DJ:RIP

AUSTIN, Texas -- Former NBA star Dennis Johnson died Thursday, the Travis County Medical Examiner's Office said. He was 52.

Johnson, who was part of three NBA champions with the Boston Celtics and one with the Seattle SuperSonics, had been coaching the Austin Toros of the NBA Developmental League.

Complete story at espn.com.

Sonics on Trade Deadline: Feh . . .

Danny Forston breaks the news to Ray Allen that he's not being traded.

With the Seattle Supersonics in the midst of another trainwreck of a season, and desperate to gain public support for a new arena, you'd think the team would have to be working the phones to land a blockbuster trade before Friday's NBA trade deadline, right?

I mean, they have to be thinking about trading Rashard Lewis before he walks away at the end of the season as a free agent, right?

The Sonics have had no conversation with the Knicks about exchanging Rashard Lewis for anybody and that includes Channing Frye and Nate Robinson.

(from the New York Post)

O.K. But they've got to be desperately trying to unload moping point-guard Luke Ridnour . . .

(Sund) told the Hawks the only way they could get Ridnour would be to include a first-round draft pick in any deal, the source said.

The Hawks currently have the seventh-worst record in the NBA (21-31) and do not want to give up a selection in a draft that is deep and talented.

(from the News Tribune)

How about Swift?

Meanwhile, two sources confirmed that the Portland Trail Blazers called the Sonics in an attempt to obtain Robert Swift.

Sund told the Blazers that Swift, out for the season with a knee injury, was not available, according to the sources.

(from the News Tribune)

Fortson?

The Sonics have shopped Fortson, who is in the final year of his deal, but no one is interested in the 30-year-old forward.

(from the Seattle Times)

You see? The Sonics really are trying to salvage the season and keep the team in Seattle &mdash they tried to trade Fortson for $30 and a bag of jock straps! And you thought they were just lame-ducking it while Bennett packed the moving vans for Oklahoma. Shame on you!

Your Seattle Renton SuperSonics

Numbers 1-10 in the top ten fun things to do in Renton: Visit Jimi's grave.

It's official: The new (imaginary) home of the Seattle SuperSonics is . . . RENTON! (Unless the state legislators decide to use the tax revenue for stupid crap like schools, health care, etc.)

OLYMPIA - The Seattle Sonics want to build a new $500 million arena in Renton.

New owner Clay Bennett on Tuesday told state lawmakers that the arena would be an economic stimulus for an up-and-coming city.

Bennett said the team expects a $300 million contribution from the state. Off the roughly $200 million balance needed to complete the project, Bennett said the team expects to "be responsible for private contributions in the range of $100 million." As for the the team's commitment, Bennett said, "The first committment is a $350 million purchase of the team and a commitment to keep the team in the region."

Read the rest in the Seattle P.I.

Half a billion dollars. For a basketball arena. In Renton. Good luck with that.

Does anyone think Bennett is even the least bit serious about this? Maybe I'm just a cynical old bastard (maybe?), but it seems like Big Boy is submitting these ridiculous plans that have no chance of being completed just to fulfill the "good faith effort" portion of his contract.

Believe me, if Clay Stadium gets built, I will be there on opening night with everyone else, getting my picture taken alongside the giant Shawn Kemp statue outside the front gate. But I don't trust Bennett any more than I can throw him. Which, given his tremendous girth and my complete lack of any sort of physical strength, isn't very far.

Ray Allen going to All-Star Game, next stop New York?

It's mid-February, which means my favorite time of the year is upon us. No, not Valentine's Day, you weirdos &mdash Trading Time, that magical part of the NBA season where half the teams realize they have no shot at the title and desperately cash in their chips in an attempt to salvage the season.

The Sonics, of course, must be feeling deja-vu, having spent the better part of a decade in "salvage" mode.

The only time one of these February Hail Mary trades actually worked was in 2003, when the Supes traded Gary Payton (whose tank was about three minutes from empty) to the Bucks for Ray Allen. And now, four years later, it's Allen's turn to take one for the team.

One place Ray-Ray has been rumored to be heading is NYC, which would be great except for one thing: the Knicks have no talent to trade:

"To read that stuff about us looking to move Ray is laughable," said Sonics GM Rick Sund. "We've had a disappointing season, but we've had big injuries to guys like Rashard Lewis and Ray. Nobody's called me about Ray because he's not available."

For Sund to pick up his phone to discuss a deal, he wants a hefty price for Allen, seventh in the NBA in scoring at 26.9 ppg entering last night. That would entail a package including a great young player, expiring contracts and draft picks. The Knicks don't have the assets.

"Nobody likes their talent," one Eastern Confernce GM said. "The problem for the Knicks is that they don't have expiring contracts to offer. They got rid of Jalen Rose, so that didn't help their cause."

from the New York Daily News

So, where does that leave Ray-Gun? Should the Sonics ship him off somewhere in hopes he can grab a late-career ring like Payton (while trying to land anything they can in return), or should the team cling desperately to the one thing that will bring people to the game?

UPDATE: Ray Allen was just named to his fourth straight (and 7th overall) All-Star Game. Congrats, Ray!

Bob Hill: Just Fire Me Already

In 1969, Swiss-born psychiatrist Elizabeth Kubler-Ross outlined the five stages of grief. In the midst of the longest death-watch in NBA history, it appears Seattle Supersonics coach Bob Hill has arrived at the final stage, Acceptance:

About an hour before the start of the Sonics' 107-101 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Friday night, Hill gave a soliloquy about the realities of being an NBA coach.

"I look at my position very realistically,'' said Hill, in his ninth season as an NBA coach. "You know, when you get fired, you don't die. You don't die.''

Read the rest here.

I love Bob Hill. He's a great, old-school coach who says what he thinks, which is a rarity in today's NBA. He gave Sonics fans a glimmer of hope last season when he did the impossible: he made Robert Swift look like an NBA player. Hill has been pummeled this year with adversities of biblical proportions. That's why I want the Sonics to fire him.

Hill deserves better than this. The ax was raised the day the Sonics were sold down the river to Big Boy Bennett. Let it fall already.

Bob Hill. R.I.P.

Permission to Win

"You know who I am? I'm the coach who can't get fired!"

There's been some grumbling in Sonics Land. When your team is struggling to reach .500 and threatening to leave town, that's not surprising. What is surprising is that fans aren't grumbling about the losing, but the winning.

Content to write off the season before the all-star break, many Seattle basketball fans are hoping the Sonics lose as many games as possible for a chance to land coveted college star Greg Oden. Normally, I might see the logic in this. It's not every day you get a chance to land a great big man like Oden, who has been compared to future hall of famers David Robinson and Tim Duncan. Still, it is only a chance—unlike the old days, having the worst record in the league is no guarantee for landing the top pick. The Sonics could tank a salvageable season for Tiago Splitter.

The thing that really kills the "Lose Now to Win Later" strategy is that even if the Sonics somehow land Oden, Seattle might never see him play.

While Big Boy Bennett is still talking about about a "Pepsi-Light" arena for Renton, there's still a real possibility that he's just running out the clock on the Key Arena lease so he can pack the team off to Okie-Land. Haven't you wondered why the Sonics haven't made a single move all season to improve the team?

If this is the Sonics' last season is Seattle, is this the way you want the team to go out, intentionally losing games so that Oklahoma can have the next San Antonio Spurs? (You know Bob Hill must be having flashbacks.)

I say win now. Make the playoffs. Leave it all on the floor. Go out in glory. Go Sonics.

Sonics Sign Brown for Season

Thanks to Jason for the tip!

SEATTLE, Thursday, Jan. 25, 2007 – Sonics General Manager Rick Sund announced today that the team has re-signed forward Andre Brown for the remainder of the season. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not released.

Brown has appeared in seven games for the Sonics since joining the team on Jan. 5, averaging 5.0 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. Brown tallied a career-high 10 points vs. Milwaukee on Jan. 19 and recorded a key block in overtime of the Sonics 122-114 victory over Utah on Jan. 12. The 6-9 forward, who played his college ball at DePaul University, began the season with the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA D-League.

Halfway Home

Not sure if anyone else caught the exchange between Lenny Wilkens and Kevin Calabro during the slaughter of the Bucks last Friday, but it’s emblematic of the misleading nature of even the smallest of win streaks.

Hepped up on the dunk- and layup-fest the Sonics were putting on, at some point in the latter stages of the 3rd quarter Wilkens mentioned that, “if the Sonics continue to share the ball this way and continue to play aggressively, they can start making a charge in the standings.”

Wilkens’ comments were followed up on-line by David Locke, who wrote the team must play well against Denver, L.A., and Minnesota because “the Sonics have to catch all three if they are going to make a second-half run.”

I’ll venture the minimum number of games needed to qualify for the playoffs in the West will be 43. That’s reasonable, considering the last time a team with fewer than 43 wins made the playoffs was 1998 (Houston, and I’m not counting the strike year, obviously).

Right now, the Sonics are 16-25. In order for them to win 43 games, they’d have to go 27-14 for the rest of the season. In other words, in the next two months the Sonics would have to play as well as the San Antonio Spurs in order to qualify for the playoffs.

That’s a joke. There is no way in holy hell the Sonics will play 13 games above .500 for the rest of the season. It’s just not going to happen. In fact, I’ll wager $500 against all comers that it won’t. Go to the comments section of this site and write your name and telephone number down. I’ll take all action. I’ll even give you 5-1 odds.

The simple truth is the first half of the season counts. Yeah, it stinks Swift got hurt and that Rashard and Ray both missed big chunks of the year, but that’s life. The fact Rick Sund thought the best way to go at center was to back an inexperienced high school kid (Swift) with an inexperienced Frenchman (Petro) is his own doing. The fact he thought Earl Watson would be happy playing second fiddle when the very reason Sund was able to obtain him was because of his unhappiness in Denver is nobody’s fault but his.

But that’s the past. The realty is the Sonics are now hopelessly out of the playoff race, and every game they win catapults them further away from Greg Oden and Kevin Durant, and closer to people like this.

Hey, I’m all for the team trying hard, and I certainly don’t expect them to pull a fade a la John Lucas’ Cavs of a few years ago, but it certainly doesn’t make any sense for the Sonics to give Ray Allen 45 minutes a night, the way they have for the past week or so, when he’s 31, nearing the downslope of his career, and his team is actually better off losing.

The question isn’t “What do the Sonics need to do to further their playoff chances?”; the question is rather “What do the Sonics need to do to improve their 2007-08 win total?” I can think of a few answers that would be helpful:

1. Trade either Ridnour or Watson. Only a fool would try this 2-point-guard situation next year, when it’s obvious that both of them want to start. Starting next season, their salaries are basically identical, and their trade value is probably the same. In a perfect world, the Sonics would deal Watson for somebody like Jeff Foster, but that’s just a dream.
2. Continue to start Gelabale until Rashard returns, then make sure he – not Wilkins – is the first guy off the bench. I don’t think Wilkins is the answer at SF if Rashard leaves this summer, and Gelabale could be. The Sonics need to know what holes they need to fill this summer, and giving minutes to Damien at Gelabale’s expense doesn’t make sense.

The problem in this whole equation is Bob Hill. At this point in time, Hill’s goals are at odds with the team’s. The best result for Bob Hill is to win as many games as possible, so that he has a better shot at coaching in the NBA next year. The best result for the Sonics sans playoffs is to lose as many games as possible, but that would result in Hill’s resume being sabotaged, a situation with which he is intimately familiar. As is often the case in the League, what’s best for the coach isn’t necessarily what’s best for the organization, and so long as Hill’s contract isn’t extended, it will remain that way.

In essence, the Sonics have three options:

1. Don’t extend Hill’s contract, and watch Allen play 45 minutes a night in a Quixotian attempt for the playoffs.
2. Extend Hill’s contract, and watch Petro get 30 minutes a night and Allen closer to 35.
3. Fire Hill, promote Sikma or another assistant, and watch the Sonics move down in the standings and closer to Odenville.

Considering they’ll be going hat in hand to the legislature this year, I’m guessing #1 will remain the franchise’s choice. And, once again, Sonic fans will get the shaft.

Sonic Arena: Part I

I assume that you have all read the news regarding Clay Bennett’s proposal to the state of Washington, and his letter to Gov. Gregoire. If not, go inform yourselves.

If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times by now, the Sonics are looking at modeling this new arena on the Pepsi Center. Hell, they even hired the guys that designed the Pepsi Center to design their new playpen. As Bennett stated in his letter to Gregoire:

“We believe the potential for such a venue extends far beyond professional basketball and has the opportunity to benefit the entire region. An excellent example was the news last week that Denver was chosen as the site for the next Democratic National Convention to be held at the Pepsi Center, which is an example of the kind of facility we are proposing here in Puget Sound.”

Of course, Bennett failed to mention that previous conventions have been held at Joe Louis Arena, Kemper Arena, Reunion Arena, and the Astrodome – because, that, of course, would be admitting that those stadia are no longer inhabited by NBA teams, having been abandoned by the spoiled men who run/ran their respective professional sports franchises.

Bennett proposes that the Sonics will provide $100 million towards the expected $530 million cost of the arena. He expects the state to provide $330 million, and Bellevue/Renton and private financiers to provide the balance of $100 million. It’s important to note that the stadium itself is expected to cost $360 million, while the land value is estimated at $170 million, which he assumes will be donated.

In other words, Bennett plans on contributing 20% of the total cost of the project, which got me to thinking – how will the revenues for the arena be divided up? That is to say, of the X millions of dollars in revenue for an arena such as this, how much will be generated by the Sonics, how much by concerts, tractor pulls, or barbershop quartet conventions?

I did a quick look at the schedule at the Pepsi Center for the next few months (unfortunately, they don’t archive past months, so we’ll have to go with Jan. to April). Not surprisingly, the lion’s share of events at the PC are divided up between the Avalanche and the Nuggets. In fact, between 58% and 85% of a given months events are either Nugget- or Avalanche-related. Of course, that’s for the months when the Nuggets and Avalanche play, I’m sure that the Pepsi Center has plenty of things on tap for the summer.

Part II

All interesting, of course, but there’s one big, stinking red flag in the construction of the arena: the pathetic lack of funding from the Seattle Sonics. Since Bennett is so fond of referring to the Pepsi Center, perhaps he – and the rest of the people involved in this taxpayer-funded nonsense – ought to read this paragraph:

“In Denver a state of the art facility, the Pepsi Center, was developed entirely by private funding. The facility which costs $170 million almost didn't get built when one of the original funding partners pulled out of the deal. .... The two primary teams who would play at the new center are the Nuggets and the Avalanche who had a prior lease agreement with the city at the McNichols arena. In order to break the leases, the city wanted a commitment from the Nuggets and the Avalanche to stay in Denver for 25 years at the new center. The teams resisted. There was a stall of building for 2 years. Finally a deal was struck with the city. The arena would be deeded to the city of Denver when it opened but leased back to the teams for 25 years to ensure they did not move during the span of the city's agreement. During the 25 years the city will take all sales tax proceeds generated by the arena as compensation for the teams breaking their prior leases. Ascent Entertainment Group Inc. who owned the Colorado Avalanche, agreed to pay the arena's construction costs and an exemption on a 10% city/county seat tax. At the end of the 25 years, the teams will own the arena. The city was happy that no tax money was spent and the received additional sales taxes from the Pepsi Center. Major sponsors contributed their funds in exchange for naming rights, such as Pepsi, who contributed millions.”

Now, in the dozens if not hundreds of times that Clay Bennett has mentioned how wonderful the Pepsi Center is, has he ever once mentioned how the Denver pro sports teams contributed $170 million to build it? Not to my knowledge, or else he wouldn’t be offering only $100 million to build a newer, more expensive building that will destroy the viability of KeyArena.

Now, it’s entirely possible that the $100 million in city/private funds will include $70 million from Bennett’s associates, in fact Bennett even mentions that “we are continuing to do the work that will allow us to come forward with an acceptable level of contribution.” Of course, he also says that the reason the Sonics can’t contribute any more is because of the team’s poor financial position, while failing to mention that the horrific on-court product – given to us by the people that still run this team - is almost entirely responsible for that poor financial position. Further, he does not mention at any point who will be forced to cover the – inevitable – cost overruns.

Nor does he mention at any point the irony of building new luxury boxes, which will inevitably sabotage the sales efforts of the Mariners and Seahawks, the same problem KeyArena and the Sonics ran into when their luxury box sales plummeted after the construction of Safeco and Quest Fields. But, hey, that’s a problem for the Seahawks and M’s right?

Look, I’m all for the Sonics being in Seattle, I really am. But I am damned sick and tired of taxpayers being asked to fund projects for private enterprises for billionaires when there are scores of non-publicly financed stadiums across the country and when people in this city are sleeping on the streets.

It’s a bluff, folks, and I pray the legislature sees through it in time. My message to Clay Bennett? Go ahead, move to Oklahoma City. Just don’t start crying when 8,537 show up three years from now to watch Mouhamed Sene fumble yet another entry pass in the low post while Ray Allen and his 36-year-old legs do a statue impersonation at the 3-point line.

Two in a row! w00t-w00t!

Dear Supersonicsoul readers:

I apologize for the recent lack of posts, but in case you haven't noticed, it's SNOW-BLIZZARD 2007 outside, and my computer-typing fingers have been frozen. Also, the four-hour season premiere of 24 has been on the last two nights (Spoiler Alert: the world blows up!).

So, in summary, I'm sorry. It won't happen again. Probably. Did I mention the Sonics won their SECOND GAME IN A ROW tonight?! w00t-w00t!

Sorry.

-Paul

Glory Days of '05

As bad as the Sonics have been this year – and it’s been bad – you’ve got to wonder, why the heck are they so terrible? With Lewis, Allen, Wilcox, and Ridnour, you’ve got four average to above-average players, and Collison and Watson are decent bench players, so why is this team struggling so much?

First off, I don’t accept the injury excuse. Robert Swift’s injury, while damaging, is nowhere near as big a deal as the team’s supporters would lead you to believe. And don’t let that “strong pre-season” crap of Swift’s supporters mislead you either. It wasn’t a strong pre-season at all, unless you consider a 33% mark from the field strong. Or 6.7 fouls per 40 minutes. Or 4.2 turnovers per 40 minutes. Obviously, Swift would have been better than Petro, but does that really mean anything? The question is, would Swift have been a significant improvement over Collison and/or Fortson? And, beyond that, considering Collison has gone for 20-10 in each of the past two games – both losses – doesn’t that indicate that it doesn’t matter anyways?

I thought it might help to see what the difference is between this version of the Sonics and the 2004-05 edition. Here’s a quick rundown of the numbers.

FG%
2005: 44
2007: 46

FG% Allowed
2005: 46
2007: 48

3FG
2005: 36.5
2007: 34

3FG Allowed:
2005: 36
2007: 35

Rebounds-Opponents Rebounds
2005: 41-38
2007: 39-41

Steals-Opponents Steals
2005: 7-6
2007: 8-7

Fouls-Opponents Fouls
2005: 24-24
2007: 23-20

TO-Opponents TO
2005: 14-13
2007: 16-16

FTA-Opponents FTA
2005: 26-26
2007: 23-26

FGA-Opponents FGA
2005: 79-78
2007: 81-80

3FGA-Opponents 3FGA
2005: 22-16
2007: 16-16

Offensive-Defensive Efficiency
2005: 108-106
2007: 108-111

Okay, that’s a lot of statistics to absorb before lunchtime. A few things stand out, though:

1. The Sonics are taking way fewer 3 pointers than they were in 2005, even though they shoot almost as well (36% then to 34% now). I think it might be a good idea to let Damien Wilkins and Luke Ridnour to take more 3’s, considering both of them are hitting close to 40% from beyond the arc.

2. The Sonics are not getting to the line nearly as much as they were before. In 2005, there were five Sonics averaging 3 or more trips to the line a night. In 2007, that has dropped to three players. The biggest difference is Antonio Daniels, who visited the stripe 4 times a night. Contrast that to Earl Watson, who gets there bi-weekly. It’s a bizarre double-dip for a team to decrease both their outside attempts and foul-line attempts in the same season, but that’s the Sonics for you.

3. Rebounding. This is especially noticeable on the defensive end, where the Sonics get killed on a regular basis. Reggie Evans is the key difference, obviously, as no one’s even close to his nearly 10 boards a night.

What can we draw from all of this? Is it helpless?

I think the only solution is to hope for help in the draft. Trading away Rashard or Ray is a short-term fix, and while it would be nice to get out from under Ray’s mammoth contract, he’s not hurting this team. The same goes for Rashard. All the Sonics need is a strong big man who can block shots and rebound.

Perhaps this guy might do the trick.