I've said it before, I'll say it again, all hail the funkalicious Kevin Pelton for bringing you the scoop.
Awesome Rashard Lewis Interview
No matter what happens in terms of an extension, Lewis made it clear he wants to remain with the Sonics - for good.
"Regardless of if I sign an extension or not, I can still be here the rest of my career," Lewis said. "I don't know what the Sonics would be thinking if I didn't sign an extension. I don't know if they'll be thinking they could lose me as a player, because I would love to finish my career here in Seattle."
Man this is a great piece. The only thing that's missing is where Rashard says he came here to kick ass and chew bubblegum, and he's all out of bubblegum.
As I told you yesterday, Shaq hates the new ball. Apparently some of the Sonics don't like it much either. I say we put Kobe's face on the thing, that ought to solve the problem.
The Sonics began using the ball in the summer during pick-up games. Of the seven players who were asked about the new ball, five gave it a favorable review and two were non-committal.
But, from at the bottom:
Noel Felix is drawing interest from Real Madrid. The 6-foot-9 forward played sparingly with the Sonics last season and was invited to training camp.
You do what you gotta do, Noel. We wish you well regardless if you stay or go.
Petro Disappointed in International Play Experience
Petro expressed disappointment about lack of playing time, playing the fewest minutes (64) of any player on the 12-man team. The 7-foot center averaged 2.7 points in nine games as France finished fifth in the competition.
"It was kind of hard because I was playing for the Sonics, and there, I thought I would play more than I did," he said. "It was my first international competition, but I was disappointed."
Johan was too polite to mention he was playing for the French version of George Karl. :D
There's some arena news in the same link. Firms are being hired, sites are being analyzed, etc. etc. etc.
Gary Washburn also writes a Lewis story in today's P-I.
"Here's the thing, he can dribble, he has the skills, he has to develop the confidence to do it under pressure," Hill said. "I am going to go to him more. I am going to get him the ball more. He is the first option in the early offense so far."
During practice at Furtado Center on Tuesday, Hill called for Lewis to run a pick-and-roll play, a first for the 6-foot-10 forward. On pick-and-rolls, Lewis will be able to choose whether he wants to come off a screen and take the ball to the basket or pull up for a medium-range jumper.
I'm real interested to see how that's going to work. If Lewis can run pick n' roll effectively he's going to be pretty tough to stop. In theory he should be able to draw a ton of fouls on drives to the hoop and should be able to score at will off picks.
[Lewis] has always been comfortable as a complement instead of the main weapon, but he realizes that has to change.
"I know I have to be more vocal this season," he said. "I don't have any problem with that. That will start in training camp. I don't have a problem being a leader on this team and calling for the ball in the fourth quarter.
"I have been in the league for nine years now, and I want to get to that next level."
Frank Hughes has apparently gone back to his stir the pot role. I'm going to call this dispatch What About Nick?
“I want to get minutes at (center), but I also know they want to play those guys a lot,†Collison acknowledged. “So that is a concern of mine. If I am backing up the (power forward), how many minutes am I going to play?â€
Lest you think he bitches throughout the whole article, not true:
“Vladimir got upset with it, got frustrated with it,†Collison said. “You can avoid it by not worrying about that. Look at it as your job and coming to work every day, not worrying about things you can’t control.
“It is an important year. It definitely is. I want to be prepared to play and be aggressive, not settle for disappearing at times. Try to be one of the guys who is really important to the team. The rest of the league will see that, and then at the end of the year I am not really worried about it.â€
Nick is a very cool guy. I hope we find a way to keep him around, because I think he's a real underrated player. He's not as dynamic as a Wilcox or a Stoudemire but he IS the kind of player good teams keep around.
Thanks to SSFan4Life who posted the following link from Media Day yesterday. Dude, the shots of Robert and Gelabale alone are priceless ... Sonics are gonna be the All-Hair team this season.
Off-Topic: From the "No sh*t, Sherlock" File.
Hey, where are Citizens For More Important Things when you need them? How much money got flushed down these johns?
Have a great day!