owner watched helplessly as Curry put up an NBA-record 17 points in overtime as Golden State won 132-125 to take a 3-1 series lead.

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PORTLAND – Skip Bayless, the cantankerous co-star of ESPN2’s “First Take” sports talk show -- at least until he leaves next month -- has made a living out of making outrageous comments with little or no basis in fact. It was the misfortune of Portland Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard to become the bullseye for Bayless’s verbal dart board last week.

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By a 5-4 vote -- five women against, four men for -- the Seattle City Council Monday afternoon voted to reject ceding a portion of Occidental Avenue South to hedge-fund manager Chris Hansen so that he can construct his proposed half-billion-dollar basketball/hockey arena in Sodo. Without the street vacation, there is no way Hansen can proceed with his project.

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