Tulsa: New Team or Old Team?

From the All Basketball Review:

Forrest Cameron (no relation to Bill Cameron), publisher of the Greater Tulsa Reporter newspapers, told the Free Press that Nolan Richardson, the former coach at Arkansas and Tulsa, was involved with a group that is trying to bring the Shock or another team to Tulsa. Bill Cameron and fellow investor David Box have said Richardson would serve as the team’s coach and general manager should Tulsa land a franchise.

This sort of implies two things:

a) Tulsa is open to having a team relocated, and
b) there is no landing spot for Marynell Meadors if that team is Atlanta.

Fourth and Eight

Bob Corwin posted at RebKell that Danielle Donehew, the Executive Vice President of Operations and Finance for the Atlanta Dream, has accepted a job with the Big East Conference as their Associate Commissioner, Women's Basketball.

At the Dream, Donehew had a strong presence in the Atlanta community as well as the internal workings of the franchise, including the start-up phase of the organization. She managed the basketball operations side including, but not limited to, staff recruitment, financial implementation, contracts, payables, organization of team travel and arena management liaison. Donehew headed up all broadcasting efforts for television, radio and the Internet, along with managing the talent and production.

One way you can tell that a franchise/league/company is on the ropes is when top personnel begin to leave. (The colloquialism is "the rats are leaving the sinking ship".) For all we know, this move might have been in the works for a long, long time. After all, if you were an executive for a women's basketball organization, and someone asked you to be the #2 person for Big East women's basketball, wouldn't you accept a job?

Still, that can't look good, that someone so important to the organization has decided to leave now. Combined with the fact that the season ticket holders have heard nothing from the Dream - not even banalities - and the fact that Tulsa has officially put in its paperwork to become a franchise, it foretells a convergence of events that looks very, very ugly. Dark clouds don't always mean rain, but you'd better have an umbrella.

Once again - if there is anyone in the Dream front office that is going to speak up and tell us something about the future of the Atlanta Dream - that time is now. Please.

Then again, there might not anything to say. Nothing good, anyway.

Making predictions is a loser's game. Ron Terwilliger might decide to put in another year. Kathy Betty might buy the franchise, or someone else. The Dream might rework its lease with Philips Arena. But right now, it's fourth and eight, and I'm hearing the rumbling cleats of the defense closing in.