Jamaal Magloire: Yay or Nay?

You’ve no doubt read that Jamaal (“The Other Canadian”) Magloire is on the outs in Portland these days, and the Blazers may be inclined to deal him. As fans of a team with a dearth of talent at center, does it make sense for the Sonics to inquire about a 6’11” former all-star in the last year of his contract?

Yes and no. Here’s a brief rundown on the positives and negatives to getting Magloire.

NEGATIVES
1. Attitude. Magloire is working on his 3rd team in 3 years, and it would shift to 4 if he’s dealt. That’s never a good sign.
2. Poor foul shooter. This might be a fluke thing, but for the past 2 seasons Magloire has been abysmal. Like I said, it could be just a fluke, as he was solid at the start of his career and decent at Kentucky.
3. Not a great passer, when compared to Collison. Also has a higher turnover rate.
4. Makes $8.5 million this year
5. Not an especially agile defender.

POSITIVES
1. Gets to the line often (6.3/game for career/40 minutes), especially in relation to Collison (3.2) or Petro (don’t ask).
2. Playoff experience. He’s not Sam Perkins, but he has played 36 playoff games. To some people, that matters.
3. Solid defensive rebounder; again, his numbers are vastly superior to Collison. 4. Decent shot-blocker. Not as good as he was at the start of his career, but capable of blocking at least a shot a game if given 30 minutes.
5. Not especially foul-prone. This is something of big importance; both Collison and Petro attract fouls like Britney Spears attracts bad publicity. Magloire’s ability to stay out of foul trouble enables him to stay on the court longer, and keeps opponents from getting to the bonus so quickly.
6. Contract expires at the end of the season.

I look at it from this perspective – the Sonics are one decent offensive player away from contending for a playoff spot. Allen, Ridnour, Lewis, and Wilcox aren’t going anywhere, and who knows if/when Wilcox will ever figure out a way to get 15 points a night. That leaves the center position as the best way to add points.

Petro is not going to take this team to the playoffs at this stage in his career; if anything, he’s going to be a hindrance. Collison is inconsistent, and while his peripheral game is nice, he has way too many bad games to be a starter in this league.

Magloire is not a long-term solution for the Sonics, but he doesn’t have to be. He needs to keep the center spot warm for one season until Petro develops, and Swift gets healthy.

In my mind, putting Magloire on this team adds instant offense and catapults Seattle to a chance for the playoffs, a chance which is non-existent at the moment.

Here's how it could work: Deal Danny Fortson and another piece (Wilks, the Greek guy, or Desmon Farmer) to the Blazers for Magloire. If Seattle has to throw in a 2nd-round pick, so be it. The Blazers save some money, get a guy (Fortson) who they can hold onto and wait for his contract to expire, or deal away. Plus, they shed somebody who will start squawking because he's not getting minutes.

If Bennett and the Sonics’ new ownership is serious about keeping this team in town, they need to do something to create excitement. A 38-win team with no chance at the playoffs is not exciting. A 45-win team that makes it as a 7th-seed and a decent chance for a 1st-round upset is.

What do we have to lose?

~~~~~

Tack this to your wall and wait a couple of months for it to ripen:

" I'm not going to look over anybody's shoulder. I don't think that's right. I think when you hire someone to do a job, let them do it. But they know that I'm there, I'm available. I can help them in any way."

Lenny Wilkens, on Rick Sund and Bob Hill

Lenny Joins the Fold

The Sonics announced today that Lenny Wilkens is now their Vice Chairman (credit to sonicscentral.com for noticing this first).

Of note in the team's press release, "[Wilkens] will also continue as lead analyst on Sonics’ telecasts aired by Fox Sports Net."

Sorry, fans, you're going to have to endure some more of Lenny's ancient ramblings on how to play the game, except that now he knows he can't be fired.

MIA: Chris Wilcox

With all the talk recently about Seattle’s bench woes and the ugliness between Hill and Watson another Sonics’ dismal performance has sort of slipped through the cracks.

Try this on for size: Chris Wilcox has scored in double figures once in the past eight games.

To a casual observer, the fault would lie in the lap of the man making $8 million a year, the free agent acquisition that never performed prior to a salary drive in the spring. But if you look more closely, you can tell that it may not entirely be Weezy’s fault.

For some reason, Wilcox has turned into the Sonics’ version of a Saturday night television show on CBS – invisible.

After taking 70 shots in those first eight games, Wilcox has attempted only 49 in the past eight, a decrease of 21%. His rebounding numbers, minutes played, and all other peripheral stats haven’t changed, so it’s merely a matter of not getting looks.

It’s as if on the plane ride back from New Jersey, the team’s luggage – containing the secret ingredient responsible for the successful trip – wound up in North Dakota, while the Sonics continued on to the West Coast. Somewhere in Fargo, a group of kids stumbled across the magic potion, drank it, and are now contending for the state basketball title while the Sonics continue to lose at a Blazer-like pace.

Prior to the flight home, Seattle was averaging 39-for-84 from the floor and 105 points a game. Since the flight, those numbers are down to 35-for-79 shots and 94 points, while Wilcox has gone from 9 attempts per game to 6, and from 12 points to 8. It’s a shocking development, and completely unexplainable.

I can’t see what the root cause of the problem is, as it doesn’t appear to make any difference if Wilcox plays with Watson or Ridnour, so it’s not as if he needs Earl to play more so he can get more looks. It’s not that he’s not getting enough minutes, as that hasn’t changed one bit from the first half of the season to the second.

As always, the Sonics are over-relying on Allen and Lewis, and Allen and Lewis are getting tired of it. Sugar Ray’s comments in the papers the last couple of days seem to indicate a man frustrated with his teammates’ inability to produce. With Coach Hill’s statement last night regarding a new potential starting lineup, how about we offer this suggestion:

SG Allen
PG Ridnour
SF Lewis
PF Wilcox
C Sene

I’d leave Sene in there for 5 minutes, bring Petro off the bench, then bring Collison in with a few minutes left in the 1st quarter. That would allow Wilcox to get some rest and then actually play more than 2 minutes in the 2nd quarter.

And pray Sene doesn’t foul out in 5 minutes.

Notes from last night’s loss: Seattle attempted 8 3’s in the first half, 13 in the second and attempted 14 in paint in the 1st half, 9 in second ... The Sonics made one shot from the right side of the court in the entire game, a Ray Allen 3 in the second quarter.