Nancy, With the Laughing Face

In case you've forgotten, at SuperSonicSoul we've got it bad for erstwhile Va Tech guard Zabian Dowdell. After his failure to latch on with an NBA team in either round of the June draft, Dowdell drifted to France, where he now takes up residence with the Nancy Cougars (and, no, I don't know if that's really their nickname, but it appears to be).


Thus far, Dowdell has registered an average of 13 ppg through two games. Interesting or no, you've got to be intrigued by the first piece of artwork you see when loading up the Nancy team page.

I honestly have no idea what it says, but kudos to the folks designing the team website for throwing something onto their page that includes: 1) a cross-dressing moose and 2) French General Joseph "Papa" Joffre from World War I.

Pre-Season Begins

So, the long haul kicks off tonight in Sacramento. You know Sacramento; it's the place David Stern pays attention to.

(Sorry, how about a moratorium on arena- and owner-bashing for the rest of the pre-season. At least until Clay Bennett's inevitable press conference the day after opening night).

Anyhow, PJ Carlesimo has yet to release a starting lineup for tonight's affair at Arco Arena, but from all reports it sounds as though the game will be even more pre-season than normal, and that the coaching staff is looking at it as merely another form of practice.

As Kevin Pelton points out at the supersonics.com blog, Gelabale, Szczerbiak, Swift, and Thomas will likely all sit out due to minor injuries.

One minor thing I'm trying to find information on: pre-season stats. I can't seem to find info anywhere on pre-season stats from previous seasons, and I would like to do a comparison of highly touted rookies in the past few years to see how their exhibition stats stacked up to their regular season ones. It might be illustrative for Durant and, to a lesser extent, Jeff Green. Any help would be appreciated.

Go Sonics!

Fantasy Season starts NOW!

With the draft less than an hour away, the first annual Supersonicsoul Fantasy League kicks off tonight. Who will get the first pick? Who will get Sene? The suspense . . . is . . . killing me!

(By the way, we were flooded with requests from readers to join the league, but sadly only the first 18 could get in. If anyone of you Supersonicsouliacs want to start a rival league, let me know and I'll post your stats along with ours when I update.)

Where Are They Now?

Friday Where Are They Now?
Late 80s Edition

So much of the fun of being a fan is remembering the players from when you were first a fan. It’s great to root for Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Wally Szcz..., well it’s great to root for Durant and Green, anyway, but isn’t at least as much fun to recall people like Michael Cage and Sedale Threatt?

Well, maybe it’s just me, but I miss those guys. Here’s a quick update on some greats from Seattle’s hoops history.


SEDALE THREATT – Threatt was part of a quartet of great Sonic point guards – Avery Johnson, Nate McMillan, and John Lucas were the other three (and they got Gary Payton within a year or two!), all on the roster at the same time. Best known for his tremendous speed and defense, Threatt wound up being dealt to the Lakers for three 2nd-round picks, then spent half a decade in LA before finishing his career in Houston. Anyway, the former Sonic is now living Down Under, working with And1 Elite Camps as well as coaching. You can find more here.

MICHAEL CAGE – You can’t be a Sonic fan and not love Soul Glo, right? Cage, in addition to his duties working for FOX covering Memphis Grizzlies games, referees girls’ soccer games in San Diego, where he attended college. It’s refreshing to see that Cage, even though he’s now a part-time ref, has little or no sympathy with the NBA or its refs (and this article was written before the Tim Donaghy scandal broke).

DANA BARROS – While Barros is best remembered in Seattle for draining 3’s, I loved the way he battled Tim Hardaway in the playoffs more than a decade a go. But Barros’ recent life hasn’t been as smooth as his jump shot would lead you to believe. Folks in Massachusetts know this story better than us Westerners, but Barros has been embroiled in legal trouble over the Dana Barros Sports Complex, which failed and has placed him on the nasty side of some massive lawsuits. After the failure of his complex, Barros accepted a position as an assistant at Northeastern University for old friend Bill Coen in May 2006. Within a couple of months, he quit the Northeastern gig, opting to take a job as the Director of Recreation of City of Boston. After less than a year, Barros resigned from his job at the city, citing “personal reasons.” A great quote from the city, after Barros had been missing from his job for a couple of weeks: “We were wondering what happened to him.” Note to prospective employers of Dana Barros: Caveat emptor.

CLEMON JOHNSON – Finally, a little more enjoyable tale. Best known to Sonic fans for his odd platoon with Alton Lister (Clem would start the games, but Lister got the bulk of the minutes), Johnson is the head coach at the University of Alaska. Belying the stereotype surrounding most pro athletes, Johnson holds a Bachelor’s of Economics and a Masters in Sports Administration. Better yet, he hasn’t quit the position for something better, and with some recent recruits as evidence, seems to be helping in bringing the program to a new level.

Injuries

The Times' blog has info on the injury front at camp, where Delonte West, Bob Swift, Kurt Thomas, and Mickael Gelabale had pains of varying degrees of severity.

Swift's is the most worrying, as "Robert Swift" and "right knee tendinitis" are two phrases we'd hope would not be printed this season. It's early, obviously, but you've got to imagine there are going to be more than a few days like this for Swift this season.

Crunch Time

Question for a Thursday:

With training camp in full motion, there has been plenty of speculation on the Sonics’ starting lineup, but how about the finishing lineup?

We all remember the Supes’ wonderful run three years ago, when they came within a couple games of knocking off the Spurs. One huge key to that team was the effective way Nate McMillan used Antonio Daniels to spell Luke Ridnour at the end of games (a habit which drove Ridnour nuts). Many players, including Delonte West recently, have said that who starts the game doesn’t matter nearly as much as who finishes.

I agree. If the first 3 ½ quarters of an NBA game are the regular season, the final half of the fourth quarter is the playoffs. With that in mind, who should the Sonics be using to finish games this season?

To my thinking there are five key factors to making a crunch-time player:

1. Free throw shooting
2. Defense
3. Execution
4. Perimeter shooting
5. Rebounding

Obviously, it isn’t important for a shooting guard to rebound; I’m speaking more of the 5-man unit as a whole. With those five pieces in mind, if I was PJ Carlesimo, here’s who I would run out there in the final minutes of a close game:

PG: Earl Watson
SG: Kevin Durant
SF: Wally Szczerbiak
PF: Nick Collison
C: Kurt Thomas

Now, some explanations. With the exception of Watson, all five are great FT shooters, and Watson shot 74% last season, so he’s no slouch, either. While Earl’s outside shot isn’t as good as Ridnour’s, his defense is superior, and he outranks Delonte West in ball-handling and distribution.

(And, in case you felt like arguing about “crunch time stats,” bear in mind that Earl Watson’s eFG percentages in crunch time for the past five seasons were 42, 61, 43, 34, 48. If you can see a pattern there, you’re much smarter than me. Suffice it so say that I don’t anyone on the Sonics is any more “clutch” than anyone else; just than some players are better shooters than others).

Back to the lineup. You could argue that putting a rookie in a pressure situation isn’t the best idea, but this is a team trying to build for the future and Durant is that future. Add in his 81% FT mark at Texas, and it’s a no-brainer. Plus, this squad needs someone who can hit outside shots other than Wally, and Durant fits that bill.

Szczerbiak v Wilkins is a tough call, but I’m going with Wally just because he’s just such an outstanding shooter. Of course, with Szczerbiak’s proclivity to get injured Wilkins will still have plenty of opportunities (assuming, that is, that the Sonics have plenty of close games, which is a stretch).

Finally, Collison and Thomas are just so far ahead of their competition when it comes to defense and execution there really isn’t much of a contest. After all, who do you think is more likely to box out: Nick Collison or Chris Wilcox? Who is more likely to switch at the right time, Kurt Thomas or Bob Swift? It’s really not an argument.

Now, if the coaching staff wants to sabotage any chance at winning this season, Jeff Green or Swift could see more action, and I would even argue it would be smart to run those two out there at least occasionally so they can get a feel of the tenacity of late-game action. Still, I really believe the Sonics can’t afford to let Durant get a taste of losing every night, and he needs to be playing with guys who know what they’re doing at the end of games, if only to further his development.

Training Camp

Interesting quote in Eric Williams' profile on Damien Wilkins at the TNT. "If you don't defend, you don't play [in Carlesimo's system]", Williams quotes Wilkins as saying, and it makes you wonder how many minutes Damien will get this season, especially considering all the competition he'll be getting.

With Wally Szczerbiak's recovery from surgery still a work in progress, perhaps it's possible that Kevin Durant gets 30-some minutes a night at the two, Delonte West (who sprained his ankle in practice and is now day-to-day) picks up 20+ minutes at both guard spots, and Wilkins, Jeff Green, and Szczerbiak split the 48 minutes at small forward. Of course, that doesn't leave anything for Mickael Gelabale, but someone has to suffer, I suppose. (Of note, Gary Washburn indicates that Gelly has a tattoo of his home of Guadalupe on his right shoulder.)

In other news, Brandon Roy will be sitting for the entire pre-season to rest his left ankle - at least that's what Nate McMillan is contemplating, anyway. This off-season for Portland has gone from the highest high to the lowest low pretty quickly. Almost makes a guy feel sorry for Blazer fans.

Almost.

5 Questions for a Wednesday

With training camp underway, it's time to start thinking about what's going to happen to the Sonics roster in the next 30 days. With that in mind, here are

5 Questions To Be Answered at Sonic Training Camp

1. Who starts at point guard?
Ridnour, Watson, West. Three choices, no easy answer. According to Carlesimo, all three are viable options. Frodo wants to put last year behind him, Watson is the defensive player the new culture requires, and West is the X factor. I’m betting on Earl.

2. Where will Kevin Durant play?
Shooting guard seems the likely answer. Durant played there in summer league, played there for the US team, and played there the first day of training camp.

3. Who starts at center?
Kurt Thomas is the vet, Bob Swift has the tattoos, Johan Petro has nothing. Sorry, that’s mean; Johan is easily the best french-speaking center on the Sonics' roster. Swift’s long rehab process indicates to me that the logical choice is Thomas, with an outside chance that Nick Collison takes the reins.

4. Where does Wally Szczerbiak fit in?
Durant’s your SG, Green’s your SF, Wilkins needs his minutes, Gelly needs his minutes, West’s a backup SG ... how the heck does Wally get any time? It will be interesting to see where/how often Wally World plays in the next month.

5. Will Big Weezy step it up?
Chris Wilcox has more potential for success than a Redford-Newman movie circa 1974. Unfortunately, we’re in Year 6 of the Chris Wilcox Era, and he still hasn’t shed the label of underachiever. With Durant and Green on board, I’m not expecting him to take the next step this year, either.

Training Camp Underway

As you would imagine, the coverage in the local media has shifted away from the off-court news to the on-court news. And, you know, I don't care if you're Clay Bennett, Kevin Calabro, me, Les Habegger, or whoever, that's a great thing. First and foremost, we're basketball fans, and basketball fans like to talk about basketball, not arbitration, right?

The Times has a blog now (I'm a couple days late on this), with both Jayda Evans and Percy Allen contributing. Allen reports that Bob Swift is "laboring," and Gary Washburn at the PI makes a note that Nene Hilario - who had a similar fate to Swifty - is still feeling the aftereffects of the surgery, and he had his a year before Swift did. Not liking the sound of that. GW also reports that PJ Carlesimo's practices are more hard-core than Bob Hill's were, although it should be noted that my daughter's pre-school classes are also tougher than Hill's practices.

Eric Williams at the TNT has some great stuff [warning, Williams' story is adjacent to this picture, so click with care], including this wonderful quote from Earl Watson, who apparently has decided that he won't only beat out Luke Ridnour for the starting point guard spot on the court, he'll beat him out in the court of public opinion:

“When you think of the Sonics, it’s kind of like a cornerstone of the NBA,” Watson said. “For me growing up it was always the Lakers, the Sonics, the Bulls, Boston and the Knicks. That’s just the way it was. I think Seattle deserves a team. And I hope a situation works out to where they stay.”

Thanks, Earl.

Prescient Presti

First, the Sonics make a summertime swap of their $8 million trade exception for Phoenix' Kurt Thomas and the Suns' 2008 and 2010 first-round picks.

Then, Shawn Marion made noise about wanting out.

Then, today, we read that Amare Stoudamire had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, keeping him out of basketball action for two weeks (at least).

Let's say the Suns manage to deal Marion (unlikely, I know); they're not getting full value for the guy, right? And let's say Amare takes a little longer to heal, and isn't 100% when he comes back. Those two together have to cost the Phoenix, what, 10 wins this season?

And let's say Steve Nash gets hurt; he's about due for it isn't he? After all, he's not exactly A.C. Green when it comes to durability, and he's a 34-year-old point guard playing on one of the highest-paced offenses in the league. How many games off for Nash this year; 5, 10, 15?

At what point do Suns fans start to panic, and how valuable is that 2008 pick going to be, let alone the 2010 pick, when Nash has ridden off into the sunset, Marion is gone/bitter, and Amare's knees enter their Moses Malone Phase?

Nice work, Mr. Presti.

Monday Tuesday Sonics News

Here are some quick Supersonics hits to start your week (if your week starts on Tuesday):

The Seattle Supersonics are only inviting one non-roster player to training camp this year. His name? Jermaine Jackson!

Last week, the city of Seattle sued the Sonics. This week, season-ticket holders sued the Sonics. Today, the Sonics are taking the city to court. The Sonics may not have a lot of fans this season, but they are making great inroads in one demographic: Lawyers!

But enough about lawsuits, yesterday was Media Day! Where was Supersonicsoul, you ask? Reading about it in the P.I., just like you.

Did we mention Wally Szczerbiak is in the house? Did we mention we don't care?

Friday Wrap-Up

The leaves are changing, the weather is getting colder, and stories about the Sonics are starting to pop up with more frequency in the local papers. Fall is upon us, and basketball season is right behind. Like all northwesterners, seeing summer go away is always a sad time, but knowing that the Sonics are gearing up always eases the pain. (Speaking of which, did I miss summer this year? I understand it was hot everywhere else in North America, but man, those in the PNW sure got screwed in the sunshine department this year).

Back to the wrap-up; Percy Allen has a fine piece on Kevin Durant (Did You Know? Kevin Durant will be throwing out the first pitch at Saturday night's Mariner game. Let's pray that Bill Bavasi doesn't try to trade Durant for a 37-year-old left-handed reliever before KD gets out of Safeco Field).

Gary Washburn outlines the fantastic deal available to 06-07 season-ticket holders. You get to renew your seats and lock in the price for the next three season. No word if that price includes airfare to Oklahoma City, though ...

Eric Williams talks about the Sonics' plan to switch judges in their KeyArena battle. I don't know why the Sonics opted to change judges, and none of the pieces in today's papers have any quotes from the team as to why they were doing this, although Williams does have this cutting quote from the city's Tom Carr:

"This is just one more sign that the Sonics are form shopping. They wanted to arbitrate the case in Denver, and now they want a different judge."

Leave it to Tom Carr to always provide the funniest quote of the day.