Intrigue is growing in Seattle over the Sonics’ return to the NBA: the Tulalip Tribes are offering land for an arena, competing with Samantha Holloway’s group, while the MOHAI museum is preparing its “Sonic Boom” exhibition. Meanwhile, the Seahawks are working out Seattle native Dontae McMillan after moving on from Joe Mixon.
Tulalip Tribes Offer Arena Land as NBA Considers Expansion
The story of the Seattle SuperSonics’ return to the NBA appeared to have long since moved beyond nostalgia and into concrete negotiations, but it has now taken an unexpected and rather dramatic turn. The Tulalip Tribes, an Indigenous community in Washington state, have officially offered a parcel of land near their casino west of Interstate 5 for construction of an arena that could host a basketball team. Tribal Chairman Tazmily? Wait—Chairman Hazen Shopbell made the announcement, emphasizing that the offer involved land, not money: “We’re simply negotiating with our partners. Financially, we have not invested anything so far. Our role in this matter is to provide the land.”
The announcement came just weeks before the NBA is expected to decide whether to expand the league to Las Vegas and Seattle. That creates a situation in which the Sonics’ return now has several competing centers of influence. On one side, One Roof Sports and Entertainment, associated with Seattle Kraken majority owner Samantha Holloway, has reportedly already submitted an application to bring the team back to Climate Pledge Arena. According to sources, her investment group includes billionaire Melinda French Gates and Amazon CEO Andy Jassy. On the other side, BlackSun Private Equity announced Tuesday that it was assembling an investment group and seeking an architect for a project that could require at least $6 billion just to purchase the team, with billions more needed to build an arena. A BlackSun representative also said the company was studying the future venue’s impact on traffic along I-5 and in Snohomish County.
This is where the central intrigue emerges. Commenting on the transportation risks, Hazen Shopbell took a pointed jab at Seattle: “When you look at Seattle,” he said, “and no offense to Seattle, but it can’t get worse than Seattle.” The remark says a great deal about the tribe’s strategy: it is offering not merely an alternative site, but an alternative philosophy—moving the arena outside a city already burdened by severe traffic and easing some of the metropolitan area’s infrastructure pressure.
Still, there is no guarantee that the BlackSun project has a realistic chance. The NBA strictly regulates the share of private investment funds in team ownership structures, and the league has not confirmed that it has even vetted the group or received an official application from it. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has previously mentioned both Samantha Holloway and Climate Pledge Arena, even suggesting that the arena could host an NBA team within five weeks. That creates the impression that the main battle is not between Seattle and Tulalip, but within Seattle itself—between those who want to bring the Sonics back to their historic venue and those willing to consider compromise options.
Amid all the commotion, the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) did something it had not done in nearly 20 years: it opened the “Sonics vault,” displaying old trophies, jerseys bearing the numbers of departed players and championship banners. On Tuesday, MOHAI gave journalists a preview of the “Sonic Boom” exhibition, which is scheduled to open on March 27, 2027. “This team became woven into the very fabric of Seattle culture,” said Glenn Nelson, a former Seattle Times writer and the exhibition’s curator. “A lot of important things happened around basketball that influenced culture and law—things you might not expect from teams that did not burn themselves into the public memory as vividly as a championship team.” His words serve as a reminder that this is not merely about a sports franchise, but an entire era of the city’s identity.
The legal background to the story is also important. The Sonics left Seattle in July 2008 after the city reached a $45 million agreement with the owners from Oklahoma City. That same document preserved a path for the return of the team’s name, colors and other intellectual property if the NBA approved the creation of a new team in Seattle. In addition, the agreement required the trophies, banners and jerseys to remain in Seattle under the care of MOHAI or another mutually acceptable custodian. That is why “Sonic Boom” is not simply a museum gesture, but the fulfillment of a legal obligation—and, at the same time, a reminder to the league that the team’s legacy has not disappeared.
What does all this mean in practice? First, the NBA now has at least two different Seattle scenarios: a return to Climate Pledge Arena with Holloway’s group, or the construction of a new arena on Tulalip tribal land with BlackSun’s group. Second, even if the tribe is not investing money, the mere offer of land changes the negotiating dynamics. An alternative site now exists, giving the city and the league fewer reasons to delay. Third, the NBA is expected to decide on expansion by the end of the year, and any further delay will now look strange given that land has been offered, investors are seeking architects and the museum is opening an exhibition about a team that no longer formally exists.
It is also telling that BlackSun values the team alone at $6 billion—a figure that makes the project extraordinary even by the standards of today’s NBA, where franchise valuations are rising rapidly. Add the cost of the arena, infrastructure and transportation improvements, and the proposal becomes comparable in scale to the region’s largest development projects. That is why the question of who is behind BlackSun and how serious the group really is remains perhaps the most important—and most uncertain—part of the entire story.
Ultimately, the return of the Sonics is not merely a sporting decision. It is a question of how Seattle and its suburbs want to grow, who will benefit from multibillion-dollar investments and whose version of the city’s identity will prevail. By offering land, the Tulalip Tribes are reminding everyone that the region’s Indigenous peoples were here long before any arenas or franchises—and that they now want to be participants, not scenery, in the big game. All that remains is to see how the NBA, the city and those holding the keys to Climate Pledge Arena respond.
“Sonic Boom”: How Seattle’s Museum Is Restoring the City’s Sonics Memories
When the Seattle SuperSonics left the city for Oklahoma City in 2008, an entire era went with them. But not everything did. Around 5,000 items connected to the club’s history—including jerseys, banners, trophies and other artifacts—remained in Seattle and were stored in the Museum of History and Industry’s (MOHAI) collection. Now, part of that collection will be seen again: in March, the museum will open an exhibition titled “Sonic Boom.”
The exhibition’s curator is Glenn Nelson, a former sports journalist for The Seattle Times who spent 17 years covering the Sonics. For him, this is not simply archival work, but a journey through his own life. Nelson grew up in the Beacon Hill neighborhood and supported the team from childhood. His idol was Lenny Wilkens, and his first step toward his dream came through delivering newspapers: the boy delivered The Seattle Times to earn money for game tickets. He later joined the same newspaper and, as a journalist, covered Nate McMillan’s career from beginning to end before leaving the newsroom in 1999. Now he walks among objects connected to the very players and moments he once wrote about. “It brought back so many memories—from childhood and from my professional career,” Nelson says.
The collection is impressive not only in quantity, but also in scope. It includes retired game jerseys bearing names familiar to several generations of fans, as well as enormous banners that once hung from the arena rafters. Some are 20 feet long, and organizers are still trying to determine the best way to display them. The exhibits include size-17 sneakers, a huge image of the mascot Squatch and various trophies. Nelson recalls that even his first visit to the storage area was emotionally difficult: “I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know what had survived. What would be revealed.” Asked how the old items might look in a new arena if the NBA does return to Seattle, he responds ironically that they might seem out of place—“like old furniture in a new house.”
Nelson’s bitterness over the team’s departure was so strong that it changed one of his habits: “I was so angry that I haven’t set foot in a Starbucks since.” That is not an incidental detail. The name of the coffee empire whose founders once owned the club became a symbol of loss for many fans. Today, however, amid talk of a possible NBA return to Seattle, the collection is viewed differently—as a bridge between the past and the future rather than a monument to loss.
The exhibition is especially valuable to those who never saw the Sonics during their best years. “There are a lot of people who weren’t even born or don’t know that our city had an NBA championship team,” Nelson says. He is referring to the 1978–79 season, when the SuperSonics won the only championship in franchise history. The team defeated the Washington Bullets in the Finals, while Lenny Wilkens, now a Hall of Famer, served as its player-coach. For a new generation, the exhibition could provide a first introduction to a history that Seattle continues to discuss with nostalgia and hope. The preserved artifacts are not merely objects, but proof that major-league basketball truly existed in this city—and perhaps will again.
Seahawks Seek Offensive Help: Seattle Native Works Out After Joe Mixon Departure
The Seattle Seahawks continue to urgently search for ways to strengthen their running back room, and their latest workout candidate has deep local ties. On Tuesday, the club worked out former Baltimore Ravens running back Dontae McMillan, a Seattle native who starred at Chief Sealth International before beginning his college football career at Weber State. NFL reporter Aaron Wilson reported the move.
The decision came directly after a sharp change in the team’s roster strategy. Also on Tuesday, the Seahawks decided not to sign Joe Mixon after he underwent a physical, according to ESPN insider Adam Schefter. The two-time Pro Bowl selection was expected to be added to the practice squad, but the deal fell apart at the last moment. Following that setback, McMillan became the latest name in a rapidly changing backfield picture.
McMillan went undrafted in April and signed with Baltimore as an undrafted rookie free agent. The Ravens ultimately waived him during their final roster cuts on August 30, but one play made his explosiveness difficult to ignore. In the final preseason game against the Washington Commanders, he broke loose for a 63-yard run—a burst later highlighted by Baltimore’s official website. Wilson also emphasized the play in his report: according to league sources, the Seahawks worked out former Ravens running back Dontae McMillan, whose 63-yard preseason run against Washington had drawn attention.
That flash, however, was backed by a stronger college résumé. McMillan transferred from Weber State to Eastern Michigan and had the best season of his career in 2025, recording 177 carries for 1,015 yards and four rushing touchdowns, along with 33 receptions for 375 yards and three more touchdowns. In total, he produced 1,389 yards from scrimmage and seven touchdowns, earning second-team All-MAC honors. Eastern Michigan named him the team’s most valuable player and offensive MVP.
What makes the situation particularly interesting is that an opportunity with the Seahawks would represent a homecoming for a player trying to establish himself in his first regular NFL role.
Seattle’s interest in McMillan makes sense given what has happened in the running back room. The club placed first-round rookie Jadairian Price on injured reserve with a chest injury, while Zach Charbonnet continues to recover from a torn ACL suffered during the previous postseason. Charbonnet has returned to practice but has already been ruled out of the Week 5 game against San Francisco. Emanuel Wilson responded to the shortage with 120 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns in a 30–23 victory over the Chargers, but the Seahawks have made it clear they want more bodies in the running back room. Head coach Mike Macdonald summarized the situation bluntly Monday while discussing the Mixon workout: “We’re short on backs. We need running backs. He’s a good running back.” Mixon ultimately will not be that reinforcement—and now McMillan could seize the opportunity.
Several terms are worth explaining. An NFL “workout” is not a contract signing, but an evaluation session in which a club assesses a free agent’s physical condition, speed and skills. The team may offer a contract afterward, or simply keep the player on its emergency list in case of injuries. A “practice squad” is an expanded reserve group of players who practice with the team but are not on the active game-day roster and can be elevated at any time. “Injured reserve” removes a player from the active roster for at least four weeks, which is what created Seattle’s personnel shortage. Finally, “yards from scrimmage” combines rushing and receiving yards and is a key measure of a running back’s versatility.
The main conclusions are clear. The Seahawks are in urgent search mode after the failed Mixon deal and the injuries to Price and Charbonnet, making them one of the league’s teams most in need of running backs right now. McMillan is a classic low-risk, potentially high-reward candidate: undrafted and released by Baltimore, but with demonstrated explosiveness and a productive season at the MAC level. His local roots and Seattle upbringing add emotional appeal for fans. Most importantly, Macdonald’s comments were a direct acknowledgment of the roster shortage, meaning McMillan has a real path to his first regular NFL role if he takes advantage of the opportunity.
