Sonic News

Quite a bit of Sonic coverage in the 3 dailies today, and by Sonic coverage, I mean coverage other than Clay Bennett/OKC/Schultz coverage (which, I think we can all agree, is about as fun to read as a study on snail remains).

Anyhow, the Times, PI, and Tribune all agree that Chris Wilcox will be inked to a 3-year deal, with his salary targeted at either $7 or $8 million per season, or basically what everyone's been expecting for about 2 months.

(It's official - read the Sonics' press release here.)

Buried in Frank Hughes' story at the Tribune was this nugget:

"From here, Sund is expected to offer a two-year, $25 million contract extension to Rashard Lewis in late September..."

Sounds as though Lewis would be getting slightly less than his market value, but it's a good deal for the Sonics. Also of note from the PI:

"Wilcox is expected to compete with Nick Collison for the starting power forward position this season ..."

Really, does anyone expect Collison to have any chance at all of starting over Wilcox? I think it would be more likely to see Earl Watson surpass Ridnour than to see Collison surpass Wilcox, but maybe I'm off base here.

In any event, a good bit of news for the Sonics today, amidst a summer of craptacular headlines. Hooray for us.

Wilcox to Stay?

I think anyone who writes/blogs (man do I hate that word) about the NBA should have a laminated card taped to their computer monitor. On it, they should have in bold-faced type:

"DO NOT BELIEVE ANYTHING ANY AGENT OR GM SAYS DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS, ESPECIALLY IN REGARD TO FREE AGENT NEGOTIATIONS."

This in light of the accumulating evidence that 1) Chris Wilcox will sign a 3-year deal for $20 million with the Sonics and 2) Drew Gooden will sign a deal with the Cavaliers. As of 1 week ago, all evidence pointed to neither of these events taking place, and yet, here we stand, with both likely to go down by mid-week.

Of course, to Sonics fans, this is a great thing. Signing Wilcox to a 3-year deal at that price is fantastic. Even if he turns out to be a 2-month flash in the pan in a contract drive, the Sonics will soon be rid of his contract. If he turns out to be a stud, well the Sonics just signed a double-double caliber PF for about $7 million a year. Not bad.

With Wilcox seemingly in place, it's now time to start looking at the Sonics' roster and starting lineup. Here's the roster as of today:

Allen
Lewis
Fortson (!)
Watson
Wilkins
Collison
Ridnour
Sene
Swift
Petro
Gelabale
Wilcox (?)

Fortson's playing status with the team is TBD, but he's on the roster regardless. No matter how you cut it, the Sonics have a couple of roster spots to fill. It seems likely that Noel Felix is sitting pretty for one of them, leaving one open. I've thought that a 3rd-string PG will likely fit that bill. Any thoughts out there on who the Sonics should pick up? To get you started, here's hoopshype.com's list of available free agents.

The other Eddie Johnson

It appears former Seattle Supersonic Eddie Johnson might be a child molester.

Not the "EJ" Eddie Johnson (pictured on the left) that we know and love, of course, but the "Fast" Eddie Johnson of the '87 Sonics. Read the whole story at Seattlest.

Thanks to Seth for the tip!