Rashard to sign with Orlando?

"Psst. It's me--the ghost of Ray Allen. Leave this place...NOW"

It's really just a rumor of a whisper of a rumor, but Ben Q. Rock (!) of the Orlando Magic blog "Third Quarter Collapse" says a local TV station has reported that Rashard will sign a 5-year, $75 million dollar deal with the Magic.

I have a hard time believing Rashard would sign this early, especially for five years, when he could get six with a sign and trade. Then again, I thought Living Colour was going to be the "Band of the 90's"*, so what the hell do I know?
*See Tahoma High School Newspaper, Dec, 1989

UPDATE: Now ESPN is saying it's true. Time to bust out the Body Glove, Rashard!

Notes

Will Seattle soon be the new "Rip" city?

A plethora of notes about the Sonics in all 3 newspapers this morning. Whatever you say about Sam Presti and the trade of Ray Allen (of which even a curmudgeon such as myself is beginning to admit his appreciation), adding Kevin Durant and Jeff Green and trading Allen has shoved this team back into relevance in this town.

Gary Washburn at the PI reveals that Dwayne Casey is emerging as the favorite for the head coach position, and that the announcement may come soon (side note that Percy Allen throws Terry Porter's hat into the ring as a possibility). Also of note in Gary's story is this quote from Sam Presti, in which the new GM comments on the type of coach the Sonics need:

"... We do have guys like (Nick) Collison, Lewis and (Earl) Watson who may be young but have played some years and have developed."

Anyone else notice how two folks - Ridnour and Wilcox - were conspicuously absent from that list? And how that makes it more possible that they may be traded for, oh, I don't know, Rip Hamilton?

The last rumor is courtesy of Frank Hughes, and, as Brian Robinson points out at SonicsCentral, the salary combination of Ridnour/Wilcox for Hamilton works out. If Presti can pull that off, I think I might convince Paul to rename our site "superprestisoul.com".

And, finally, Rashard Lewis and the Magic continue to dance (and dine)with one another. Considering that a) the Magic have yet to contact Darko Milicic (which has made the former #2 a little less than thrilled), whoss contract would be a stumbling block in their pursuit of Lewis (they are rumored to be meeting Milicic on Sunday to resolve the situation), and b) Vince Carter re-upped with New Jersey over the weekend, the possibility of Lewis finding a home in Orlando just got a little bit more likely.

The Orlando Sentinel's Brian Schmitz even got Tony Dutt, Lewis' agent, on the record saying of the Magic and Lewis, "There is no better fit."

The New York media also continues to speculate that Isiah Thomas is still pursuing Lewis, but the bag of recycled materials they want to include in return is so useless, it's not even worth linking to the story.

And, finally (whew!), thanks to commenter Josh, who directed us to this story at True Hoop - who I always neglect to read on the weekends (for shame!) - where it is revealed that Zabian Dowdell will be playing for the Sonics' summer league team. Dowdell tells Henry Abbott that had the Sonics not dealt away their #35 pick to Boston in the Allen deal, that he would have been their pick.

As I always say, Sam Presti is a brilliant man, because Dowdell was my favorite choice for the Sonics at that spot.

Sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY!

Sunday is the big day for free agents in the NBA.

Orlando, Miami, Charlotte, New Jersey, New York, Portland ... it's the proverbial list as long as your arm of teams which are interested in retaining the services of Rashard Lewis.

According to a Miami paper, the Heat have ramped up their interest of teaming Lewis with the Wade-O'Neal combo that propelled Miami to the title last year (is it me or does that seem about 4 years ago now?). With Udonis Haslem as the bait, I'm guessing the Sonics are less than interested in biting.

Orlando and Charlotte are, of course, the most likely destinations for Rashard, but even those clubs are starting to look more unlikely. After acquiring Jason Richardson's $10 million salary, are the Cats all that thrilled about adding Lewis to the mix? Considering Gerald Wallace is as or more likely than Rashard, probably not.

Which leaves Orlando. Personally, if I had to wager on whether Lewis will be wearing blue or green next year, I'd have to bet on blue. If you're Orlando, and your options are 1) renounce rights to Milicic and sign Lewis or 2) sign Milicic and give up on Lewis, you've got to go with door number 2, right? Interesting to see how the front office will spin trading away a first round draft choice to get a center who played about 100 games in a Magic uniform before leaving, but that's their problem, I suppose.

Put it this way: If I'm Rashard Lewis' personal shopper, I wouldn't be buying any green bananas.

10 Reasons to Like Delonte West

All based off of last year’s numbers ...

1. Gets to the line more often than Ridnour or Watson, and not by an insignificant margin.
2. Better rebounder than either player, by a smaller margin over Watson, and a larger margin over Ridnour.
3. Blocks twice as many shots as either player
4. Shot better from the floor than either player.
5. Better foul shooter than Watson, as good as Ridnour.
6. Player Winning % almost twice as good as either player
7. More Win Shares than either player
8. West’s numbers were greatly enhanced when he played off guard, as opposed to playing the point. In his minutes on-court at the 2, the Celtics – a terrible team last year – outscored opponents 42% of the time. For some reason, he seemed to shoot better and simultaneously hold opponents in check more effectively as a 2. Those Celtic fans and West followers who argue that he was miscast in Boston as a point guard are right, at least judging by the statistics.
9. His shooting percentage, while low last year (43%), was much better in 05-06, when he hit 49% from the floor. If he can find something in between those numbers, I’ll be happy with that.
10. West played much better as a starter getting solid minutes than as a reserve getting spot duty. This is true of most players, but it’s a good sign if the Sonics intend to use him as their starting shooting guard.

There, I did it. I found 10 nice things to say about Delonte West. If I keep this up, maybe by next week I’ll be starting a Wally Szcerbiak Fan Club.

Honestly, it’s a logical move for the Sonics to find a secondary player to fill the shooting guard role. If Durant is the focus of the offense, it doesn’t make sense to have a ball-hog type guard that needs 23 shots a night. In Presti’s world of defensive players who can man multiple positions, West is a thoughtful option.

Also, for any Celtic fans who are dropping by, feel free to add your thoughts as to what we can look forward to with West on board. We’d like to fill in the gaps that the statistics leave empty with a better picture of the newest Sonic.

Reactions From Around the Country

This guy thinks Alvin Davis is still with the Mariners.

Before we go into our own draft day grading, here's a smattering of reactions from writers and experts on last night's machinations.

Foxsports: Gives Danny Ainge a failing grade for the Allen trade, calling Green a solid NBA player.

Andy Katz, ESPN: A-; to quote “The price was high for Green. While moving Ray Allen and his contract was smart, I'm not sure the same can be said for taking on Wally Szczerbiak's contract.”

Bill Simmons, ESPN: Predictably, throws up in his mouth at the thought of a hobbling Ray Allen playing shooting guard at age 34.

Foxsports, Pete Schrager: Hopes Jeff Green likes “coffee, Alvin Davis, Microsoft, and Sonic Youth.” Somebody get this Schrager guy an internet connection will ya? Or at least a newspaper printed in the last 15 years?

Foxsports, Charley Rosen: Thinks the Celtics got a true steal of a deal, that Wally World is a broken-down shell of himself, and that Jeff Green better be good.

SI.com, Chris Mannix: Gives Boston the day’s top honors for getting Ray Allen, calls Wally World a “lockerroom lawyer” (!).

SI.com, Jack McCallum: “Absolutely love this deal from the Celtics standpoint.” He goes full flip-flop, though, in the next paragraph, by saying he thinks the Sonics had to make the deal. Way to go out on a limb, Jack.

PI, Art Thiel: “That can’t be all” is Thiel’s opening paragraph. He thinks reserving judgement till the rest of the moves are made is the wise choice.

ESPN.com, David Thorpe: Say Sam Presti has given the Sonics a fresh start and raves about all the moves.

Buzzer Beater, Mike Seely: Unlike the rest of us unwashed masses, Seely was on board from the start, specifically because of Allen’s age.

TNT, John McGrath: The Sonics have dealt away their only source of identity (Allen) in this area for a hope and a prayer.

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.