Summer Fun

Lost amidst the furor of the Sonics' sale to Clay "You can call me Jaws" Bennett, the Sonics are on tap to play the Sixers this afternoon in the Summer League.

Philly's been the juggernaut of the League this summer, running off to a 4-0 start behind some serious whoopings. Louis Williams, who appeared in 30 games for the 76ers last year, has been pacing them with 20 point outings in 3 of the 4 games. It would be nice to Sene back in the lineup after turning his ankle a few days ago, but we'll have to wait until later (tune in to sonicscentral for up-to-the-minute coverage; kudos to them for have a man on the scene for all of us losers who follow basketball in the summer). Otherwise, we may be treated to another version of the Robert Swift Show. It really has been nice to see how well Sene's played; I still don't know that I'd have taken another big man project in the first round, but he's beginning to get me to come around.

The Bomb has dropped

The Sonics are heading to Oklahoma. Sonics fan suicide watch starts . . . now:

SEATTLE - The city's oldest major league franchise has been sold to a group from Oklahoma City, according to a report in the Seattle Times quoting multiple sources.

The sale is reportedly being made to an investor group led by Oklahoma businessman Clay Bennett. Bennet was instrumental in the temporary relocation of the Hornets to Oklahoma City following Hurricane Katrina. But the Hornets are scheduled to return to New Orleans following the 2006-07 season.

A news conference to announce the sale of the Seattle Supersoncis has been scheduled for 3 p.m.

from KING 5

Thanks to Susan for the tip. I think I need several drinks and maybe some drugs. Anyone else?

Sene signed, sealed for Summer League

The Seattle Supersonics signed the #10 pick in the NBA draft, Mouhamed Sene, to a two-year deal yesterday. Sene will join Yotam Halperin, Deng Gai and several other guys you've never heard of in the Rocky Mountain Revue summer league on Friday. Here's the complete summer league roster:

3 Tony Bobbitt G 6-3 200 10/22/79 Cincinnati

2 Denham Brown G/F 6-6 220 1/6/83 Connecticut

30 Ronnie Burrell F 6-9 220 7/21/83 UNC-Greensboro

9 Andre Emmett G 6-4 220 8/27/82 Texas Tech

15 Desmon Farmer G 6-5 220 10/7/81 Southern Cal

16 Noel Felix F 6-9 225 10/4/81 Fresno State

33 Deng Gai F 6-9 220 3/22/82 Fairfield NBDL

22 Yotam Halperin G 6-5 210 1/24/84 Israel

23 Keith Langford G 6-3 210 9/15/83 Kansas

5 Paccelis Morlende G 6-2 185 4/19/81 France

11 Kenton Paulino G 6-2 180 6/23/83 Texas

42 Jared Reiner F 6-11 255 4/8/82 Iowa

18 Mouhamed Sene F/C 7-0 230 5/12/86 Senegal

24 Omar Williams F 6-9 220 8/11/81 George Washington

What in the Wilcox is going on?

The Wacky World of Wilcox continues today with two conflicting reports on contract negotiations with Dunktron 3000:

Sonics won't trade Wilcox! (from the Seattle P.I.)

or

Sonics to trade Wilcox . . . for Shawn Marion! (from the Tribune)

This all proves, of course, that no one knows what the hell is going on. Stay tuned!

Radman and Kobe, Sitting in a Tree

It appears that former Seattle Supersonic Vladimir Radmanovic is bringing his erratic shooting, questionable hairstyles and armpit of doom defense to the other team in LA:

Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) - The Los Angeles Lakers may have found a sweet-shooting big man to capitalize off double teams on Kobe Bryant, as the club reportedly agreed to a five-year contract with free agent forward Vladimir Radmanovic late Saturday.

The Los Angeles Daily News reports that the Lakers will sign the 6-foot-10 forward to a $30 million contract on July 12, the first day players can officially sign with teams.

from the Seattle P.I.

Wait a minute . . . five years for 30 mil? Isn't that less than the Sonics offered him last summer? I guess he must really like Kobe.

Sonics pick Saer Sene

In the 2006 NBA Draft, the Seattle Supersonics pick . . . Saer Sene from Senegal!

Wait a minute, didn't we already draft this guy? Like four times? I guess you can never have too many 7-foot "projects" that no one has ever heard of. Sigh . . .

- - - UPDATE - - -

Here's some video of Sene in "action" (Thanks Aidan for the tip and DraftExpress.com for uploading the video!):

Drafted!

Would you trade Ray for him? You would if you were RETARDED!

Did someone leave a door open, because it feels DRAFTY in here! Heh-heh. Heh.

The NBA Draft is today, and here's who everyone thinks we're going to pick (courtesy of the Seattle Times):

Chad Ford, ESPN.com: Hilton Armstrong

Tony Mejia, CBSsportsline: Randy Foye

Chris Ekstrand, Sports Illustrated: J.J. Redick

Frank Burlison, Scout.com: Andrea Bargnani

DIME Magazine: Cedric Simmons

NBAdraft.net: Patrick O'Bryant

Hoopshype.com: Shelden Williams

Realgm.com: Shelden Williams

Bodog.com: Rodney Carney

And according to the Tribune, the Lewis deal may still happen as well. My prediction? The Sonics will keep the pick and draft a foreign player you've never heard of. Probably from Israel.

Hoo-dawg, anything can happen today folks!

Blockbuster: Lewis for Marion?

Finally, some freakin' news!

According to DraftExpress.com, Rashard Lewis may be headed to the Phoenix Suns for Shawn Marion:

Multiple sources told DraftExpress today that the Phoenix Suns and Seattle Supersonics are working on a potential blockbuster trade. The Sonics have implied to numerous people over the past 48 hours that “something is going to go down,” while another source in Seattle told us that the Supersonics are “getting very close” to finalizing a trade.

Read the whole story here.

A Ring for the Glove

A big congrats to our favorite ex-Supersonic Gary Payton, who finally got his ring tonight as his Miami Heat beat the Dallas Mavericks for the NBA title.

Now for God's sake, retire already Gary . . . and you too, Zo, before you lose another kidney!

Whizz Cup

And you thought Sonics fans were weird. (Found at WFMU.org, via Boing-Boing)

Kemp/Karl II?

According to the Seattle Times, George Karl is taking a look at former Supersonic Shawn Kemp. Seriously:

"He seems clearer, stronger," Karl said Monday after Denver's three-day camp for free agents. "His words are older. They have some wisdom to them. It's the most grounded I've seen him."

The 36-year-old Kemp, who reportedly ballooned to 340 pounds in recent years, has been out of the league for the last three seasons but wants to play again. Kemp said he hired a trainer and dropped 75 pounds, helping reduce his body fat to 11.5 percent.

Read the rest here.

Don't worry, George—if this doesn't pan out, I think Big Smooth might still be available.

GP: Third Time a Charm?

Former Supersonic Gary Payton is returning to the big show.

On Thursday, Payton's Miami Heat will face off against the Dallas Mavericks in Game One of the NBA Finals, and for the third (and probably last) time, The Glove will try to get a ring to finish off a Hall of Fame career.

So Supersonicsouliacs, do you think GP has any gas left in his tank? Will he even be a factor? Does he really need a ring to be considered one of the greatest guards in NBA history? Let the ill-informed speculation begin!