Northwest Report

Time for this week’s Northwest Report, brought to you by the good folks at Nussbaum Nursery (see their special this week on Molly Ann rhododendrons).

UTAH:
Utah Jazz Blog is looking for draft candidates, and Arran Afflalo is at the top of the list (remember when we used to make selections at the end of the first round? Ah, those were the days ...) ... Harpring Sucks scoffs at nbadraft.net’s comparison of Yi Jianlian to Pau Gasol. After all, “Yi could never grow a lumberjack beard like Pau's.” ... Rachel Hamblin at All Jazzed Up gives Andrei Kirilenko some rather poor marks on his employee evaluation.

MINNESOTA:
The Timberwolves Den is so exasperated with Mark Blount, they’re willing to give him away for a bag of Funyons ... I Heart KG tries to keep up with the seemingly neverending Kevin Garnett rumors. Just curious: Would they have to change the name of the blog to I Heart TREC (Theo Ratliff’s Expiring Contract) if the deal is consummated? ... Before the Celtic rumors got out of hand, Twolves Blog pondered a possible Minny-Phoenix deal involving Mr. Garnett ...


DENVER:
As crazy as things get in the offseason, it’s worth noting that the passenger in JR Smith’s car that wound up dying in the car accident (Andre Bell), wasn’t just some guy, he was Smith’s best friend. And now, Smith will possibly spend a decade in jail contemplating how he 1) was responsible for killing his best friend and 2) destroyed his chance at becoming a multi-multi millionaire, all in one New Jersey evening ... Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post reports George Karl won’t say no to acquiring a first-round pick (Denver is sans picks this year), and Kareem Rush may wind up playing for a NW Division team after all, just not the Sonics.

PORTLAND:
Blazers Blog worries that Portland is starting to think an injury-free Kevin Durant trumps a bad-back Greg Oden, while Casey Holdahl relays a quote from Kevin Pritchard that that is definitely not the case ... Blazers Edge poses a hypothetical question: If you knew whether Durant or Oden was the better pick because you knew the future, would you want that power, in that it would destroy the surprise of watching the next 10 years’ worth of games? Is it me, or do these Portland people just get a little bit too much into their team? ... Blazers Evangelist acknowledges the obvious, “Let’s face it. Life as we know it in Portland is over.” (And he means that in a good way).

And just two quick bits of Sonic news:

1. According to a Sacramento newspaper, Scott Brooks interviewed for the Sonics’ head coach opening on June 15 with Sam Presti
2. According to draftexpress.com, Ramon Sessions, a 6’4” point guard out of Nevada, has received assurances that he won’t last past the Sonics’ second pick of the second round (#35 overall). Interesting that the Supes would make that commitment (if the rumor is true), in that it indicates they aren’t trading the pick, either alone or in combination with their other second round pick.

Goodbye, Earl

I think one important part of the Sonics’ offseason that’s fallen off the radar is what the heck they’re going to do with their two point guards.

As time passes, it becomes obvious (at least to me), that Earl Watson is going to be dealt. Luke Ridnour is – only slightly – better than Watson, and I think the team’s brain trust is more comfortable with a full season of Frodo running the ship than they are of Watson.

With that the case, let’s explore some possible destinations for Earl Watson. These are clubs in the need of a PG, either backup or starter.

1. ATLANTA
LIKELIHOOD: Not much. The Hawks are in the position to get either Acie Law or Mike Conley in the draft, they already have a backup type guard in Speedy Claxton (I didn’t say they had a good one), so I don’t see this happening.

2. CLEVELAND
LIKELIHOOD: Slim. Any deal with the Cavs would likely include either Damon Jones or Eric Snow coming back to Seattle. I’m not enamored of Jones (horrible defense) or Snow (horrible offense), and about the only other player who matches up salary-wise is Donyell Marshall, who the Sonics need about as much as they need a guy from Oklahoma City owning the team. Oh, wait.

3. DENVER
LIKELIHOOD: Decent. Ah, irony, you fickle, fickle fiend. The Nuggets dealt away Watson because they had too many point guards, and now they’ve managed to deal away so many PGs that they need another one. With Iverson more suited as a combo guard and Steve Blake slated to enter free agency, Watson would be a good fit for Denver. What could the Sonics expect in return? If he wasn’t such a catastrophe off the court, JR Smith would be a wonderful pickup for Seattle, but that’s not going to happen. Eduardo Najera is an interesting option, but with Wilkins, Lewis (?), Durant, and Gelabale under contract, I can’t see where he would play. Perhaps a three-way deal involving the Nuggets is more likely.

4. CLIPPERS
LIKELIHOOD: Good. The Clips don’t want to play this year relying solely on Sam Cassell’s aging body, and since Shaun Livingston will be out for an entire year, they need another guard to help carry the load. A Watson-Cassell deal doesn’t work salary-wise, but if the Sonics were to include, say, Johan Petro in the deal, it would work. As Cassell’s deal expires at the end of the season, it’s not a huge risk for the Sonics, and the Clippers are in good shape for the future with Watson around to spell Livingston. Plus, Earl gets solid minutes (which he wants). The only difficulty is how Cassell will handle being a reserve. Maybe his pride will be assuaged by playing alongside Lewis, Allen and Durant.

5. MEMPHIS
LIKELIHOOD: Slim. Chucky Atkins is a free agent, so in theory the Grizzlies need to find a replacement, but I think they’re much more likely to find a PG in the draft than via trade. After all, even if they skip a guard in the first round, they can always pick one up with their second-round ...., what’s that? They traded their pick to the Sonics for Lawrence Roberts? Sorry, Memphis, that’s got to hurt. Still, if Mike Conley is sitting there at #4, I think the Grizzlies think long and hard about taking him. If not, the only possible trade pieces are Damon Stoudamire (no) or Stromile Swift (heck no).

6. MIAMI
LIKELIHOOD: None. As badly as the Heat need a point guard, they have no one available on their roster who would help the Sonics.

7. DO NOTHING
LIKELIHOOD: Fair. It’s early still, and the Rashard Lewis situation may come into play, especially if/when the Sonics make a sign-and-trade with their erstwhile free agent.

Of the above scenarios, I really think the Cassell option would prove to be a positive for the team, especially considering the tenuous nature of the Sonics. If this is to be the last chance for the Sonics in Seattle, I would rather see Cassell coming off the bench in the spring than Earl Watson.

Scooter Cleans House!

Frank Hughes reports that new Sonics GM Sam "Scooter" Presti has started making changes in the front office:

The Seattle SuperSonics restructured their front office Tuesday, firing director of player personnel David Pendergraft and head scout Steve Rosenberry, three NBA sources confirmed.

It is expected that new general manager Sam Presti will name Scott Perry, Detroit’s director of player personnel, to the same position with the Sonics, replacing Pendergraft, sources say.

- - - -

Under Pendergraft, the team focused more of its attention on overseas talent, drafting Mouhamed Sene, Yotam Halperin, Johan Petro, Mickael Gelabale, Peter Fehse, Vladimir Radmanovic, Olumide Oyedeji and Josip Sesar since 1999.

Read the rest in the News Tribune.

I guess we won't be drafting Kyrylo Fesenko then, eh?

Speaking of second-rounders we probably shouldn't pick (but probably will anyway), our pal Mike Seely at the Seattle Weekly takes a look at Glen "Big Baby" Davis, because God knows what the Sonics need is a 300-pound small forward with soft hands.