Ceis Looking For Solutions

Olympia may have passed up on the Sonics, but Seattle's Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis says the city is not throwing in the towel. With an April 10 deadline looming to take advantage of the $150 million offered by the new ownership group, Ceis told the TNT's Eric Williams that "we’re going to give it our best shot."

Ceis admitted that coming up with the missing $75 million expected from the state will be difficult, but thought something could be done.

Art Thiel has a well thought out piece discussing the situation at the PI, while Greg Johns runs down the possible next steps in this ongoing saga (and gets in more than a few digs at David Stern while he's at it).

At this point, the next move belongs to the city. It seems that the powers there are firmly in support of the Sonics, so the only moves to be made are finding ways to come up with $75 million, whether it be selling the arena to the new owners, adding more tax to the proposed admission tax, or some other machinations.

Call her out!

From Save Our Sonics:

"Dear Fellow Sonics Fan

Today the Washington State Legislature voted on their budget and, if they adjourn as scheduled will have failed to even address our issue despite the flood of calls they have received.

Last night Governor Christine Gregoire joined other politicians in commenting on our massive display of support. She provided some hope by seeming to embrace the idea of a special session and declaring "I understand how passionate Sonics fans are. I've known that all the way along. I'm a Sonics fan myself. I know how passionate taxpayers are. I've heard from them loud and clear," but I don't think you should ever think that conversations are dead until they Sine Die in Olympia. Today we have a report that calls to Gregoire are running lukewarm in support of this statement. Perhaps because many sports fans feel that they have already called and that our job is done.

Our loud message is getting through to people and there is still significant chance for success. Please continue your support and call the Governor to POLITELY tell her you appreciate her comments and are counting on her to help save the Sonics.

Governor Christine Gregoire Comment Line:
(360) 902-4111

We're in it till the end!

Brian and Steve
Save Our Sonics"

Green Not So Golden

Most seasons, the NBA draft is a gigantic game of ring toss, with each team hoping the seven-foot guy with the decent footspeed turns out to be more David Robinson than Rich King.

But some seasons, the gods smile upon the drafters and they are given a bounty of solid options from which to choose. 1998, 1995, and, of course, that hallowed year of 1984, when teams chose from Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley, and John Stockton (and Michael Cage, lest we forget).

This past June was supposed to be one of those drafts, with all sorts of experts weighing in on the talent available. With two picks in the top five, the Sonics and their fans should have been dancing in the streets, right?

Leaving aside the arena situation, why are we, well, less than thrilled with the results? Kevin Durant’s shot selection has been mocked from coast to coast, but he is still the odds-on favorite to win Rookie of the Year, and no one disputes that his career appears bright.

But Jeff Green, that second selection, fifth overall? The guy with the college experience? The Pippen to Durant’s Jordan? What of him?

In a way, Green’s year has mirrored the opinions of him: not bad, but not good either. Green is seemingly too small to regularly play power forward, yet he doesn’t seem especially suited for small forward either. His stats bear that out.

First, let us look at the most recent #5 selections in the draft (with the notable exception of Nikoloz Tskitishvili), listed in chronological order:

player	PER
jeff green	9.4
shelden williams	12.3
ray felton	14.2
devin harris	14.7
dwyane wade	17.6
jason richardson	13.8

Obviously, Green’s numbers are lacking. Of course, PER is but one measure of a player’s worth and I am quite sure his defenders could produce a litany of reasons for why he ranks the worst.

But what if we expanded the list, to, say, the past 20 years rather than the past five, and we looked at all the numbers rather than just PER? For the purposes of this discussion, I will omit such players as Jonathan Bender, who languished on the bench their rookie seasons. Here are the numbers, from best to worst:

player	PER
vince carter	19.6
dwyane wade	17.6
mitch richmond	17.2
laphonso ellis	16.6
kevin garnett	15.8
kendall gill	15.4
juwan howard	15.0
devin harris	14.7
ray allen	14.6
ray felton	14.2
jr rider	14.2
jason richardson	13.8
tony battie	13.3
mike miller	13.2
scottie pippen	12.9
steve smith	12.5
shelden williams	12.3
jr reid	10.2
jeff green	9.4

Doesn’t look so good, does it? It is one thing to be the lowest ranked man in a list of five, but another entirely when you rank 19th out of 19. I won’t re-create the entire lists here, but Green ranked 14th in true shooting percentage, 17th in effective field goal percentage, 16th in assist percentage, last in offensive rating, 18th in win shares, and last in steal percentage.

To be fair, Green did fairly well in rebounding, ranking 8th in rebounding percentage. And to say his career is over after less than a full season would be a foolish argument to make, but I doubt that anyone could argue that Green’s season has been somewhat of a disappointment. Even David Thorpe, who constantly ranks and re-ranks the rookie class for ESPN, has Green slotted as 16th in his class, two spots below Glen Davis and nine below Carl Landry, two second-rounders the Sonics traded away.

Will it mean anything for his future, though? It is important to note Felton, Harris and Wade all dramatically improved their passing skills as their careers progressed and Williams became a much better rebounder statistically this season. People are not machines, and to say Green’s accomplishments, or rather the lack thereof, this season are the sum total of his capabilities is silly. There is plenty of upside to Green’s future, and I won’t be type of person who says that the Sonics made a big mistake in taking him. It’s just too early to tell all of that.

With that said, though, if you find yourself reading this off-season that the Sonics’ front-office attributes Green’s numbers to first-year troubles, well, I guess you know a little better, don’t you?

Limping to the Lottery

Another loss, another step closer to Michael Beasley or Derrick Rose.

There are 17 games remaining in the Sonics' schedule, and, perhaps, 17 games left for the Seattle SuperSonics. Of those 17, I would suggest the Sonics will be favored to win three, meaning the Sonics' record at the end of the year would be 19-63, easily the worst in franchise history.

Last night's debacle against the Celtics - the Sonics led in the first quarter! - put Seattle's record at 16-49, ahead of only the 3 M's - Memphis, Minnesota, and Miami.

After looking at the schedules, I figure Minnesota will likely win five games, giving them 19 wins for the season, matching the Sonics. Memphis could win three more games, giving them 18 wins, while Miami should easily finish with the worst record in the league.

Where does that leave us? It leaves Seattle and Minnesota tied for the third-worst record in the league, meaning those two would be fighting over Jerryd Bayless, Brook Lopez, O.J. Mayo, or Deandre Jordan, among others.

Sonics basketball, it's fantastic!

Losing Streak Continues

Man, it's hard to shake the "Major League" vibes with this team, isn't it?

In a battle of teams in a headlong sprint for the lottery, the Pacers topped the Sonics last night in Indianapolis to the tune of 114-107. Not unexpectedly, the two defensively inept clubs managed to combine for 175 shot attempts.

Even less unexpectedly, Chris Wilcox managed to follow up Gary Washburn's piece describing his "improved play" by turning in yet another stinker - hitting 6 of 16 shots from the field, 1 of 5 from the line, and 5 rebounds in about 30 minutes of play.

All together now - Chris Wilcox has been inconsistent, is now inconsistent, and will forever be inconsistent. Every year for the past three years, we've read stories about how he's "turned the corner" and added this or that skill to his offensive repertoire. And every year, he follows up a spate of double-double performances and monster dunks with a week's worth of 12 point-5 rebound stink jobs. The Sonics' front office and the media can talk all they want about how they want to keep him around in their future plans, but I can't imagine you'd want Kevin Durant spending any more time than is absolutely necessary around Chris Wilcox.

And, as always, there's a bunch of arena news to read about. Personally, the whole situation has got me to the point where I just don't give a damn any more.

Ask David Stern

That's right, Clay Bennett's BFF is eagerly awaiting your questions, which will be printed in TIME magazine. So get off your keister, meister, and head over to the TIME website and flood them with questions. Here are some to get you started:

"Why do you hate Seattle so much?"

"Why did you collude with your pal Clay Bennett to steal the Sonics?
(follow up: "Are there dirty pictures involved?")

"Why have you systematically alienated blue collar fans of the NBA and replaced them with millionaires in luxury boxes who don't even pay attention to the game?"

"Have you ever played basketball in your life?"

"Is it true that ninety-nine percent of the perceived success you've had managing the NBA has in fact been due to the talent of players like Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Michael Jordan?"

"With schools, roads, and emergency services scraping for money, do you think it's the responsibility of working class tax payers to bail out millionaires like yourself and Clay Bennett?"

Feel free to jump in and add your own questions!

(thanks to Denise at Save Our Sonics for the news tip!)

Sonics and Pacers

Just throwing this out there - let's say your television only had two channels. One channel was broadcasting tonight's game between Indiana and Seattle, the other was airing a two-hour "Best of Airwolf" series. How often would you switch back to watch the Sonics' game? Because, obviously, you would be spending the majority of your time watching Airwolf, right?

Yes, it's been that kind of season, Sonic fans. You know sometimes you'll hear beat writers or people associated with professional basketball make comments to the effect of, "I can't believe they pay me to do this!"Well, I'm guessing nobody's saying anything like that tonight.In one corner, you have the Pacers, who, along with the Sonics and Timberwolves, are at a level of popularity only cushioned by Mike Gavel.

In the other, you have the Sonics, of whom we need not comment. It's truly sad that if this is the end of the Sonics in this city, that we must see them go out like this. For no other reason than to freshen the taste in our mouths, you ought to phone the governor and tell her to do something to keep this team around. Can't we qualify for disaster relief or something? Isn't what's going on right now as bad as Mt. St. Helens or the floods?

Your assignment for tonight's game is to come up with a metaphor to describe your interest level. For example: I'm about as excited to watch tonight's Sonics-Pacers game as Johnny Carson was to see Ed McMahon's name on his call-display screen.

Thursday's Getting Closer

As you have no doubt read in the PI, the governor and the state legislature have punted the arena issue back to the city of Seattle, asking the city to come up with the state's share of the $75 million on its own.

The city, naturally, is not interested in that scenario, meaning, of course, that this situation will require even more pressure on your representatives. Again, you can phone the state at 1.800.562.6000 to let them know you consider this to merit their involvement.

On a side note, much has been made of the fact that this week spells the end of this particular legislative session, and that if by Friday no bill has been passed regarding the arena, then that will be that. Which got me to thinking, what are the rules governing special sessions convened by the governor?

From what I have read, it appears that a special session may be called either by the governor, or by a 2/3 majority of the house. In this case, it would be Gov. Gregoire calling the session, because if the House could muster 2/3 majority to call a special sessions, they would just as likely use that majority to pass a bill.

However, I could find no information as to deadlines on when the governor can call the session. She could call it on Friday, she could call it on St. Patrick's Day, she could call it on Memorial Day, or she could call it during the upcoming trial between Seattle and Clay Bennett.

And one final side note, while sports fans only seem to care about the political process when it intrudes upon their turf (yes, awful pun, I know), there are those who are more in tune with this system. And, it seems, those people are about as thrilled with Frank Chopp as the rest of us.

Fed up with Chopp's stalling tactics? Join the club.

Deadline for Offer

There has been considerable words out of the legislature regarding the recent offer to purchase the team/renovate KeyArena. Now there are some words coming from the group of four interested in purchasing the team:

Now or never.

In a letter to Gov. Gregoire and published in the Seattle Times, the four men expressing interest in buying the team stated that their offer will expire on April 10, essentially rendering moot any argument from legislators that this scenario would be better considered during the next session.

So, have you made the call? If you're interested in keeping this team around, and you feel that this particular offer is a good one, then you better make it. Call the legislature and let them know that - as a voter - you feel they should act before it is too late.

1-800-562-6000

Overheard at the NBA Offices

"Mr. Stern, there’s a Mr. Bennett on line 2 for you."

DS: Okay, thank you, Andrea, I’ll take the call.

DS: Hello, Clay, how are things in Oklahoma City today?

CB: Well, that’s not why I’m calling, David. This situation in Seattle is startin’ to go sideways a little bit. You told me when I bought this team that we’d have smooth sailin’, and now it looks like that female governor is startin’ to change her mind.

DS: Clay, Clay, Clay. Don’t worry, it will all work out in the end.

CB: Now see here, Stern, I didn’t spend $350 million of wife’s father’s hard-earned money just to live half the year in that hippie-infested rainforest. You told me that those people were a bunch of whiny liberals that would never approve a new stadium. So long as I played like I was goin’ to try to get a new arena there, you’d back me up about movin’ to Oklahoma.

DS: Yes, well, things have changed a bit now. Perhaps an alternative arrangement will have to be made, but don’t worry, I have a myriad of possibilities lined up.

CB: I don’t want other possibilities, I want this team and I want it in Oklahoma. Now are you going to back me or aren’t you?

DS: Now, Clay, I advise you not to get so agitated. After all, with the Board of Governors meeting coming up in a few weeks, I believe it is in your best interests to keep a civil tone in these proceedings.

CB: Now what the hell does that mean, Stern? Are you tellin’ me you all are thinkin’ about denying me from movin’ this team to Oklahoma?

DS: Not exactly, Clay. Perhaps the best resolution to this scenario is a franchise swap, yes? Michael in Memphis is quite fed up with the franchise there, and he and I have spoken at length about the possibility of you taking over his team, and moving it to Oklahoma. It’s really not a concern.

CB: Excuse me? You tellin’ me I’m givin’ up that Durant fella, my boy Sam, PJ, and all those draft picks, and in return I get the gol’ darn Grizzlies? That doesn’t sound like much of a fair swap to me, Stern!

DS: Ah, Clay, well perhaps you would rather I deny the franchise relocation, force you to sell, and leave Oklahoma City with no team altogether? I’m sure we could arrange a D-League team to play at your new arena.

CB: Now wait just a cotton pickin’ minute. Why am I gettin’ the feeling I’ve been used? Now see here, Stern, did you just get me to buy this team so you could trick Seattle into building a new arena?

DS: Now, Clay, I would never trick anyone. If you buying the team forced Seattle into doing what I wanted them to do all along, while simultaneously giving me a new arena in another town which I can now use as leverage against the next city which defies the NBA, well, what’s wrong with that?

CB: You dirty little halfpint. I can’t believe I got suckered in. I knew I should have dealt with them hockey folks. At least you know where they’re comin’ from. Now what about my money? Am I goin’ to get my $350 million back? Well?

DS: I’m sorry, Clay, but I have to take another call.

Fans Get Heard

What will happen this week? It's anybody's guess.

In one moment, Gov. Gregoire and the other legislators seem to indicate that there is just no way anything can happen regarding the Sonics in this session, an indication that this team is just as good as gone.

But in the next, you get indications that the politicians are merely dabbing their toes in the water to get a feel for the temperature. With the hot-blooded vocals of thousands of Sonic fans calling them every day, they must know that this particular issue is one that resonates with voters.

Right?

Assuming - and that's a big assumption - that the legislature can get something put together in this session, we still have two rather large fish to cook up in our skillet:

1) Getting Clay Bennett to sell the team
2) Getting the NBA to deny his relocation request.

But that's putting the cart before the horse. There still remains the pressing issue of convincing the legislature to act before it is too late. I'll say again, if you are at all concerned about losing the Sonics, and if you believe that sports ownership should partner in shouldering the burden for building new arenas, then get on board this plan. Here's the number in Olympia:

1.800.562.6000.

Rally At the Capital

If you love the Sonics, shoot, even if you just tolerate the Sonics, then get yourself down to Olympia tomorrow for a rally at the Washington State Legislative Building.

The rally is to be from 10 to 11 am on Saturday. Visit SonicsCentral.com for specific information on parking, meet-up locations, etc.

With the word from Gov. Gregoire today that she is considering extending the legislature's session beyond the expected Friday drop dead date, there is hope for those who want to see the Sonics stay in Seattle.

Yes, Clay Bennett is "refusing" to sell, but he said he would never sell the Storm, either, so take his current tactics for what they are worth.

As always, the government will stick with their position until it looks as though enough voters are against it. By rallying in Olympia, you can tell them what you think of the Sonics.