Summer Leagues Finis

Well, the summer leagues are over for another year, and all we have to look forward to is training camp, which is a month or so in the future. Fortunately, the Sonics managed to right their winless ways towards the end of the Rocky Mountain Revue, posting a 2-1 record overall after finishing 0-for-Vegas.

Shockingly, Johan Petro was great on offense throughout the Utah series, scoring 20, 7, and 12 points in the three games, this after a horrific group of games in Las Vegas. The young Frenchman added 25 boards to go with the scoring, putting him at the top echelon of rebounders in the Revue. Mo Sene had one stellar outing, and two not-so-stellar ones. To be fair, I’m only going by boxscores, since the games haven’t been put up on the internet yet, but that’s coming soon.

Quinton Hosley, who we profiled a week ago, had a great outing against the Bulls, but was limited to 6 minutes in the final game with the Mavericks, scoring a remarkable 9 points in that limited time span. Can’t tell you why Q only got that much run. (Got to love when a guy gets 6 FTA in 6 minutes; that's 48 FTA in a full game, for those that are mathematically inclined; for those that are not, that’s one big boatload of FTA).

But you’re wondering, what about Zabian Dowdell? Well, our erstwhile young point guard found himself trapped on the bench for the first two games, before scrambling to the floor in a 9-point, 1-assist effort as the Sonics emptied the bench in the final game.

Dowdell was stuck behind Will Blalock, the former Husky who managed to steer the Sonics in a much more efficient manner than the point guards who preceded him in Vegas. Blalock finished with 16 assists in three games.

In other Sonic news, Andre Brown has signed with the Grizzlies, the Kings are looking at Mike Wilks, Kevin Durant scored 22 points in an intrasquad game of Olympians (which, combined with his efforts during practice, caused Dave McMenamin to label him one of the six or seven best players there), David Locke examines the Kurt Thomas trade, and Nick Collison will be invited to the Olympic mini-camp in August, in Jerry Colangelo’s continuing efforts to find at least one decent white guy to play on the Olympic team.

Sonics Coming to Vancouver?

Here’s another blogger’s reaction to the Thomas trade:

I'm going to try not to get too infuriated by this until we know whether or not there's more to it. Who knows, maybe we're going to get another announcement that they found another (maybe even upgraded) big man to replace KT, and then I'd feel silly for posting a tirade. So for now, I'm going to take a wait and see approach. But if this is all there is to it, I have to say I'm not a happy fan right now.
Bright Side of the Sun

And the complete AP story on the deal (the writer termed Presti’s wheeling and dealing with Rashard Lewis and the subsequent return as “an unexpected windfall.” I think it’s safe to say that’s the nicest thing written about a Sonic GM since Zollie Volchok dealt for Gus Williams and Howard Cosell called it "a humdinger of a deal.").

And, now the meat of this post. The Sonics’ pre-season schedule is out ... and the Sonics are going to play the Suns in Vancouver, BC! Woot!

For a Sonic fan in absentia, this is manna from heaven. I get to watch the Sonics without driving for 2 ½ hours. Bonus Woot! I get to heckle Steve Nash and get dirty looks from Canadians who are constitutionally forbidden from actually accosting anyone! It just doesn’t get any better than that.

Here’s the complete schedule. Any and all are cordially invited to my place on October 26 for the game. Are you 19, a Sonic fan, and desperate for legal alcohol? Come to Vancouver! Do you fancy marijuana cafes and heroin addicts? Come to Vancouver! Ever wonder why Canadians are so obsessed with naming their first-born sons Gord? So am I!

Win, Trade, Petition

New Sonic Kurt Thomas looks to show Collison and crew the ropes.

For a summer following a 31-win season, it’s been pretty active in Sonicland.

As Paul mentioned earlier, Johan Petro and Mo Sene decided to put in their annual “Tempt Us With Your Potential” display yesterday in SLC.

But that effort takes a backseat to two important bits of news.

1. The Sonics have apparently traded their trade exception from the Rashard Lewis deal and a second round pick to Phoenix for Kurt Thomas and two future first-rounders (and, no, neither is the Atlanta pick; you’re not that lucky, Sonic fans).

2. Brian Robinson at sonicscentral has launched a PAC called “A Deal is a Deal” which will begin the process to launch a petition calling for the city of Seattle to hold Clay Bennett and his dust bowl friends to the lease they became a party to when they bought the team.

Phew. That’s a lot to digest. First, the Thomas trade is manna from heaven. The burly center is in the last year of a contract that will pay him $8 million this season, which means the Sonics aren’t on the hook for some Calvin Booth-esque deal. He immediately alleviates the pressure on Robert Swift, helps the team’s interior defense, and makes Petro that much more expendable. Plus, Seattle picks up two future late first-round picks, which they can leverage for something, or hang onto to solidify depth. Beautiful all around for Sam Presti and the team. Kudos to the front office.

As for Brian’s initiative – if you’re a Sonic fan, I don’t see how you don’t get on board with this. The most important paragraph in his story is this:

“If we can recieve [sic] sufficient financial contributions we believe that we can have the required signatures in as little as 3-4 weeks. Checks can be made out to “A Deal is A Deal, PAC” and mailed to 2622 NW Market St., Suite A, Seattle WA 98107”

Honestly, if you’ve ever spent a dime on the Sonics, if you want to see this team stick around for your kids, if you just want to just stick it to Clay Bennett, whatever the case may be, I suggest you drop a check in the mail. This is a huge, David vs Goliath effort and Brian and the Save Our Sonics group can use all the help they can get. Get on board.