Wednesday, July 18

Sonics Take On Chicago

Watch out, Thabo Sefolosha, we're coming for you! D'or Fisher, you think we're afraid of an apostrophe? Hah! JamesOn Curry, your bizarrely spelled first name makes me laugh! Boo Davis? How about Poo Davis?

In all seriousness, the Bulls are fielding the most oddly-named team in the Rocky Mountain Revue this year, and that's not even counting the absent Joakim Noah. But, in an event that sounds as though it would be hosted by the Osmonds, perhaps it is apropos that they do.

The Bulls have featured a number of double-digit scorers, a technique the Sonics have yet to perfect this summer (anybody know a way to make up a clever rhyme along the lines of "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain", but suited for Durant and Green?).

One member of the roster who has performed decently is Aaron Gray (sadly, not this one). Mocked before the draft in the, well, mock drafts for his white skin and plodding ways, Gray has grabbed 13 rebounds in his two games, or more than Kevin Durant grabbed in four games, and blocked four shots. Hey, I know, stats don't matter in the Revue, but kudos to Gray for not pulling an Uwe Blab this summer.

Andre Barrett, who, like Sonics' coach PJ Carlesimo, spent time at Seton Hall, will be there as well. This in spite of the fact the Rocky Mountain Revue typists list his alma mater as "Sexton Hall." Something Freudian is lurking there, methinks ...

Game time is 4:30. No tv, but you can always imagine the game, and sometimes that's even more fun than the real thing.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Durant and Green put up 20-10's as Sonics lose another one."

Why do I get the feeling that I am going to see that headline a lot the next year.

Random idea. With the Yi contract talks stalling and the Bucks starting to panic, the Sonics should throw out an offer for YI. I am sure that the Chinese government would approve of Seattle over Milwaukee.


The teams match up pretty well for a trade. The Buck have needs that fit well with the Sonics (starting PG and depth at every other position, especially at SF and PF.) Milwaukee is enough under the cap to do something. Plus, the free agency pool is starting to dry up.

How about we throw out Watson, Wilkins, Petro, and a future 2nd rounder for Yi? I know this is "all my crap for your gold" deals, but seeing the panic stage that Milwaukee is in, it might work out.

I would personally go for this for three reasons:

1: Yi might do OK in the NBA. Do we lose anything with him compared to Wilcox or Swift? I say no.

2: This helps aliviate the bottleneck at 3 and creates some depth and competition at the 4 and 5.

3: This clears almost $6 million in cap money for this year (with Yi rookie salary involved) and $18 million off the books for the next three years. That good building block money for Presti.

- Dan

Anonymous said...

I would say that's pretty unlikely, and here's why:

In order to get the #5 pick, the Sonics had to give up a perennial all-star and arguably the greatest shooter in the NBA (Ray Allen) as well as a 2nd-round pick in the deepest draft in the past 10 years.

Yi was arguably as highly rated as Jeff Green, and a lot of people thought the Sonics should have taken Yi instead of Green. With that being the case, you'd have to agree that the Sonics would have to give up something comparable to Ray Allen and a #2 to get Yi. Okay, maybe a little less since this is a desperate situation for the Bucks.

I'd have to think the Sonics would have to part with the trade exception, a future #1 and/or accept a bad salary (the only candidate is Gadzuric) in exchange for Yi. Also, I think the Bucks have inked Mo Williams, haven't they? That takes care of the PG situation.

I could be wrong and Yi goes for 50 cents on the dollar, but I think he still has value in a trade (especially if the Warriors get involved; he's a perfect fit both socially and athletically for that organization).

mcwalter44 said...

Nuss,

The warrior do not want Yi. I should know living the bay area and being a warrior season ticker hold. No, every move the warriors make is geared towards Garrett. Clear Minny didn't want Yi nor would Yi play in Minny. Therefore the warriors will most likely not trade for him, unless they get him for two cent on the dollar.

I see Yi going to LA clippers. I have no good reason why I just got a sense that were he'll end up.

Thanks for the primadonna correction. Keep up the great work.

Anonymous said...

All I am saying is throw it out there... you never know in this league. Seeing the silver tongue that Presti after the Allen trade and getting at least something for Lewis, I think he can smooth this one into reality.

I do agree with Mcw44 that the Warriors don't want Yi. If they were that hot for him, they would have been making more noise by now and would not have opened up that much cap space AND got Braden Wright on draft day. Every move they make indicate that they are putting a package to get KG.

I think once Milwaukee decides to move Yi, they are going to discover the market for him is not as big as they hoped. Teams that might be interested are perhaps Sacramento, the Sixers, and perhaps Boston. Each of these teams have there own problems bring him in.

Which brings me to my point: the Bucks are in a panic mode of how they are going to handle Yi. Seattle is probably one of the few teams that could give the Chinese and Yi what they want, have a need for him, AND have the assets to get him.

It worth a try. What do we have to lose? If anything, we clear salary of people who can't help us in the future.

- Dan

Anonymous said...

You're right, Milwaukee is not going to get the full value for Yi that they would normally, but I still think they can do better than Watson, Wilcox, etc.

Anonymous said...

Not to switch topics away from dreaming of adding another rookie to the team for $.10 on the dollar, but Thabo's pretty good (watch him dud in the game to spite me). Anyway, he's the sort of SG I wish were on the roster, good at defense, decent shooter, swiss.

Anonymous said...

You're right, Thabo is a great piece to have on any team. I wasn't mocking him as a player, just his name and how it fit with all the other rather strange ones on the Bulls' summer league roster.

Anonymous said...

Yi is a decent idea to explore though I don't have a strong opinion of his potential. Milwaukee is taking steps to fill holes and no longer has cap room. Still a multi-contract trade might be found that meets both sides interests, if/when Bucks give up. I dont think that happens before a lot more time passes, maybe December.

If you think he can become a 4/5 he might be a better fit. But he is probably a backup scoring 4/5 (a more complete Radmanovic?), not exactly a decisive piece or a major defense first culture builder.

Anonymous said...

we dont need a goverment controlled whiner holdout on our team. I hope the Bucks stick to their guns and force him to play or sit

Anonymous said...

I'm not that excited about adding Yi to the Sonics. From what I can tell, he's more of a 3 or 4 despite his size, and we've already got Green and Durant - who needs another project? If the Sonics are going to move some people, I'd rather add a veteran big or a point guard.

JulianW said...

Gotta agree with the last poster; from what I've read, Yi isn't suitable at 5, and might even get abused by bigger, stronger guys at 4. Also, giving up more experienced guys for Yi pretty much guarantees that the Sonics will be completely rudderless (and probably awful) next year.

I think we need to make a move to bring some stability to the team at this point, to at least make them more competitive than they appear to be at this point.

Na1111 said...

I just don't like the idea of Yi at all. In fact, I just don't like Chinese players. I am Chinese, so I am not being racist here. Other than Yao, who is a giant, there had not been another Chinese player in the NBA that had made an impact. Before Yao, there was Wang ZhiZhi, who was supposedly the best player in China, even better than Yao. Nevertheless, because he is a regular sized C, about 7'0'', he was unable to compete in the NBA with so many other players that are his size and who are much stronger and more athletic than he was. Now, he is out of the league and back in China. I understand that Yi may be a little different for he may be more athletic than Wang, but he is also a twig while Wang had an NBA body. Yi, like Wang did very well in China, but unfortunately he also shares the attribute of being around regular height for an NBA C. Yao is able to dominate because of his height, mobility, and strength. I'm just not sold on Yi. I still think Chinese basketball has a long way to go before being able to catch up with most of the world.

Anonymous said...

Yi certainly isn't and probably won't ever be a traditional center. But I mentioned him possibly playing 5 thinking in terms of part-time there and playing perimeter or highpost a lot with some slashing and perhaps if the team was running.

He seems like a 3 / 4 right now. I'd play him at 3 if the footspeed is enough. If not I'd hesitate playing him all at 4 because those guys better on average. 5 can sometimes be the easiest spot to defend for the tendency for them not to get touches (though good teams will read & exploit) and perhaps easiest to score against if you have an outside shot and handle. But it is risky to go "modern" or Nelson-like. The coach has to be comfortable with it and be better at pushing substitution buttons than the opposing coach. PJ isnt the guy for that style. Getting Yi and trying to make him play Tim Duncan style would be improbable wishful thinking. But who knows what style the next coach will want to play...

Anonymous said...

Hosley had a great game tonight...22 points (8-10), 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 0 turnovers, and 6-6 from the line.