Curiouser and Curiouser

Two weeks ago, the Sonics demoted Mo Sene to Idaho, with PJ Carlesimo telling us pinheaded Sonic fans that the reasoning was to get a better read on the alleged “skills” of Francisco Elson and Donyell Marshall.

At the time, I went off and wrote a (in retrospect) overly critical piece about how ridiculous it was to deny time to someone who has a possible future with the franchise so that you can evaluate 30+-year-old players who have already clearly established what their skills are, when clearly those skills are speaking Dutch (Elson) and braiding hair (Marshall).

What happened in the meantime? Well, Mo Sene got hurt playing in Idaho, with an injury that will possibly cost him the opportunity to play in the summer league a couple of months for now.

Oh, and Donyell Marshall, the guy Carlesimo said he “needed to evaluate” in the final weeks of the season? Here are his minute totals per game for the past five games:

0, 10, 7, 0, 0

Marshall is suffering from “right knee soreness,” causing him to miss the past couple of games, but is that really a surprise? And what about the games before that, including the double-overtime game when he played all of seven minutes?

But wait, it gets worse. Apparently, when Francisco Elson was dealt from San Antonio to Seattle in the Kurt Thomas trade, he was told that he would not get much playing time, in that the Sonics were looking to develop their own youngsters (this info thieved from Eric Williams at the TNT). And after getting the start over Johan Petro last night (in the Sonics 103-80 loss to Houston; there’s your game re-cap, folks), this is what Elson told Williams, in regard to receiving the starting nod:

“There’s four games left. I don’t understand it. I mean I didn’t expect [to get regular playing time], but why would you want to do it now? It ain’t like we’re going anywhere.”

I’ve been watching the NBA for 25 years now, and that must be the first time I’ve ever read a player complaining about getting a starting spot. How dumb is this coaching staff, when even their own players think they don’t know what they’re doing?

Honestly, I don’t think Carlesimo is trying to tank the season, and I don’t the think the players are giving any less effort than they were earlier in the year. But this whole idea of giving time to people like Elson and Marshall at the expense of Petro and Sene is just baffling.

At this point, I give up. If anyone can shed light on why the Sonics would go down this road, I’m all ears, because I’m just about done trying to figure out PJ Carlesimo and Sam Presti.

"I am a man possessed!"

Oh what a tangled web we weave,
When first we practice to deceive

—Sir Walter Scott

The Seattle Times is on top of the story, with Jim Brunner explaining how Clay Bennett, Aubrey McClendon, and Tom Ward were excitedly discussing moving the Seattle Sonics to Oklahoma City last April, six months before the October 30 deadline they had given Seattle for coming up with a new arena.

There is plenty to read in the emails (here and here), but I believe everyone would agree the most telling is a missive from Bennett dated April 17, 2007. Bennett was responding to another email from Tom Ward (you remember Ward, the guy who thought the best way to use $1 million was to spend it fighting gay marriage), wherein Ward asked if there was any way possible to relocate the team prior to the 2007 season. Sayeth Bennett:

"I am a man possessed! Will do everything we can. Thanks for hanging with me boys, the game is getting started."

Remember that phrase "do everything we can," because it gets repeated in an email to David Stern, with a slightly different connotation. Bennett's email to Stern came in August, fresh on the heels of the McClendon gaff about the new ownership group always intending to move the team to Oklahoma City. Sayeth Bennett to Stern:

"The deal for me has NEVER changed; we will do all we can in the one year time frame ... to affect the development of a successor venue to KeyArena."

In addition to lying to Seattle, Bennett lied to Stern, telling him that the ownership group had NEVER discussed moving the team to Oklahoma City, when in fact they did just that in the emails from April of that year, four months prior to Bennett telling Stern they never discussed it.

It makes you wonder, if Stern fined McClendon $250,00 for the quote in the Oklahoma City Record, what sort of fine will he impose upon Bennett for his misleading remarks?

But back to the "all we can" remarks. Remember those coaches that told you in high school that giving 100% isn't enough, that you must give 110%? I always wondered how it was physically possible to give more than all you could, it just seemed idiotic to me.

But I stand corrected, because while Clay Bennett was giving "all he could" to keeping the Sonics in Seattle, he was also doing everything he could to move the team to Oklahoma City.

For two years now, we've been searching for a proper nickname for Clay. There's been Clay-Clay, Gay-Clay, Okie, and so on. None have fit properly, but that changed today. From henceforth, only one nickname will fit for Clay Bennett:

Clay "110%" Bennett.

Free Drinks at the Ocean Club

Last night we took a trip down memory lane to revisit the classic Mavs-Sonics series from 1987, back when 120-115 scores were commonplace events in the NBA.

It’s only fitting, then, that we recall the great Sonics-Rockets series which that Mavs series preceeded. After taking the first two games of the series, the Sonics split the next two to make the series 3-2 Seattle, setting up the classic Game 6 finale on a Thursday night in Seattle.

“[Game 6] has to be our best game,” Tom Chambers said after the Sonics lost Game 5 in Houston. ''Because we'd have no chance if we have to come back here for a game seven.”

The subplot for Chambers’ comments was obvious to someone following the series back then, but not to people reading the boxscores now. In addition to the fact the Sonics would be on the road for a game seven, they would also be carrying the baggage provided by Dale Ellis and Kevin Williams, who had mixed it up with off-duty Houston police officers at a local nightclub on a Sunday night following Seattle’s game one win in Texas.

After spending the night in jail, Ellis and Williams returned to the court for game two. Williams was the main cause of the problem (according to bar patrons, he refused to leave his area) but it was Ellis who endured the taunts, including one sign with “Free Drinks at the Ocean Club” written on it. The greatest shooter in Seattle history managed to keep it together enough to continue his torrid outside shooting that had begun in the Dallas series a week earlier (and, yes, I see you raising your hand over there, Ray Allen, but, no, Dale was better) .



With the series on the line, then, game six promised to be a classic, and it was. [Side note: Paul will fondly recall, as I do, that we were let out of band practice early that night so that we could take in the game on television. Back then, teachers had their priorities right.] The magnificent trio of Chambers, Ellis, and Xavier McDaniel put 97 points on the board, but it would take double overtime for the Sonics to overcome Hakeem Olajuwon’s 49 points (!), 25 rebounds (!!), and six blocked shots.

There will be little if any of that excitement tonight, though, and what little excitement to be found will be coming solely from the Rockets, who are in the midst of a dogfight for playoff seeding. Gametime for the matchup is 5:30 Seattle time.

Last Friday, the Sonics dropped a miserable game 79-66 to the Rockets, one of their worst offensive showings in an offensive season. Houston is desperate to gain an edge in the playoff matchups to come, as well as to get their ship a little bit more aligned properly. The line started with the Rockets as 17-point favorites, but that has dropped to 15.

Considering how well the Sonics have played in the past two games, I’d be inclined to take Seattle and the points. But when you factor in this being the second in a back-to-back, well, I think the smart wager is to take the Rockets and give up 15. Final score: Houston 99-Seattle 81.