Ray Allen going to All-Star Game, next stop New York?

It's mid-February, which means my favorite time of the year is upon us. No, not Valentine's Day, you weirdos &mdash Trading Time, that magical part of the NBA season where half the teams realize they have no shot at the title and desperately cash in their chips in an attempt to salvage the season.

The Sonics, of course, must be feeling deja-vu, having spent the better part of a decade in "salvage" mode.

The only time one of these February Hail Mary trades actually worked was in 2003, when the Supes traded Gary Payton (whose tank was about three minutes from empty) to the Bucks for Ray Allen. And now, four years later, it's Allen's turn to take one for the team.

One place Ray-Ray has been rumored to be heading is NYC, which would be great except for one thing: the Knicks have no talent to trade:

"To read that stuff about us looking to move Ray is laughable," said Sonics GM Rick Sund. "We've had a disappointing season, but we've had big injuries to guys like Rashard Lewis and Ray. Nobody's called me about Ray because he's not available."

For Sund to pick up his phone to discuss a deal, he wants a hefty price for Allen, seventh in the NBA in scoring at 26.9 ppg entering last night. That would entail a package including a great young player, expiring contracts and draft picks. The Knicks don't have the assets.

"Nobody likes their talent," one Eastern Confernce GM said. "The problem for the Knicks is that they don't have expiring contracts to offer. They got rid of Jalen Rose, so that didn't help their cause."

from the New York Daily News

So, where does that leave Ray-Gun? Should the Sonics ship him off somewhere in hopes he can grab a late-career ring like Payton (while trying to land anything they can in return), or should the team cling desperately to the one thing that will bring people to the game?

UPDATE: Ray Allen was just named to his fourth straight (and 7th overall) All-Star Game. Congrats, Ray!

Bob Hill: Just Fire Me Already

In 1969, Swiss-born psychiatrist Elizabeth Kubler-Ross outlined the five stages of grief. In the midst of the longest death-watch in NBA history, it appears Seattle Supersonics coach Bob Hill has arrived at the final stage, Acceptance:

About an hour before the start of the Sonics' 107-101 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Friday night, Hill gave a soliloquy about the realities of being an NBA coach.

"I look at my position very realistically,'' said Hill, in his ninth season as an NBA coach. "You know, when you get fired, you don't die. You don't die.''

Read the rest here.

I love Bob Hill. He's a great, old-school coach who says what he thinks, which is a rarity in today's NBA. He gave Sonics fans a glimmer of hope last season when he did the impossible: he made Robert Swift look like an NBA player. Hill has been pummeled this year with adversities of biblical proportions. That's why I want the Sonics to fire him.

Hill deserves better than this. The ax was raised the day the Sonics were sold down the river to Big Boy Bennett. Let it fall already.

Bob Hill. R.I.P.

Permission to Win

"You know who I am? I'm the coach who can't get fired!"

There's been some grumbling in Sonics Land. When your team is struggling to reach .500 and threatening to leave town, that's not surprising. What is surprising is that fans aren't grumbling about the losing, but the winning.

Content to write off the season before the all-star break, many Seattle basketball fans are hoping the Sonics lose as many games as possible for a chance to land coveted college star Greg Oden. Normally, I might see the logic in this. It's not every day you get a chance to land a great big man like Oden, who has been compared to future hall of famers David Robinson and Tim Duncan. Still, it is only a chance—unlike the old days, having the worst record in the league is no guarantee for landing the top pick. The Sonics could tank a salvageable season for Tiago Splitter.

The thing that really kills the "Lose Now to Win Later" strategy is that even if the Sonics somehow land Oden, Seattle might never see him play.

While Big Boy Bennett is still talking about about a "Pepsi-Light" arena for Renton, there's still a real possibility that he's just running out the clock on the Key Arena lease so he can pack the team off to Okie-Land. Haven't you wondered why the Sonics haven't made a single move all season to improve the team?

If this is the Sonics' last season is Seattle, is this the way you want the team to go out, intentionally losing games so that Oklahoma can have the next San Antonio Spurs? (You know Bob Hill must be having flashbacks.)

I say win now. Make the playoffs. Leave it all on the floor. Go out in glory. Go Sonics.