Prescient Presti

First, the Sonics make a summertime swap of their $8 million trade exception for Phoenix' Kurt Thomas and the Suns' 2008 and 2010 first-round picks.

Then, Shawn Marion made noise about wanting out.

Then, today, we read that Amare Stoudamire had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, keeping him out of basketball action for two weeks (at least).

Let's say the Suns manage to deal Marion (unlikely, I know); they're not getting full value for the guy, right? And let's say Amare takes a little longer to heal, and isn't 100% when he comes back. Those two together have to cost the Phoenix, what, 10 wins this season?

And let's say Steve Nash gets hurt; he's about due for it isn't he? After all, he's not exactly A.C. Green when it comes to durability, and he's a 34-year-old point guard playing on one of the highest-paced offenses in the league. How many games off for Nash this year; 5, 10, 15?

At what point do Suns fans start to panic, and how valuable is that 2008 pick going to be, let alone the 2010 pick, when Nash has ridden off into the sunset, Marion is gone/bitter, and Amare's knees enter their Moses Malone Phase?

Nice work, Mr. Presti.

Monday Tuesday Sonics News

Here are some quick Supersonics hits to start your week (if your week starts on Tuesday):

The Seattle Supersonics are only inviting one non-roster player to training camp this year. His name? Jermaine Jackson!

Last week, the city of Seattle sued the Sonics. This week, season-ticket holders sued the Sonics. Today, the Sonics are taking the city to court. The Sonics may not have a lot of fans this season, but they are making great inroads in one demographic: Lawyers!

But enough about lawsuits, yesterday was Media Day! Where was Supersonicsoul, you ask? Reading about it in the P.I., just like you.

Did we mention Wally Szczerbiak is in the house? Did we mention we don't care?

Friday Wrap-Up

The leaves are changing, the weather is getting colder, and stories about the Sonics are starting to pop up with more frequency in the local papers. Fall is upon us, and basketball season is right behind. Like all northwesterners, seeing summer go away is always a sad time, but knowing that the Sonics are gearing up always eases the pain. (Speaking of which, did I miss summer this year? I understand it was hot everywhere else in North America, but man, those in the PNW sure got screwed in the sunshine department this year).

Back to the wrap-up; Percy Allen has a fine piece on Kevin Durant (Did You Know? Kevin Durant will be throwing out the first pitch at Saturday night's Mariner game. Let's pray that Bill Bavasi doesn't try to trade Durant for a 37-year-old left-handed reliever before KD gets out of Safeco Field).

Gary Washburn outlines the fantastic deal available to 06-07 season-ticket holders. You get to renew your seats and lock in the price for the next three season. No word if that price includes airfare to Oklahoma City, though ...

Eric Williams talks about the Sonics' plan to switch judges in their KeyArena battle. I don't know why the Sonics opted to change judges, and none of the pieces in today's papers have any quotes from the team as to why they were doing this, although Williams does have this cutting quote from the city's Tom Carr:

"This is just one more sign that the Sonics are form shopping. They wanted to arbitrate the case in Denver, and now they want a different judge."

Leave it to Tom Carr to always provide the funniest quote of the day.