It appears Mo Sene fans will have to wait an entire year before seeing him lace up his shoes for the Sonics.
The Senegalese center made great strides in the D-League this season, but that achievement has been tainted with news late yesterday that he underwent microfracture surgery on Monday, the same surgery which sabotaged Greg Oden's chances at glory this season.
Sene was already under the knife for a tear in his right knee when doctors found out about the additional injury.
Friday, April 18
Thursday, April 17
Non-Arena News
Just to remind us all that this is a basketball team we're following, and not a conglomeration of lawyers and court cases, a bit of on-court news to report:
1. Scott Perry will not return as the Sonics' Asst. General Manager next year, having taken a position with Detroit Pistons, from whence he came to the Sonics a year ago. Perry is expected to be named the VP of Basketball Operations for the Pistons.
2. Gary Washburn reports in the PI that Sam Presti failed to confirm - not once, but twice - that PJ Carlesimo will return as the Sonics' head coach next season. I'll allow you to read Washburn's piece to get the rest of the story, but the bigger question is, Does it mean anything?
Perhaps not. After all, Carlesimo is a big enough boy to be able to withstand a few days or weeks of uncertainty, so it's not as though he'll be anxiously awaiting every text message and phone call he receives in the next little while.
On the other hand, Presti can't be terribly enthused with how the season went, especially the way in which the team seemed to tune out their coach and go on early vacation in numerous games in the second half of the season.
The franchise's utter lack of certainty in any aspect of its existence has more than a little to do with that, of course, but shouldn't Carlesimo's avowed dedication to defense shown up on the court at some point this year?
Luckily for PJ, both Kevin Durant and Jeff Green showed improvement in their games as the season went on, for if those two keys to the team's future failed to show any increase in skills after 82 games under Carlesimo, then that might have been it for the long-time assistant.
One other aspect to consider, naturally, is Gary Washburn's obvious disdain for the entire situation. It's only human nature to grow weary of a lousy situation, and covering the Sonics this year was a lousy situation no matter how you looked at it. GW, perhaps inheriting the Bitter Baron title from the since-departed Frank Hughes at the TNT, seemed to take the Sonics' failures down the stretch more than a little too close to heart, and his frustration at the season may have played a role in the quotes he obtained.
1. Scott Perry will not return as the Sonics' Asst. General Manager next year, having taken a position with Detroit Pistons, from whence he came to the Sonics a year ago. Perry is expected to be named the VP of Basketball Operations for the Pistons.
2. Gary Washburn reports in the PI that Sam Presti failed to confirm - not once, but twice - that PJ Carlesimo will return as the Sonics' head coach next season. I'll allow you to read Washburn's piece to get the rest of the story, but the bigger question is, Does it mean anything?
Perhaps not. After all, Carlesimo is a big enough boy to be able to withstand a few days or weeks of uncertainty, so it's not as though he'll be anxiously awaiting every text message and phone call he receives in the next little while.
On the other hand, Presti can't be terribly enthused with how the season went, especially the way in which the team seemed to tune out their coach and go on early vacation in numerous games in the second half of the season.
The franchise's utter lack of certainty in any aspect of its existence has more than a little to do with that, of course, but shouldn't Carlesimo's avowed dedication to defense shown up on the court at some point this year?
Luckily for PJ, both Kevin Durant and Jeff Green showed improvement in their games as the season went on, for if those two keys to the team's future failed to show any increase in skills after 82 games under Carlesimo, then that might have been it for the long-time assistant.
One other aspect to consider, naturally, is Gary Washburn's obvious disdain for the entire situation. It's only human nature to grow weary of a lousy situation, and covering the Sonics this year was a lousy situation no matter how you looked at it. GW, perhaps inheriting the Bitter Baron title from the since-departed Frank Hughes at the TNT, seemed to take the Sonics' failures down the stretch more than a little too close to heart, and his frustration at the season may have played a role in the quotes he obtained.
Bennett on the Attack
No matter your opinion on the ongoing saga between Clay Bennett, David Stern, and the City of Seattle, you cannot disagree with the sentiment that this situation has become much, much more difficult than either of the first two parties anticipated.
Whether you believe Seattle is reaping the fruits of years of ignoring the “problems” with the KeyArena lease, or if you believe Bennett is fully within his rights to pick up and move the Sonics, you must also believe that Clay Bennett – and David Stern right alongside him - is sweating bullets these days.
How can I be so sure? Because people who are convinced they are going to win court cases do not start slinging wild accusations in federal court, that’s why.
Bennett’s lawyers filed motions in Federal District Court on Wednesday, a number of which are sealed at the present time, but the motions in essence question the integrity of the City of Seattle, whether the city truly is revealing the true cost of the remodeling of KeyArena, and whether there is collusion between the proposed ownership group and the city. (You can find the a PDF links here).
Looking at the documents, you can only come to one conclusion – this entire situation is going to give the National Basketball Association a black eye unlike anything it has ever seen. Already, months before the court date, acrimonious charges are being bandied about, by both sides. From the city:
“When the current owners bought the Sonics, the NBA required ... that the new owners make ‘good faith best efforts’ for a year to keep the Sonics in the Seattle area. ... In the midst of the ‘good faith best efforts’ period, the owners deceived the NBA about their actions and true intentions, which from the outset were to move the Sonics to Oklahoma City. As an apparent result of this deception, the NBA began taking the new owners’ side by endorsing their claims about the Lease and KeyArena.”and
“The NBA refuses to produce responsive documents [the city was referring to financial records pertaining to profit and loss] ... The NBA cannot involve itself in the events underlying the litigation and simultaneously refuse to provide necessary discovery.”And on and on. Further, reading Mayor Greg Nickels’ deposition, and the adversarial tone taken by Bennett’s attorney, you can only imagine how the events will proceed in court, when Slade Gorton and his crew get the opportunity to cross-examine Clay Bennett and David Stern.
Nope, Brian Robinson was right all along – the NBA doesn’t want anything to do with a court case, and the city – as well as the rest of us, now – knows it.
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