Seriously Mateen may be the man again. Word is we could look to sign him for the final 4 games.
Chalk me up as firmly against this move. While I am an unabashed Mateen Cleaves fan(You have to talk to the guy to get this one) he is actually familiar enough with our system, and a decent enough talent that he could come in and win a game for us. DAMN HIS CHILDLIKE ENTHUSIASM FOR THE GAME!!! Not what I'm looking for at this point.
There is simply no way to hurt a team more than to decimate the PG position. I like to refer to it as "The Rick Brunson Effect". Losing both Earl and Luke, combined with the loss of Ray Allen makes our PG position in particular, and our guard corps in general ridiculously thin. My hope is for a starting backcourt of Mike Gelabale and Damien Wilkens. Come to think of it I pointed out the team interest in Gelly at the PG a couple of weeks ago...
Seriously we need to lose all 4 games. Charlotte ends the season with matchups against Milwaukee and NY. If they split one of those we jump from #6 in the lottery to #5. That 5 spot is key as the number of ping pong balls jumps by like 30%.
Percy Allen goes out of his way to give props to the Sonics for wrapping up the Arena site but this article, much like some of the criticism which preceded it is largely unwarranted. For those in the know securing the Arena site is old news, has been in the works for a long time. There was never any doubt. My understanding is that Harvest Partners immediately recognized that the development of the Events Center would reap huge dividends for their adjacent property. They have loved this idea since day one and this simply formalizes the arrangement.
Word from Arena proponents is that things are really picking up steam in all areas acccept one. Christine Gregoire is becoming more involved and members of both houses of state government are coming on board. One source went so far as to tell me he felt very confidend that the bills would pass in both houses if a vote were taken today. The problem? Frank Chopp. This guy is determined to put the breaks on things and so far has been unwilling to bring the bill to a vote. I was not aware of this system but apparently the speaker of the house is the only person who can put a bill up for vote or not. He has unchecked power to simply stall. If you know where he lives please TP his house. If not just keep sending mail. If you know anyone in his district, or in Spokane encourage them to do the same.
The draft is really starting to deepen with Julian Wright declaring and word this morning that Durant has hired Aaron Goodwin. All we need now is for Darren Collison and Mike Conley to go pro and suddenly a couple of really good prospects start to shift down to that #30 pick we stole from Memphis.
Lets assume that the SuperSonics pick #5 and start brainstorming our rebuilding plans for the offseason. Mine center around 2 players who basically earn max salaries and are targets for a 2-3 for 1 trade.
First of all Jermaine O'Neal who may or may not be available. I would propose offering Ray Allen and Chris Wilcox to the Pacers for O'Neil and assume that they would try to force us to take Jamaal Tinsley back in the deal. Even if we had to offer a future pick, or possibly Johan Petro in this deal I do it to acquire a legitimate, top teir frontcourt player. Despite his injuries and contract O'Neil is a warrior and IMO a perfect piece to pair with Rashard Lewis. In a perfect world O'Neil is paired with Greg Oden or Kevin Durant to remake our franchise instantly. If we remain at #5 I look to draft Al Horford, Corey Brewer, or Mike Conley, possibly trading down a couple of spots to land a player and Acie Law. Here's my perfect world. Seattle trades the #5 overall pick to Minnesotta for the #11(based on current records) and Randy Foye. It would obviously depend on who was available and Minny being so infatuated with a player that they are willing to give up a solid young lotto pick.
Second on my list is Mike Bibby. I'm not a huge Bibby fan but the facts are that he would be an upgrade at PG. He's in the prime of his career and has orchestrated deep playoff runs. Again Chris Wilcox is the guy I send for him, paired with Earl Watson or possibly Luke Ridnour if they can make the contracts work. Drafting a big to replace Wilcox with names such as Horford or Noah available I think you wind up with a pretty deep roster. Hopefully the Swift/Petro/Sene trifecta shows improvement and starts reaping dividends. This scenario, like above gets much better if you land one of the top 3 picks.
What are your thoughts and ideas?