Seeing as I have not been to practice in a week and a half I would love to have come away from it with some meaningful material. Sadly I cannot say that I did. In a word the team is testy. I had an opportunity to speak with Bob Weiss, Ray Allen(briefly), and Vladi Radmanovic and unlike normal days there simply was nothing going as far as conversation. I told Vladi in what I felt was a pretty obviously joking tone that I had lost $200 betting on the team’s game against Sacramento and his answer of “That’s your problem.†pretty much summarizes the tone of the day.
The players appeared visibly worn from a hard practice and there was simply a funk over the entire building. I attempted to question players about Thursdays impending trade deadline (this is the first date that players signed in the offseason can be traded), about how player approach trades in general, and about whether this team could use some tweaking. Essentially I just gave up because of the surly attitude and the obvious fact that nobody was in the mood for discussion.
Injuries and Danny Fortson were the notable stories of the day. Nick Collison left midway through today’s workout after taking an elbow to the face that required x-rays. Here’s hoping he returns. Reggie Evans also missed practice with a sore food.
Look for tomorrow’s headlines to focus on Fortson who delivered a highlight reel of controversial comments regarding the leagues officiating, his fouls and suspensions, and Peter Vescey among others. I’ll transcribe the portions I was there for at some point but lets just say that in Danny’s own words he’s “just pissed offâ€, believes the officiating is “a f!cking joke†and that the problem is “an old man with his own agenda or grudges.†Somehow I don’t think Danny is solving any problems with this outburst.
Just as a conversation point this mornings Rocky Mountain News points to Sonics guard Flip Murray as a potential target of the Denver Nuggets who are looking to trade point guard Earl Watson. While it seems somewhat lopsided at first glance I think a trade of Murray, Vitaly Potapenko, and Rick Brunson(for salary purposes) for Watson helps both teams out. The Sonics need a defensive oriented third guard who can consistently play the point guard spot. The Nuggets need scoring out of their SG position and a backup big man to fill in for the injured Kenyon Martin and Nene. While Watson is the best player out of the bunch his contract is a clear negative and the short term deals of Potapenko and Murray may be the best compensation the Nuggets can get for a decent player that they quite simply overpaid for. Unfortunately the Nuggets would need to cut a player or two to facilitate this deal and I’m not quite sure who they would select. I simply throw this out for discussion.