It's NBA Draft time!

The NBA Draft is about to start, and the Durant Era is almost upon us. Discuss the draft here.

Also, Pete and I will be representing the Sonics on ESPN.com. Check it out!

UPDATE: Good news: It looks like the ESPN page is finally up. Bad news: they forgot to credit Nussbaum for his quote (the "reaction" quote is his).

Rumors

Another rumor to report about Luke Ridnour.

In addition to the Ridnour to Atlanta deal for the #11 pick, now there is talk of the Bucks offering to take the former Duck off the Sonics' hands. This rumor is courtesy of SI's Ian Thomsen.

Thomsen also sheds some light on the Ray Allen to Boston deal. Rather than the #5 and Theo Ratliff for Allen, it would be Wally Szerbiak (no!) and Delonte West and the #5 for Allen. The Sonics were holding out to replace West with Rajon Rondo, which makes the deal slightly more palatable, but Danny Ainge was insisting on Robert Swift, which the Sonics didn't want to do.

Again, this is all rumor, and like any good game of telephone, this is probably nothing. But it's worth knowing, just to see what the market will bear for an all-star shooting guard making $17 million a season.

Back to the Future

It’s been a long time, folks, since the Sonics have mattered to this city. Back in the spring of 1998, the Sonics were fresh off a disappointing loss to the Lakers in the second round of the playoffs. George Karl was given the boot for his repeated playoff failures (replaced by Paul Westphal, who was replaced by Nate McMillan, who was replaced by Bob Weiss ... ) and the Sonics selected a teenager from Texas; a 6’9” skinny freak who could shoot 3’s, dunk, and rebound.

Nine years later, and the Sonics have been on a mediocrity treadmill ever since. The hype surrounding this team has rivaled that of a FOX replacement sitcom airing in the summer.

That skinny freak turned out to be Rashard Lewis, who may well be spending his last few hours as a Sonic as we speak. In less than three hours, the Sonics will add the most highly anticipated player to their roster in franchise history. Oden? Durant? Most likely it’s Durant, and that’s just fine with us. Here’s what it means:

- The playoffs are no longer a remote possibility.
- The Sonics will be on national television. If Cleveland can be on with LBJ and a cast of anonymous role players, then Seattle with Kevin and the Durantians will surely qualify.
- Someone other than Chris Wilcox will throw down an exciting dunk.
- It doesn’t matter anymore if Robert Swift shows improvement.
- Sonics-Blazers games just shifted from Oregon State v Washington State to Washington v Oregon.

I haven’t gotten too enthusiastic about Durant before today, since it truly seemed that Portland might go sideways and take Oden. That still might happen, but it sure seems now that the likelihood is more along 80-20 than the 50-50 it seemed a few weeks ago.

Even more amazing is the feeling that the Durant pick will only be a slice of cheese in a massive Sandwich of Change to come. Lewis, the Sonics’ most-tenured player, an all-star who has averaged 20 ppg for 3 consecutive seasons, is likely out the door as well. Ray Allen, the best Seattle shooting guard since Gus Williams, may be gone. Luke Ridnour, the darling of Howard Schultz, is reported to be heading for Atlanta for a draft pick.

It’s an awful lot for a Sonic fan to digest at once, and when you throw in the whole Muckleshoot Casino-built stadium, Clay Bennett’s Cheney-esque tactics with the city, the lack of a head coach, a thirtysomething general manager ... whew, that’s an awful lot for anyone to digest.

I think I’m ready for Friday. Let’s get it on!