So it's all come down to this. Tonight, at 4:30 local time, I'll be sitting in front of my television waiting to find out if the Sonics will remain in Seattle past this year. And no, I'm not talking about watching a town hall meeting or something like that.

The Supes have 88 chances out of a thousand to land the top pick in this year's NBA draft (and similar odds at landing the second pick), and it seems that only the addition of Greg Oden or Kevin Durant can save the franchise. With the plans for a new arena in total disarray (it turns out that the team didn't even own the land they were talking about building the new facility on, and the state legislature refused to even discuss the issue) it's only a matter of time before Clay Bennett and crew try to get out of their lease so they can move the team (though no one really knows where they'd be able to move it to).

Seattle has been a fantastic basketball city in my lifetime (and before), but a decade of incompetence on the court and in the front office has turned all but the most hard-core fans off from the team. It's not like in Portland, where the fans gave up on a team that was still somewhat successful but seemed more intent on breaking the law than fast breaks. In a league where more than half the teams make the playoffs each year, a meager three playoff appearances (and only one series win) in the last nine years has served to reduce most Sonics fans to a state of apathy.

But in the NBA, salvation is only one ping-pong ball away. Landing Oden or Durant would have a huge impact on the team right away. First of all, they'd be almost guaranteed a playoff spot (as long as everyone stayed relatively healthy). If they get Oden in particular, and he's as good as he seems, they could be a darkhorse contender, because his interior presence could largely make up for the fact that the Sonics seriously lack perimeter defenders. With Durant, they could have three elite offensive players on the court at the same time, causing massive matchup problems for opposing teams (like how do you guard not one, but two 6'10" swingmen who have 25-foot range and can take the ball to the hole).

But almost as important as the on-the-court impact would be the off-the-court impact. Nationally, the Sonics would reappear on the NBA radar as more than just a franchise on the move. Locally, people would actually be looking forward to this season, not viewing it as one elongated send-off to a team they don't think they'll miss. The Sonics would see a spike in ticket sales, merchandise, and most of all public interest, and at this point the only thing that's going to save them (besides a lack of viable alternatives to Seattle) is a groundswell of support.

Bill Simmons thinks the Sonics are the most deserving team of all, and I certainly can't argue with that. All I know is that by 5 pm tonight, I'll know if they'll be in Seattle past next year. So yeah, a fair amount is riding on those 88 ping-pong balls.

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