Sonics top Sixers

The Sonics got a strong performance from young Robert Swift yesterday in Utah, as the 3rd-year center went for 13-10 with 6 blocks in only 25 minutes of play, and Seattle beat the undefeated Sixers 88-86. Louis Williams continued his high-scoring for Philly by grabbing 21 points, his 4th time in the +20 range this summer. Interesting to see how he fits in the Philadelphia equation when the pre-season gets underway.

Aaron Miles also made an immediate impact for the Sonics, as the former KU star scored 14 points in his first game for Seattle this summer. It's also worth noting that Swift got to the line 9 times on 11 field goal attempts, an outstanding mark for a young big man.

Also of note:

-Mouhamed Sene sat out his second consecutive game with a bum ankle
-Paccelis Morlende sat out
-Yotam Halperin only played 3 minutes
-Noel Felix continued to play well, and led the Sonics with 27 minutes played. It's beginning to look as though he'll get serious consideration for a roster spot this fall.

New Arena for Sacto

It appears the Kings won't be using moving vans any time soon.

"Negotiators for the city and county of Sacramento moments ago finalized a deal with the Maloof family to finance a new arena for the Sacramento Kings," report Mary Lynne Vellinga, Terri Hardy and R.E. Graswich of THE SACRAMENTO BEE. "The financing package would rely on voter approval of a new quarter-cent sales tax that would produce about $1.2 billion over a period of years, sources said."

from nba.com

Just wondering: If there was a vote today on a 1/4-cent increase in the sales tax, with the money dedicated to building a new arena for the Sonics, would you support it?

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)