NBA

E-mails indict Sonics owners

E-mails obtained by the city of Seattle for its lawsuit against the Sonics show the owners were planning to move the franchise to Oklahoma City last April.

That’s when they were still telling the public they were interested in keeping the franchise in Seattle.

The Seattle Times reports the city cited the e-mail in a motion in federal court in New York seeking to subpoena records from the NBA. The city is suing in an attempt to force the Sonics to play the two years remaining on its KeyArena lease.

A spokesman for Sonics owner Clay Bennett, Dan Mahoney, and NBA spokesman Tim Frank declined to comment.

CBA

Sun Kings close doors

The Yakama Indian Nation has shut down operations of its Continental Basketball Association team, the Yakama Sun Kings.

Team officials were clearing out their offices Thursday morning. Head coach and general manager Paul Woolpert says they were informed of the decision last Friday.

The Sun Kings have had success on the court in recent years. A two-year reign as CBA champions was snapped this year when the team lost early in the playoffs, but the Sun Kings still set a league mark for winning with a 43-5 record.

College basketball

LSU welcomes Trent Johnson

LSU introduced Trent Johnson, who led Stanford to the round of 16 in this year’s NCAA tournament, as its new coach.

“The opportunity to recruit the best student-athletes across the country and have the opportunity to compete for championship year in and year out,” said Johnson.

Johnson had said recently he hoped to remain at Stanford, which lost to Texas in the NCAA tournament regional semifinals, and had been slated to meet with Cardinal athletic director Bob Bowlsby on Thursday to discuss a new contract.