Faith

Whew. Allright, I'm back from down off the ledge after last night, although it was pretty close around 8:30 or so ...

There's a passage in Genesis 18 that I think is a good read for the morning after the Sonics dealt away Ray Allen and Glen Davis for Delonte West, Wally Szcerbiak, and Jeff Green. In the passage, Abraham is speaking to God about His plan for destroying Sodom.

Abraham wonders, would God destroy the righeous with the wicked? What if there were 50 innocent people in the city, would God destroy them as well? No, replies God, I would not.

Abraham persists. What if there are 40? What about 30, or 20, or 10? God replies, no, if there were only 10 innocent people amongst thousands of wicked, I would not destroy the city.

Finally, Abraham is satisfied, and God returns to watching "Highway to Heaven." The upshot of the story is that sometimes you have to have faith. Sometimes, even though you don't understand the reasoning behind a situation, you have to believe that the person orchestating a chain of events knows full well what he or she is doing, and if that person is reputed to be a wise person (as Sam Presti is), then maybe the best thing to do is shut your mouth and wait to see how it turns out.

Well, that's what I'm going to do. I don't understand why the Sonics mortgaged their present for Jeff Green and took on Wally Szcerbiak's contract when Theo Ratliff's was there for the taking, but Sam Presti does. I don't understand why the Sonics have 3 point guards, a half-dozen small forwards, three centers, three power forwards, and no shooting guards, but - hopefully - Sam Presti does. Perhaps the wisest course of action is to wait and see what the subsequent moves are (trading Luke Ridnour, trading Rashard Lewis, trading Chris Wilcox), and reserve judgement until the middle of July.

For those who thought we (or, rather, I) was too quick to rush to judgement on last night's events: You're right.

But you have to understand, we just spent the past decade with horrible general managers. The first, Wally Walker, is perhaps the most hated man in Seattle. The second, Rick Sund, chased after teenagers like R Kelly on a double shot of valium and Spanish Fly. We're not used to having astute people run this organization, so we're naturally gunshy about any actions they take.

So, to Sam Presti and Jeff Green: My apologies. I shouldn't be so down so quickly on the new regime.

After all, we've still got Kevin Durant, and that's not a bad consolation prize.

Wally Szczerbiak?

Well, this is what it has come to. Unbelievably, impossibly, increduously, the Sonics have somehow managed to turn what should have been one of the greatest days in team history into one of the worst.

Look, I know some people will spin this situation as a positive, and it is entirely possible that I reflect on this 5 years from now, and say, hey, that Presti sure knew what he was doing, right?

But I fail to see how Wally Szczerbiak and Jeff Green is greater than Ray Allen. When you add in the trade of this year's 2nd second round pick for one next year from Boston ... it looks even worse.

A few numbers, if you will:

1. Szczerbiak, of the 4 positions he played on the Celtics last year, was worst at the shooting guard, his presumed position with the Sonics. He has not played substantial minutes at the 2-guard in more than 2 years. In his career, the man the Sonics expect to guard opposing 2-guards has managed to not get hurt in only 4 of 8 seasons. He ended last year with ankle surgery, after missing 24 other games during the season with ankle problems. If this is the answer at two guard, what the hell is the question?

2. Delonte West performed the unique combo last season of making the Celtics offense worse and his opponents' offense better while he was on the court. Again, not someone you're too thrilled about.

3. Jeff Green, according to John Hollinger at espn.com, not only didn't deserve to be the #5 pick, "he doesn't deserve to be a lottery pick." This is who the Sonics traded their best player for? A 6'9" SF who didn't block all that many shots last year? Hey, Hollinger's analysis is fraught with peril, and he overlooks his own mistakes (Curtis Borchardt is your good idea of a pick, sir, really?), but the fact that Green is a risky proposition makes you question the wisdom of this trade.

I'll end with how I started. This was supposed to be a great day for Seattle basketball, a day when the flowers started to blow thanks the fertilizer laid by the previous administration. Instead, I feel like we just traded our b.s. for somebody else's pile of crap.

It's NBA Draft time!

The NBA Draft is about to start, and the Durant Era is almost upon us. Discuss the draft here.

Also, Pete and I will be representing the Sonics on ESPN.com. Check it out!

UPDATE: Good news: It looks like the ESPN page is finally up. Bad news: they forgot to credit Nussbaum for his quote (the "reaction" quote is his).

Rumors

Another rumor to report about Luke Ridnour.

In addition to the Ridnour to Atlanta deal for the #11 pick, now there is talk of the Bucks offering to take the former Duck off the Sonics' hands. This rumor is courtesy of SI's Ian Thomsen.

Thomsen also sheds some light on the Ray Allen to Boston deal. Rather than the #5 and Theo Ratliff for Allen, it would be Wally Szerbiak (no!) and Delonte West and the #5 for Allen. The Sonics were holding out to replace West with Rajon Rondo, which makes the deal slightly more palatable, but Danny Ainge was insisting on Robert Swift, which the Sonics didn't want to do.

Again, this is all rumor, and like any good game of telephone, this is probably nothing. But it's worth knowing, just to see what the market will bear for an all-star shooting guard making $17 million a season.

Back to the Future

It’s been a long time, folks, since the Sonics have mattered to this city. Back in the spring of 1998, the Sonics were fresh off a disappointing loss to the Lakers in the second round of the playoffs. George Karl was given the boot for his repeated playoff failures (replaced by Paul Westphal, who was replaced by Nate McMillan, who was replaced by Bob Weiss ... ) and the Sonics selected a teenager from Texas; a 6’9” skinny freak who could shoot 3’s, dunk, and rebound.

Nine years later, and the Sonics have been on a mediocrity treadmill ever since. The hype surrounding this team has rivaled that of a FOX replacement sitcom airing in the summer.

That skinny freak turned out to be Rashard Lewis, who may well be spending his last few hours as a Sonic as we speak. In less than three hours, the Sonics will add the most highly anticipated player to their roster in franchise history. Oden? Durant? Most likely it’s Durant, and that’s just fine with us. Here’s what it means:

- The playoffs are no longer a remote possibility.
- The Sonics will be on national television. If Cleveland can be on with LBJ and a cast of anonymous role players, then Seattle with Kevin and the Durantians will surely qualify.
- Someone other than Chris Wilcox will throw down an exciting dunk.
- It doesn’t matter anymore if Robert Swift shows improvement.
- Sonics-Blazers games just shifted from Oregon State v Washington State to Washington v Oregon.

I haven’t gotten too enthusiastic about Durant before today, since it truly seemed that Portland might go sideways and take Oden. That still might happen, but it sure seems now that the likelihood is more along 80-20 than the 50-50 it seemed a few weeks ago.

Even more amazing is the feeling that the Durant pick will only be a slice of cheese in a massive Sandwich of Change to come. Lewis, the Sonics’ most-tenured player, an all-star who has averaged 20 ppg for 3 consecutive seasons, is likely out the door as well. Ray Allen, the best Seattle shooting guard since Gus Williams, may be gone. Luke Ridnour, the darling of Howard Schultz, is reported to be heading for Atlanta for a draft pick.

It’s an awful lot for a Sonic fan to digest at once, and when you throw in the whole Muckleshoot Casino-built stadium, Clay Bennett’s Cheney-esque tactics with the city, the lack of a head coach, a thirtysomething general manager ... whew, that’s an awful lot for anyone to digest.

I think I’m ready for Friday. Let’s get it on!

Draft Day Daze

Whew. A lot of info to digest today, so let's get at some of the latest news and rumors.

1. The Luke Ridnour to Atlanta for the #11 deal is apparently still alive, although not as hot as it was earlier yesterday. Makes you wonder if the Hawks are still holding out hope for the Stoudamire deal to get a shot of adrenalin before they commit one way or the other.

2. Draftexpress reports that "inside info" says that the Sonics will take Reinaldis Seibutis with the 35th pick. Seibutis is a 6'6" off guard, 21 years old, from Lithuania. He's reported to be a good shooter, but skinny. Guess the Sonics figure he'll be a good backup for Ray Allen, unless...

3. Ray Allen gets traded to Boston for Theo Ratliff and the #5 pick. I can understand the Sonics wanting to get out of Ray's contract, and I can understand going after Mike Conley with the pick, and I can understand getting Ratliff's expiring deal, but as much as I've given Allen a hard time on this site, the man is a bona fide stud. Granted, his skills are in the decline phase, but he's a hard worker and plays well in the playoffs. Let's say the Sonics make it to the post-season this year, wouldn't you feel a lot better knowing that a stone-cold assassin was playing in the backcourt, rather than relying on a rookie (Durant) and Rashard Lewis (assuming Lewis isn't dealt as well)?

More to come.

Gotta Have Your KD

ESPN's Ric Bucher reported Wednesday night that the Blazers have confirmed to Greg Oden that he will be the #1 pick in Thursday's draft.

It's strange. A few weeks ago, this would have bummed me out since it was obvious that Oden was the perfect fit for the Sonics' situation.

But the more I've thought about it in the past few weeks, the more I have realized that the current Sonics' situation is crapola, and why should we care about how the rookie-to-be fits with us, and why we should care about how we fit with the rookie-to-be.

If that's the case, then Portland can have Oden. The Sonics will figure out a way to accommodate the most talented player in the draft. If that's the worst thing that happens to the Clay Bennett regime, then, well, this is gonna be a fun ride.

Acie Law

Anyone else out there surprised by how Acie Law's stock is falling as the draft approaches?

Before the tournament, Law seemed a lock as the top PG in the draft. After Mike Conley did a Tiny Archibald impression in the tournament, Law fell a bit, to where he would be 15th or so taken.

Yesterday, John Hollinger released a new draft analysis that pegged Law as one of the more likely busts in the draft. Then today, draftexpress revealed their win shares outlook at the draftees, and they likewise lumped Law in with Corey Brewer and Spencer Hawes as people to avoid in the draft.

The big knock on Law seems to surround his steals (or lack thereof) and a concurrent lack of athletic ability. It now seems like Law could fall even more ... or this could all just be hype from draft experts and Law could wind up going to Atlanta with the 11th pick. Combined with Presti's comments at his press conference about his appreciation for defense and the ability to play multiple positions, and it sure seems that even if the Sonics are able to parlay their two second-rounders into a first-rounder, they won't be looking at picking up Law.

Sweet Dreams

We’re getting closer, and baby, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Seattle.

You just know that Portland will pick Oden, and that leaves us to sop up the greatest consolation prize in the history of consolation prizes: Kevin Durant. Getting Durant with the second pick in the draft is like hitting the bars with a friend, watching him get the girl you’ve both been ogling, then – while they’re grinding on the dance floor – you bump into a drunk Salma Hayek.

Something like that, anyways. I’m just so giddy with anticipation about the Sonics landing Durant that my boatful of metaphors is beginning to list sideways.

Anyways, I thought I’d roll out five dreams for what happens on Thursday. (Salma is dream number six, but that’s for another story).

DREAM ONE
The Sonics deal Luke Ridnour to Atlanta for the #11 pick and Anthony Johnson. There are rumors out there that the Hawks are in talks to acquire Amare Stoudamire from the Suns in a 3-way deal that would send the #3 and #11 picks to Minnesota. I also heard the Hawks were interested in sending Johnson to Memphis for Damon Stoudamire, so that they could corner the market on Stoudamires. I place only a little bit of truth to these rumors. [UPDATE – ESPN is reporting that the deal is dead. Sigh.]

DREAM TWO
The Sonics take Rodney Stuckey with the #11 pick in the draft.

DREAM THREE
Rashard Lewis, Earl Watson, and the second pick of the 2nd round go to the Clippers for Sam Cassell and Corey Maggette.

DREAM FOUR
With the first pick in the second round, the Sonics select PG Petteri Koponen of Finland, Zabian Dowdell of Va Tech, or whoever is left in the PG ranks.

DREAM FIVE
The Timberwolves send Kevin Garnett to Phoenix, Phoenix sends Shawn Marion to Boston, and Boston sends a bucket of clam chowder, two draft picks, and Theo Ratliff’s decomposing body to Minnesota. All of a sudden, the Sonics get an extra couple of wins next year just by having Minny in their division.

We’ll try to keep the site updated with rumors as the day goes along.

With the #2 pick, Durant picks . . . himself!

Our pals at Dime have a funny story about future Sonic and current March Madness coverboy Kevin Durrant playing his new game:

Not only did we get an early glance at Durant in a Sonics uniform via the video game (looks good on him), but when KD created a team to play with, he put himself on Seattle along with Corey Brewer and Brandan Wright. Then he put Joakim Noah, Al Horford and Julian Wright on the Blazers and had them go at it, dropping buckets as himself against his future rivals …

Read the rest here.

In related news, in honor of the 2007 Draft, Dime is offering a super limited subscription promotion —7 bucks for a year! Tell 'em Supersonicsoul sent ya, and you'll receive a fabulous no-prize.

NFL vs NBA Draft

With the draft coming in about 48 hours, I got to thinking about what makes the NBA draft so much fun and the NFL draft so horribly boring and awful. Is it the suits? Is it the atmosphere in New York? Is it the suits? It’s probably the suits, right?

Well, here’s a list of why this fan will always enjoy the NBA draft and avoids the NFL draft at all possible opportunities:

HUBIE BROWN v MEL KIPER
This is no contest. Hubie Brown is hilarious, has league-wide credibility, and doesn’t have ridiculous hair. Well, at least not anymore. Okay, he still looks sort of strange, but not Mel Kiper-strange.

MEASURING STICKS
In the NFL, it’s all about 40-yard dashes and bench press reps. In the NBA, it’s all about wingspan and how tall you are with your shoes off. Kevin Durant got some flak for not benching more than 185, but he’ll still be one of the first two guys picked. In the NFL, he’d be lucky to make it in the fifth round. It’s like the difference between Drago and Rocky, and who the hell roots for Drago?

EUROPEANS
There are no Europeans, no South Americans, no Mexicans, no anything but Americans in the NFL draft. The NBA gives you Tiago Splitter, Mr. Longoria, Saer Sene, and plenty of other names you can’t spell or remember. The best the NFL can do is a handful of Canadians and Christian Okoye, and that’s just plain pathetic.

TRADES
The NFL makes trades like they were exchanging prisoners of war. The NBA makes trades like Eddie Murphy and Dan Akyroyd at the end of “Trading Places.” No comparison, especially when you factor in the way NBA GM’s always seem to think next year’s second-round picks will never happen.

COMMISSIONERS
David Stern – as dorky as he is at times – has more charm and charisma in his left eyeglass lens than Roger “Wooden” Goodell or Paul “Tags” Tagliabue possess combined. There’s something about the way Stern smirks when he reads the next draftee that always makes you think he’s going to announce, “With the 3rd pick in the NBA draft, the Atlanta Hawks select ... Jon Koncak, again!”

NOTRE DAME
Simply put, Notre Dame doesn’t matter in basketball, so you never have to worry about guys like Brady Quinn making an appearance. Shut up, Regis, we don’t flippin’ care about your stupid tradition, alright?

CONFERENCES
Ever notice how NCAA football conferences seem to influence the players? As in, “He’s a typical Big-10 linebacker”? You never hear that in the NBA. Nobody cares that Oden went to Ohio State or Durant went to Texas; we just care that they’re both going to be superstars.

OFFENSIVE LINEMAN
There are no offensive linemen in the NBA draft, which means you don’t have to pretend to understand why the 6’1”, 354 pound guy from Wisconsin is better than the 6’2”, 348 pound guy from Pitt. And you also don’t have to listen to Mel Kiper explain why the guy from Pitt deserves to be taken before the guy from Wisconsin. Hey, it’s basketball – we know why Durant should be #1 or #2 – because he’s 6’9” and he can do absolutely everything.

TWO ROUNDS
The NFL has too many rounds. The NBA figured it out (with the help of the NBAPA) that fans only care about the studs; the league lets the GMs figure out how to cull through the rest of the guys to help round out rosters.

SUITS
NFL players look like they bought their suits at a group discount, while NBA players seem to always take the sartorial level to new heights. Besides, somebody has to keep the creamsicle-orange suit guy in business, right?

THE PHOTO
What’s funnier, seeing David Stern stand next to someone 2 feet taller, or watching Roger Goodell stand next to someone his height? No contest, especially when it yields pictures like this.

HAIR
Do you think the NFL would like a guy who looks like this to be drafted? Or this? I think not.

Add it all up, and it’s really no contest. The NBA is so much better in so many ways that it almost renders the NFL draft moot, a Republican-feeling monstrosity that only a masochist could love. The NFL draft is Metallica. The NBA draft is De La Soul.

Plus, we’re getting Kevin Durant.

Rumors Heating Up

Gotta love this time of year. I think there are 17 rumors for every trade that actually gets consummated, but the level of talk is absolutely insane. Here are a few bits and pieces:

1. The Magic are still pursuing Rashard Lewis, and it looks as though they want to have their cake (Lewis) and eat it, too (Milicic). How the Magic plan to accomplish that is a mind-bender, since Lewis' deal will eat up a huge chunk of money, as will Darko's, and don't they have some other guy named Howard? Dwight something or other? His deal expires after next year, and I'm guessing he's going to want to get about double what he's making now ($6 mil.). Be interesting to see what kind of team the Magic manage to surround those 3 with, considering they would take up more than half of the salary cap space.

2. Kevin Durant will be on the cover of NCAA March Madness 08. Durant follows in the footsteps of former Sonic Quintin Dailey, who graced the cover of Tron.

3. Luke Ridnour is rumored to be headed for Atlanta if the Hawks aren't able to get Mike Conley with the 11th pick in the draft. The pick would be coming to Seattle for Ridnour. Not sure what else we'd have to take back, but here's the most likely guy.

4. The Sonics have interviewed Utah assistant Tyrone Corbin for the head coach position.