For three consecutive seasons, the Seattle brain trust put their faith in a succession of centers who came loaded with promise.
The names of those three players roll off the tongues of Sonic fans like a movie executive recalling failed blockbusters:
Robert Swift. Johan Petro. Mo Sene.
None of the three lived up to the expectations thrust upon them, and the bitter aftertaste of those picks cost Rick Sund his job and left fans here ready to fire a shotgun at the next “promising big man” who walked through the door.
With six picks in this year’s draft, I’ve heard quite a few people comment that they absolutely DO NOT want the Sonics to take a project at center this year, despite the team’s utter lack of talent at the 5 spot. I can understand the sentiment.
I can understand it, but it’s wrong. Yes, Sund’s Follies marched this organization in the wrong direction, and possibly cost fans a shot at seeing a repeat playoff performance (especially when you look at the people Seattle could have drafted with those picks).
But swearing off drafting raw big men because of three failed experiments is a bit like swearing off driving because your first car was a Ford Festiva. Sure, it wasn’t the best car, but why forgo the future possibility of driving a Ferrari because of a couple negative experiences?
The fact is that the NBA is rife with players who came into the league as projects. Just as a quick example, take a look at where these power forwards and centers went in the draft:
Mehmet Okur, 37th
Samuel Dalembert, 26th
Andrei Kirilenko, 24th
Zydrunas Ilgauskas, 20th
Sean Williams, 17th
Do you think Jazz fans were throwing their temple undergarments in the air when they drafted Kirilenko eight years ago? I think not.
But that’s how it works in this league. Sure, it’s easy to find a Tim Duncan or Shaquille O’Neal when you have first crack at the draft, but if you don’t, you have to take a risk and hope that when the cards are turned over you’re looking at Samuel Dalembert rather than Rich King.
And considering that the Sonics aren’t going to be printing playoff tickets for the next couple of seasons, exactly what do we have to lose here?.
The names of those three players roll off the tongues of Sonic fans like a movie executive recalling failed blockbusters:
Robert Swift. Johan Petro. Mo Sene.
None of the three lived up to the expectations thrust upon them, and the bitter aftertaste of those picks cost Rick Sund his job and left fans here ready to fire a shotgun at the next “promising big man” who walked through the door.
With six picks in this year’s draft, I’ve heard quite a few people comment that they absolutely DO NOT want the Sonics to take a project at center this year, despite the team’s utter lack of talent at the 5 spot. I can understand the sentiment.
I can understand it, but it’s wrong. Yes, Sund’s Follies marched this organization in the wrong direction, and possibly cost fans a shot at seeing a repeat playoff performance (especially when you look at the people Seattle could have drafted with those picks).
But swearing off drafting raw big men because of three failed experiments is a bit like swearing off driving because your first car was a Ford Festiva. Sure, it wasn’t the best car, but why forgo the future possibility of driving a Ferrari because of a couple negative experiences?
The fact is that the NBA is rife with players who came into the league as projects. Just as a quick example, take a look at where these power forwards and centers went in the draft:
Mehmet Okur, 37th
Samuel Dalembert, 26th
Andrei Kirilenko, 24th
Zydrunas Ilgauskas, 20th
Sean Williams, 17th
Do you think Jazz fans were throwing their temple undergarments in the air when they drafted Kirilenko eight years ago? I think not.
But that’s how it works in this league. Sure, it’s easy to find a Tim Duncan or Shaquille O’Neal when you have first crack at the draft, but if you don’t, you have to take a risk and hope that when the cards are turned over you’re looking at Samuel Dalembert rather than Rich King.
And considering that the Sonics aren’t going to be printing playoff tickets for the next couple of seasons, exactly what do we have to lose here?.
