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Durant hopes to give Sonics fans something to cheer about

Nov 4, 2007 - 2:24 PM Seattle (0-2) at LA Clippers (1-0) 3:30 pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- The odds-on favorite for rookie of the year, Kevin Durant will be just trying to make the Seattle SuperSonics' fans forget about the team's predicament.

Durant and the SuperSonics will be looking for their first win of the season when they visit the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.

Seattle made Durant, the consensus National Player of the Year in his freshman season at Texas, the second overall pick in June's NBA draft behind Greg Oden. Fans in the state of Washington who thought they would get to see him grow into a superstar might have to do it from a distance next season.

Sonics owner Clayton Bennett notified commissioner David Stern on Friday that he intends to move the team to Oklahoma City.

In a statement, Bennett said the lack of support for a new arena and ongoing financial losses gave team owners "no option but to commence the NBA relocation process."

"Today we notified commissioner Stern that we intend to relocate the Sonics to Oklahoma City if we succeed in the pending litigation with the city, or are able to negotiate an early lease termination, or at the end of the lease term," the owner said in a statement.

Bennett did not say when the team would relocate. It could be next season if he wins the ongoing court battle to get out of the KeyArena lease, or it could be at the end of the lease in 2010.

Seattle opened the season with a pair of losses to Western Conference powers, dropping a 120-103 decision to Denver on Wednesday before falling to Phoenix, 106-99, the following night.

But Durant has impressed, scoring 18 points in his debut and following it up with 27 against the Suns.

The Clippers opened the season with a 120-114 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Friday. Center Chris Kaman led the charge with 26 points and 18 rebounds.

Los Angeles split the four-game season series with the Sonics last season.