Rough skies ahead

The new Oklahoma City franchise officially revealed their new name today, and will from here on out be known as the Thunder. Many people have voiced their opinions on what the name should be, even giving their opinions of what the uniforms should look like. From all accounts it seems that Thunder is not wildly popular around the league, but the bigger problem with OKC "revealing" the new name today is that it wasn't really much of a surprise.

The NBA experienced numerous mishaps in trying to heighten the suspense for their kinda-new team. The name was leaked on multiple occasions when other teams listed Thunder on their upcoming schedules instead of OKC. Apparently they also used the word "Thunder" in the team's URL but quickly tried to remedy the situation. The logo was not safe either; yesterday it was confirmed that the name would be thanks to it being emblazoned on some fancy new merchandise that someone got a sneak peak of.

The name of the team is irrelevant at this point; the most pressing matter is that this team has been doomed from the beginning. Dating back to last season when they were still in Seattle and referred to as the Sonics, all of the rumors about relocation were soon leaked and the story of the whole season was whether or not the team would leave. Even after they moved half-way across the country and tried to revamp their whole image the same problems seem to follow: management has secrets and they don't know how to keep them under wraps.

The name and logo information might not seem like a big deal, but the fact that nothing can remain a secret within the organization is a bit concerning about the future of this franchise under this ownership. It's not being suggested that NBA teams should be keeping secrets from the league and their fans, but when it comes to confidentiality and trust within the organization, being able to keep information in-house until the proper time is especially important.

The ability to assess and properly address a situation - any situation, both positive and negative - is crucial to the functionality of any company. In doing so, a company can present a well-thought out solution and present themselves as poised and in control of the situation. Failure to do so has the potential of causing panic amongst the fan base and by being reactive instead of proactive it makes the organization seem like they don't know whats going on within their own building. Also, the inability to execute a seemingly simple task of keeping the name and logo secret until a designated reveal date doesn't bode well for a company that will undoubtedly be running into much tougher situations in the not-so-distant future.

As of right now, signs point to trouble for the Thunder. Hopefully, however, management will be able to address what needs to be corrected for the future and OKC will be able to weather the real storm lurking in the distance.