This is not much of a story, and too many will read too much into it, but it is, well, interesting.
As reported by the Daily Oklahoman, the Ford Center in Oklahoma City has gone ahead and started scheduling dates for the fall with the assumption that the Sonics will not be residing there.
Now, as the people who run the building are quick to point out, this is being done solely because the Center does not want to be left with nothing at their facility should the city of Seattle win its lawsuit against the team. However, this quote from the owner of the local hockey team was surprising for its candor:
"I don't know how the NBA process works,” said Brad Lund of Express Sports, which owns the Blazers, "but I was surprised that we weren't given two different sets of dates. I thought they'd at least hold some in case (the Sonics come).”
Again, it's very easy to read something into this, but the fact that the city to which Clay Bennett has pledged his heart and his team (ouch, that's hard to write) holds some doubt as to whether Clay & The Gang will be able to prevail in their soon-approaching court case is comforting, no doubt, to most Sonic fans.
Monday, February 25
Getting To Know Francisco Elson
1. Attended both Kilgore JC in Texas and the University of California-Berkeley. Other notable grads of Kilgore include Francisco Elson.2. Parents are from Suriname, hometown is Rotterdam.
3. Fluent in Dutch, English, Spanish, German, South American Suriname. Is hoping to learn Carlesimo this off-season.
4. Played four years in Spain.
5. According to Wikipedia, he was the second-fastest player on the Spurs behind only Tony Parker. In a full-court race against Brent Barry, Elson reportedly reached the endline before Barry was able to get out of his crouch (this is an unconfirmed story which I only just made up).
6. Elson mixed it up with Kevin Garnett in the 2004 playoffs with some physical play, and at one point he termed Garnett “gay” for the shot to the groin Elson received from the Big Ticket. Elson later had to apologize to the gay and lesbian community for his comments on Garnett’s dirty play, which he later commented was “effeminate and soft, like a morning breeze on a dewy meadow.”
7. Did You Know? Elson is not the only player from the Netherlands in the NBA. Can you name the other?
Ouch
A few notes on the first Sonic game I've attended this year:
1. I was puzzled by Gary Washburn's comment that the Sonics "competed for 48 minutes" last night. Perhaps Mr. Washburn was watching highlights from the late 80s on his laptop, but the Sonics team on the court last night did not come close to matching the intensity of the Lakers. Even PJ Carlesimo said after the game that the Sonics' effort was lacking.
2. If the announced crowd was 17,092, then my announced bank account must be $1,430,840. I don't understand why the Sonics would fabricate attendance when they're trying to make it look like nobody in this town cares about the team, so the only reason can be that more than 6,000 people decided they'd rather throw their tickets in the garbage and watch the Academy Awards last night instead. Perhaps they had the right idea.
3. Mickael Gelabale looked great - easily the most energetic player wearing green and gold. He made plenty of mistakes, but his up and under move in the second quarter was sweet, as were his 21 points.
4. Francisco Elson is, surprisingly, a gunner.
5. Kobe Bryant got tossed in a game where his team was leading by 31. I don't know where his reservation was, but it must have been at a nice spot if they wouldn't hold it for him until 8:30.
6. When Earl Watson hit a three at the beginning of the third quarter, I got a bad feeling in my stomach, because I knew we were going to see at least three more attempts from that "sharpshooter" before the night was out. EW finished 5 of 17.
7. Eric Williams at the TNT is right - at least half the crowd was cheering for the Lakers. Man I hate Laker fans, especially Laker fans who were born in Washington. That's just lame, people.
1. I was puzzled by Gary Washburn's comment that the Sonics "competed for 48 minutes" last night. Perhaps Mr. Washburn was watching highlights from the late 80s on his laptop, but the Sonics team on the court last night did not come close to matching the intensity of the Lakers. Even PJ Carlesimo said after the game that the Sonics' effort was lacking.
2. If the announced crowd was 17,092, then my announced bank account must be $1,430,840. I don't understand why the Sonics would fabricate attendance when they're trying to make it look like nobody in this town cares about the team, so the only reason can be that more than 6,000 people decided they'd rather throw their tickets in the garbage and watch the Academy Awards last night instead. Perhaps they had the right idea.
3. Mickael Gelabale looked great - easily the most energetic player wearing green and gold. He made plenty of mistakes, but his up and under move in the second quarter was sweet, as were his 21 points.
4. Francisco Elson is, surprisingly, a gunner.
5. Kobe Bryant got tossed in a game where his team was leading by 31. I don't know where his reservation was, but it must have been at a nice spot if they wouldn't hold it for him until 8:30.
6. When Earl Watson hit a three at the beginning of the third quarter, I got a bad feeling in my stomach, because I knew we were going to see at least three more attempts from that "sharpshooter" before the night was out. EW finished 5 of 17.
7. Eric Williams at the TNT is right - at least half the crowd was cheering for the Lakers. Man I hate Laker fans, especially Laker fans who were born in Washington. That's just lame, people.
Friday, February 22
Know Your Roster
David Brewster at crosscut.com has a great profile of the local players involved in the current Sonics v City saga. It's worth the read.
8 Things About Ira Newble
1. Ira Newble and Wally Szczerbiak, who were traded for one another yesterday, are the only active Miami University attendees in the NBA. I believe, but am not 100% certain, that they were teammates at U of M in 1995. It's funny how all the stories I read about Wally heading to Cleveland highlighted his Ohio history, but neglected to mention Newble's.
2. His favorite books are 1984 and the Autobiography of Malcolm X. Personally, I think Animal Farm is better than 1984, but those are both solid choices. Especially Malcolm X, if you haven't read that book you really should make a point of it. Extremely well written and fascinating from the first page to the last. Somebody ought to make a movie out of it.
3. Father’s name is also Ira. By the way, how sweet would it have been to see Ira hook up with some Jewish girl, who tells her dad she's bringing home a guy she met named Ira, and then Ira Newble rings the doorbell? That's comedy gold!
4. "Ira plays everything but the point guard, but he even brought the ball up sometime. Ira doesn't have a position. He plays where ever coach puts him.” LeBron James.
5. Leads a campaign to help bring awareness to China's involvement in the Darfur crisis. He is collecting signatures around the league for a letter that then will be presented to the Chinese government and the President of the Olympic Committee for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.
6. His Roland Rating of -9.9 was the worst on the Cavs for players playing 25% of more of the team’s minutes this season.
7. He has spent the majority of his minutes at small forward this season, with occasional duty at SG and PF.
8. His adjusted +/- for the season is -8.09.
2. His favorite books are 1984 and the Autobiography of Malcolm X. Personally, I think Animal Farm is better than 1984, but those are both solid choices. Especially Malcolm X, if you haven't read that book you really should make a point of it. Extremely well written and fascinating from the first page to the last. Somebody ought to make a movie out of it.
3. Father’s name is also Ira. By the way, how sweet would it have been to see Ira hook up with some Jewish girl, who tells her dad she's bringing home a guy she met named Ira, and then Ira Newble rings the doorbell? That's comedy gold!
4. "Ira plays everything but the point guard, but he even brought the ball up sometime. Ira doesn't have a position. He plays where ever coach puts him.” LeBron James.
5. Leads a campaign to help bring awareness to China's involvement in the Darfur crisis. He is collecting signatures around the league for a letter that then will be presented to the Chinese government and the President of the Olympic Committee for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.
6. His Roland Rating of -9.9 was the worst on the Cavs for players playing 25% of more of the team’s minutes this season.
7. He has spent the majority of his minutes at small forward this season, with occasional duty at SG and PF.
8. His adjusted +/- for the season is -8.09.
Leftovers Fall to Blazers
A million things to talk about, so let's try some quick hits this morning:1. The Sonics waived Brent Barry before he even got to town. Francisco Elson, the other part of the SA trade, has passed his physical and will likely start getting playing time this weekend.
2. Robert Swift is, sadly, hurt again. His right knee was, again, sprained, this time in Thursday's game against the Blazers. Who knows what the future holds for this young man. It is difficult to generate much empathy for a multi-millionaire who only recently entered his twenties, but Swift's injury-prone NBA career, combined with the way he worked so hard to get back on the court, is sad. It makes you wonder if he would have been better off just sitting out this year altogether and just waiting until next year. It's possible that that is his only option now. So much for dealing away Kurt Thomas to get Swift more minutes, huh?
3. Mo Sene's cell phone is probably ringing in Idaho right now to get on the next flight to Seattle. I'd be glad to see him here, in that he has proven he's capable of dominating the D-League. Let's see what the young man can do in the big time.
4. How bummed are Donyell Marshall and Ira Newble this morning?
5. "We've still got the core group that I think is going to be here going forward," PJ Carlesimo said last night. I suppose I agree, if by core he means "Kevin Durant and Jeff Green." I'm not guessing by a long shot that anyone else is part of that "core," though.
6. Finally, the Sonics lost to the mighty Blazers last night in Portland. Considering how messed up this roster is right now, it's amazing the Sonics were able to make a game of it. Earl Watson nearly picked up his second triple-double in the past few weeks, Luke Ridnour hit 3 of 4 from long range, Nick Collison registered a double-double ... and Chris Wilcox went 0-for-5 with 2 points. In the end, it wasn't enough as the Blazers wound up with a 92-88 win.
Thursday, February 21
Your Seattle SuperSonics
So, two deals in two days have certainly altered the Sonics' roster. Here's your current group:
CENTERS (4)
Johan Petro
Robert Swift
Francsico Elson
Mo Sene
POWER FORWARDS (3)
Nick Collison
Chris Wilcox
Donyell Marshall
SMALL FORWARDS (4)
Jeff Green
Damien Wilkins
Mickael Gelabale
Ira Newble
SHOOTING GUARDS (2)
Kevin Durant
Adrian Griffin
POINT GUARDS (3)
Earl Watson
Luke Ridnour
Brent Barry
And, effective this summer, your roster:
CENTER
Petro (1.9)
Sene (2.2)
POWER FORWARD
Collison (6.3)
Wilcox (6.7)
Marshall (5.9)
SMALL FORWARD
Green (3.3)
Wilkins (3.1)
SHOOTING GUARD
Kevin Durant (4.4)
POINT GUARD
Luke Ridnour (6.5)
Earl Watson (6.2)
By my math, the Sonics have $46.5 million committed to next year's budget, plus the money they would spend on draft picks. Assuming the Sonics package their lower first-round pick with their own pick, they'll be able to get someone at or near the top of the draft (oh, I don't know, Derrick Rose?).
Let the free agent speculation begin.
CENTERS (4)
Johan Petro
Robert Swift
Francsico Elson
Mo Sene
POWER FORWARDS (3)
Nick Collison
Chris Wilcox
Donyell Marshall
SMALL FORWARDS (4)
Jeff Green
Damien Wilkins
Mickael Gelabale
Ira Newble
SHOOTING GUARDS (2)
Kevin Durant
Adrian Griffin
POINT GUARDS (3)
Earl Watson
Luke Ridnour
Brent Barry
And, effective this summer, your roster:
CENTER
Petro (1.9)
Sene (2.2)
POWER FORWARD
Collison (6.3)
Wilcox (6.7)
Marshall (5.9)
SMALL FORWARD
Green (3.3)
Wilkins (3.1)
SHOOTING GUARD
Kevin Durant (4.4)
POINT GUARD
Luke Ridnour (6.5)
Earl Watson (6.2)
By my math, the Sonics have $46.5 million committed to next year's budget, plus the money they would spend on draft picks. Assuming the Sonics package their lower first-round pick with their own pick, they'll be able to get someone at or near the top of the draft (oh, I don't know, Derrick Rose?).
Let the free agent speculation begin.
Not so fast, McGhee!
Maybe the Sonics aren't done dealing:
The Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls and Seattle SuperSonics worked a deal prior to Thursday's trade deadline that would send Ben Wallace to Cleveland and Larry Hughes to Chicago as the key pieces in a trade involving at least 10 players, according to multiple reports.
In addition to moving the eight-figure deals of Wallace and Hughes, Wally Szczerbiak would move from the Sonics to the Cavaliers. Cleveland would also add Joe Smith from the Bulls and Delonte West from the Sonics.
In return, the Bulls would receive Hughes along with forward Drew Gooden and Cedric Simmons. The Sonics would add Bulls guard Chris Duhon and forwards Ira Newble and Donyell Marshall from the Cavs.
from the Sporting News
Trading Day Done?
Well, noon has come and gone, and the Sonics were apparently unable to find a husband for any of their prospective brides (a clumsy metaphor, yes, but I'm sticking with it).What happens next? Barring any trades being revealed post-deadline, you'd expect to see Brent Barry given his walking papers soon, and then he'll either report to 1) the Suns or 2) the Spurs or 3) his continuing competition with Andrei Kirilenko for the Skinniest White Man in America. It's in his hands.
As for now, if you're feeling left out that the Sonics weren't able to make a huge, Gelabale-for-2nd-round-pick type move today, console yourself with the fact that the Sonics have traded:
Ray Allen
Kurt Thomas
Rashard Lewis
Glen Davis
Carl Landry
And received
Jeff Green
Brent Barry
Wally Szczerbiak
Delonte West
Francisco Elson
The draft rights to Olden Polynice (again!)
48 first round picks
327 second round picks
$13 million worth of trade exceptions
A $35 off coupon from Bekins on their next move, holidays and weekends not included
So you've got that going for you.
Rumorlicious
Did you know that Trading Day for the NHL is almost as big as the Super Bowl in Canada?
I'm not kidding - the all-sports networks up here have been hyping their "All Day Trading Day" coverage for more than a month - and deadline day is still weeks away. I'd tell you what the big rumors are, but I follow a strict policy of ignoring any and all hockey-related matters so as to keep my brain fresh for basketball-related information. Hey, I it owe to you, our paying customers.
Anyhoo, the Thomas-for-picks-and-scrubs deal is done, but rumors abound about possible other moves today. Before we get into those, how 'bout that Sam Presti, huh? The Sonics now have six (!) first-round picks in the next three years, and our GM managed to parlay Rashard Lewis - whom the Sonics wished to jettison anyway - into three first-round picks, including two from Phoenix, where half of the roster will be living in Sun City within two years.
Back to the rumors, though. Here are a few:
1. Mickael Gelabale to Phoenix: "Sources with the team said players like Denver's Yakhouba Diawara and Seattle's Mickael Gelabale were now secondary on the list, leaving [Quentin] Ross as the main target with the deadline approaching."
It's also possible that if/when the Sonics buy out Brent Barry's contract, the Pale One will ink a deal with the Suns. The return piece in a Gelabale deal would be a 2nd-round pick.
2. Sam Cassell to the Sonics: "Cassell's name has popped up in discussions among a slew of teams, including the Grizzlies, Denver Nuggets, Seattle SuperSonics, San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets."
3. Delonte West to Cleveland: "Wednesday night's game against the Pacers was a priority but rumors of a trade between the Cavs and Memphis - for Mike Miller - and even a deal for Seattle guard Delonte West circulated the locker room. "
4. Chris Wilcox to Orlando: "Also available are veteran power forwards Kurt Thomas [scratch that one] or Chris Wilcox of Seattle, a team that wants to rebuild with younger players."
I'm sure many more will trickle out as the day progresses.
What do you guys think, though? Is Presti done for today? If the internet is good for anything, it's random trade speculation, so let's have it!
I'm not kidding - the all-sports networks up here have been hyping their "All Day Trading Day" coverage for more than a month - and deadline day is still weeks away. I'd tell you what the big rumors are, but I follow a strict policy of ignoring any and all hockey-related matters so as to keep my brain fresh for basketball-related information. Hey, I it owe to you, our paying customers.
Anyhoo, the Thomas-for-picks-and-scrubs deal is done, but rumors abound about possible other moves today. Before we get into those, how 'bout that Sam Presti, huh? The Sonics now have six (!) first-round picks in the next three years, and our GM managed to parlay Rashard Lewis - whom the Sonics wished to jettison anyway - into three first-round picks, including two from Phoenix, where half of the roster will be living in Sun City within two years.
Back to the rumors, though. Here are a few:
1. Mickael Gelabale to Phoenix: "Sources with the team said players like Denver's Yakhouba Diawara and Seattle's Mickael Gelabale were now secondary on the list, leaving [Quentin] Ross as the main target with the deadline approaching."
It's also possible that if/when the Sonics buy out Brent Barry's contract, the Pale One will ink a deal with the Suns. The return piece in a Gelabale deal would be a 2nd-round pick.
2. Sam Cassell to the Sonics: "Cassell's name has popped up in discussions among a slew of teams, including the Grizzlies, Denver Nuggets, Seattle SuperSonics, San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets."
3. Delonte West to Cleveland: "Wednesday night's game against the Pacers was a priority but rumors of a trade between the Cavs and Memphis - for Mike Miller - and even a deal for Seattle guard Delonte West circulated the locker room. "
4. Chris Wilcox to Orlando: "Also available are veteran power forwards Kurt Thomas [scratch that one] or Chris Wilcox of Seattle, a team that wants to rebuild with younger players."
I'm sure many more will trickle out as the day progresses.
What do you guys think, though? Is Presti done for today? If the internet is good for anything, it's random trade speculation, so let's have it!
Bill busts Clay and Stern
Supersonicsouliacs Drew and Eric both sent me this link, so I guess I ought to share it. ESPN's Bill Simmons, discussing possible trade scenerios, takes time to verbally kick Clay Bennett and David Stern in the hoo-hahs:"The Sonics need to keep saving Clay Bennett money so he can devote more resources to needlessly destroying basketball in the city of Seattle and ripping the heart out of a loyal fan base that's only supported the NBA for 41 years and counting. Yeah, let's pull their team from them because they don't want to help a billionaire build a new arena that doesn't need to be built. That's an awesome idea. I'm still waiting for someone to explain to me how David Stern could care so little about saving basketball in Seattle. It's completely inexplicable and goes against everything he's ever been about. I don't get it. I don't get it."(Awesome art by Chunkstyle, as usual)
Read the entire article at ESPN.com.
Wednesday, February 20
Bones is Back!
According to "league sources", the Seattle Supersonics just traded Kurt Thomas to the Spurs for Brent Barry, center Francisco Elson and a 2009 first-round draft pick. Let the fire sale begin!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)