Radman Not Leaving

According to this report from Frank Hughes in the TNT, Radman will not ask for a trade this season, despite his ever-decreasing minutes. Further, he'll veto any trade (as is his right in the CBA) the Sonics offer. This isn't all that surprising, but it does put the kibosh on the trade rumors we hear regarding the 6'10" enigma.

As a side note, you have to love this quote from David Bauman, Radman's agent.

"They saw last week that when they play him 31 minutes, they get 23 points. If they play him 15 minutes, they are going to get seven points. That is just how it works."

Funny, when Vlade played 33 minutes against the Cavs on Nov. 9th, he scored 12. And when he played 40 minutes against the Lakers on Nov. 24, he scored 13. And when he played 26 minutes against the Warriors one week ago, he scored all of 8 points. Nice try, Bauman, but we all know the truth is that Vlade's point totals are as reliable as a Seattle weather forecast.

Rumorville

Here’s the latest from the internet regarding Sonic trade rumors:

1. MARC JACKSON:

“Starting today, players acquired over the summer can be dealt. [Marc] Jackson fits that criterion. The Nets are in the market for an athletic big man. They likely will pursue Stromile Swift, … and Reggie Evans, and perhaps Dan Gadzuric.”

Jackson is a uniquely talented big man who made the 1st team All-Rookie his first year out. Since then he’s bounced around the league a bit, but had arguably his finest season last year in Philly, averaging 12 points and 5 boards a game. In my mind, he’s really not that different from the Potato, except that he makes an extra $1.5 mil a year. I don’t expect the Sonics to pursue him, since the majority of his points come from the outside, and the Sonics already have enough soft big men who can’t score down low.

2. VLADIMIR RADMANOVIC:

“General Manager John Nash said in a perfect world the Blazers would be able to trade one of their small forwards for a power forward who can shoot, a player similar to Seattle's Vladimir Radmanovic.”

When you hear John Nash talk about trading a small forward, that’s code for Ruben Patterson. Obviously, the Sonics aren’t going after Ruben anytime soon, so that would mean the Blazers would be giving up someone along the lines of
Viktor Khryapa. I don’t like that move because, well, his name’s too hard to spell.

Stuffed Again

Ouch.

The season of unending pain continued last night, as the Rockets took advantage of Seattle's weak defense to shoot 56% from the field on their way to a 104-98 win. Pine-Sol Evans almost went for a double-double, but he was the lone bright spot as Ray Allen continues to miss shots at an alarming rate, Lewis scored less than 20 for the third consecutive game, and Seattle demonstrated a complete inability to defend the interior.

Want proof? Here's the combined FG mark for Juwann Howard, Stro Swift, Dikembe Mutombo, and Yao Ming: 20 for 29, or 69%. Folks, I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that teams that allow opponents' big men to shoot 69% do not win very many games.

Tonight, the Sonics take on Nate and the Blazers in the Rose City. Luckily, the Blazers make the Sonics look like the Spurs, having won 2 of 10, and those two were against New Orleans (in OT) and the Hawks.

Looking for a crazy stat? The Blazers haven't scored 100 points in a game this season. Sonic opponents typically score 100 by the end of the third quarter. Something has to give!