Sonics Snap Up New Color Man

Well, I'm back from 10 days of vacationing in Southern British Columbia, soaking in every last bit of sun before the six months of rain begin in October. While I was away, it appears not much of anything took place, with the exception of Sonic management continuing to pratfall their way in the poorest example of public relations since Ford sold the Edsel.

One wonderful piece of news emerged, though; the Sonics hired Steve Jones and Marques Johnson to take over the color commentary role. Some folks may be less than thrilled about Jones' hiring, but I am not one of them. Having lived in Oregon for 5 years in the mid-90s, I can tell you that Snapper is by far the best color man I've ever listened to. He knows the game, he's got a great voice, he has just a bit of humor (granted, not as much as Marques), and he's enjoyable to listen to in a non-intrusive sort of way.

In other words, he's basically the oppposite of Bill Walton. Better yet, we get MJ, too, which means we've gone from Craig Ehlo and Lenny Wilkens to Jones and Johnson, which is kind of like trading in a Chevy Corsica with a broken car seat for a Jaguar XJ6 with Salma Hayek in the trunk.

Muckleshoot back in the race?

Clay Bennett is not a man who likes to be rushed.

According to the Seattle Times, "Big Boy" Bennett finally took a look at the proposed Auburn stadium site, a mere ten months after hearing the initial proposal from the Muckleshoot tribe.

Bennett didn't make any comment afterwards, but previously stated that the tribe had not presented him with a "substantive arena plan". Really?

The Muckleshoots, who own the Emerald Downs land, have hired the consulting firm Brailsford & Dunlavey to study whether a new arena would work next to the track, 25 miles south of Seattle.

The tribe last month said its consultant's initial research indicated the location could work. The tribe is expected to release more detailed information this month.

Oh yeah. He's really "exploring every option", isn't he?

Does the Glove still fit?

What's with all these old guys making comebacks?

First the Celtics try to lure Reggie Mlller out of the old folks home, and now this:

Eric Williams over at the News Tribune blog takes a look at possible starting point guards for the Sonics, including a couple of long shots named Sam Cassell and . . . Gary Payton?!

Read about it here.

Doug Christie anyone? Anyone?

According to the Sacramento Bee, Doug Christie is eying a comeback, and the Seattle Supersonics are on the short long list of teams he's considering:

Christie said there have been talks with seven teams, although only two have had "real high interest." He would not name any of the clubs, only that one of the best chances is in the West and one is in the East. He did say there have been no conversations with the Kings.

The preference is to land with a championship contender, which only makes sense -- he gets a shot at a ring, just as it is unlikely a team in building mode would invest minutes in a 37-year-old wing. But it is not a concrete rule for Christie.

If the SuperSonics called, there would be a great appeal to playing in his hometown. If the Kings called, doubtful given the depth they have at shooting guard and small forward, there would be a definite lure to return to a city his family enjoyed.

Read the rest here.

I have no interest in seeing Doug Christie in a Sonics uniform, but at least it might help burn this image from my brain.

Pundit Predicts Sonics in Playoffs

David Berri, who contributes to the great "Wages of Wins" column in the New York Times, takes an in-depth look at the Sonics and how they might return to the playoffs sooner than you'd think.

Read it here.

(Thanks to Andy Liu for the tip!)

Sonics Delonte West rocks NBA Live

From Sportsgamer.com:

Yesterday, EA SPORTS hosted the NBA LIVE Summer Camp taking place at the EA Canada studio in Vancouver, BC. NBA stars Paul Pierce (Boston Celtics), Shawn Marion (Phoenix Suns), Channing Frye (Portland Trailblazers) Randy Foye (Minnesota Timberwolves) and Delonte West (Seattle Supersonics) were all in attendance to have their go-to moves authentically represented in NBA LIVE through motion capture.

(read the rest here.)

No word yet whether they motion-captured Delonte's clothes hanger dunk.

Save Our Sonics Pre-Season Party Today

One of my favorite clubs, Mainstage, is hosting a "Save Our Sonics" petition signing party today from 4-7pm. They'll have live music and, most importantly, kick-ass Happy Hour deals. Mainstage is right across from the Sonics team store at Key Arena.

I'll also be hosting a benefit comedy show for S.O.S. there on Tuesday September 18th. Stay tuned for more details!

Vladi-Vladi, he likes to Par-tay

Apparently, it was "turn back the clock" night in Belltown last night.

According to the Seattle Weekly's "Buzzer Beater", former Seattle Supersonic Vladimir Radmanovic was recently seen kickin' it Eurostyle at a local club.

Sadly, fellow eastern-block stiff Peja "Manjaks" Drobnjak was nowhere to be seen.

Big Mouth Strikes Again

"Only two things give me pleasure in life: Stealing NBA teams and my collection of Adolf Hitler's golf clubs."

Another day, another cover-up from the Bennett camp.

The News Tribune reported yesterday that a Sonics employee has leaked details about yet another secret meeting:

Seattle SuperSonics chairman Clay Bennett told his employees that Oklahoma City is ready to foot the bill for the team to relocate there next season, a source within the organization said.

That information was passed along to Sonics employees during a meeting with Bennett on Wednesday, an employee who attended the meeting told The News Tribune on the condition of anonymity.

And exactly how far would OKC be willing to go?

During the 40-minute meeting Wednesday, the team employee said Bennett provided the group with details of what Oklahoma City is willing to pay for to woo the Sonics:

• Any legal fees involving the team’s fight to break the KeyArena lease.

• Whatever the settlement is to the Seattle Center to buy out the lease.

• All relocation fees the NBA would force the team to pay other owners.

• Costs of physically moving the team’s staff and offices.

• Costs of upgrading the city’s current arena, the Ford Center, to make it NBA-ready.

• Costs of building a new arena, and when it’s finished, keeping the old facility running.

Read the rest here.

Of course, Bennett immediately went into red-alert denial mode:

Bennett told The News Tribune that his comments were a hypothetical response.

“The context of my response was after being asked the question how could Oklahoma City possibly be a competitive market to Seattle,” Bennett said. “And my answer is because Oklahoma City is a medium marketplace that highly values the opportunity to obtain an NBA franchise, not unlike any community or any state would value the pursuit of any other highly additive economic development opportunity, such as the value of a manufacturing plant or corporate headquarters."

Rrrrright.

Meanwhile, our pal, Henry Abbott at True Hoop has a good take on the story:

I don't know where the Sonics belong. Maybe Seattle ultimately sees this team as worth it and maybe it doesn't. But I feel Sonic fans are at least owed an honest attempt to keep the team -- not a process that has long smelled it like it might have been on rails out of town. Getting a good arena deal is a complicated process that takes multiple willing partners.

It's like building a house. If the guy who pours the foundation doesn't show up, and all your framers, roofers, electricians, plumbers, and sheetrockers etc. are all standing around doing nothing, do you really have proof that you can't get it done? Or do you have proof that you need the foundation guy to try harder or get replaced?

Read the rest here.

Goodbye, Glove?

Pat Riley confirmed what most of us expected on Friday, that Gary Payton will not be back in Miami next season for the Heat.

GP's coming off the 17th season of his career, a career that has made him 1) the greatest player in Sonic history and 2) a World Champion. Not bad for a kid from Oakland with a penchant for talking smack.

I'll save the post-mortem for Payton's career for when it happens, so allow me to ask this question of the Sonics' management: Is there any way you can make this happen? To Sam Presti, et al, does the good feeling generated by signing Payton to a one-year contract trigger anything within you?

Let's be honest, Payton isn't bringing much to the table these days, and he won't have a big impact on the team's won-loss record. But in a season where the team's interest in winning is secondary to player development, is it such a sacrifice to bring in one of the most beloved players in team history? Considering the horrific public relations job undertaken by the current ownership group, wouldn't it help to mend a few fences?

Perhaps I'm being overly sentimental and not seeing the NBA for the business which it surely is, but this is a game, after all, and the greatest reason teams make money is through making fans. I can't think of any signing this off-season that would make as many fans as signing Gary Payton would.

Sonics' Staff Grows

As reported previously by Gary Washburn at the PI, the Sonics added Mark Bryant and Scott Brooks as assistants on Thursday, and retained Ralph Lewis from last year's staff. In addition, Brian Keefe of the San Antonio Spurs was named Player Development Assistant. You can read the release from the Sonics here. Keefe was previously the video coordinator for the Spurs, which I believe is a role that Sam Presti used to hold, if I'm not mistaken.

Dee-licious

So, Aubrey McClendon got his knuckles rapped by the league for his ill-chosen words about the Sonics and Oklahoma City.

How badly rapped? Try $250,000 on for size, ya big Okie.

What do you think bugs McClendon more:

A) That he got embarrassed on a national scale, or

B) That he just gave $250,000 to an ultra-liberal organization (the NBA) that repeatedly endorses gay folks, Democrats (seriously, look at who David Stern donates to and think about the kind of folks he probably hires at the NBA offices), and all the other things that McClendon is against?