<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">An NBA agent told me over the weekend that Nate McMillan is sky-high on Shareef Abdur-Rahim. If McMillan ends up in Cleveland, I wouldn't be surprised to see Shareef go there. Or wherever it is that McMillan ends up. McMillan, whose contract expires at the end of season, has been linked with the coaching vacancies in New York, Orlando, Cleveland and Minnesota</div> <font size="1">Courtesy of John Canzano and the Oregonian</font> We seem to be linked with him every season, and he won't be back in Portland, but surely Nate wouldn't go after him? If there was ever a time we were going to get him while McMillan was in charge was when he was wanting out of Atlanta and we were wanting a power forward. There is no place for him now.
No, no, no, no, no, no, NO! They don't need him. He doesn't want to play the three, he is undersized at the four, and his game doesn't suit the current Sonics offense. He has a nice post game, can hit the midrange jumper and does a nice job on the boards. He isn't signing with any team to come off the bench. The Sonics won't have the money to sign him if they get Ray, and if they don't they are better spending their money elsewhere based on their needs. No sign and trades with Portland either. I like 'reef, but come on...he just doesn't fit here. Ok, I am done whining.
Who at power forward in Seattle is actually better than SAR? I don't see why you are moaning to be honest. Shareef is a the kind of guy that the Sonics need in the post. It would at least make the frontcourt look far more respectable. Evans and James is a very good duo for energy and playing you rought but for offense and rebounding combined? I don't see It. If you can get SAR at the MLE then you have to go for It.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting AllNet:</div><div class="quote_post">Who at power forward in Seattle is actually better than SAR? I don't see why you are moaning to be honest. Shareef is a the kind of guy that the Sonics need in the post. It would at least make the frontcourt look far more respectable. Evans and James is a very good duo for energy and playing you rought but for offense and rebounding combined? I don't see It. If you can get SAR at the MLE then you have to go for It.</div> He is a good low post player. At 6'9" he is undersized for the position in a western conference with Tim Duncan: 7', Kevin Garnett: 6'11", Dirk Nowitki: 7', Pau Gasol: 7', and Troy Muphy: 6'11". He does not have the power game of Brand, Randolph, or Martin who offset their size with strength. Rahim is a finesse post player. He is smooth, smart and quick. Lewis gives the Sonics that when he plays in the post and gives more speed, athleticism and better shooting as well. The Sonics need at the four is for a hard nosed defender who can set screens and rebound. They have that in Collison, Evans and Fortson. It is not a matter of having someone "better" at the four. It is a matter of whether his game is the right fit to be a BIG ticket free agent for this team. Rahim will cost too much for the Sonics unless he is replacing Ray Allen, and that would be a mistake. The current offense and defense of the Sonics is built around the core players. To replace Allen's salary with Rahim's would cause a full rework of the offense and defense, force trades for overlapping players at multiple positions and make the Sonics a mediocre team with a bad mix of talented players rather than a good team with serviceable players, good players and a star. It would make them Portland without the rap sheets. Rahim would be a great fit in Sacramento, Houston, or several teams on the East coast. Don't get me wrong, I like his game. I just don't think that it is a good fit for Seattle.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting AllNet:</div><div class="quote_post">Who at power forward in Seattle is actually better than SAR? I don't see why you are moaning to be honest. Shareef is a the kind of guy that the Sonics need in the post. It would at least make the frontcourt look far more respectable. Evans and James is a very good duo for energy and playing you rought but for offense and rebounding combined? I don't see It. If you can get SAR at the MLE then you have to go for It.</div> If we can get him for the MLE that's different, but why would he come here for that? Plenty of teams need a power forward and can guarantee him a starting role and bigger minutes than we could. Rick Sund has made it clear that this team is being built for the future. Given Nick Collison's progress made in the season just gone, going after a guy like Reef would make no sense. Unless Nate would play Reef at the four and Nick at the five.
I wouldn't consider bringing in Shareef b/c his game is rather one dimensional and he needs to get consistent touches to be effective. We haven't had problems scoring this year b/c our offense aloud for the floor to be spread out. Shareef seems like the type that would slow the game down for us b/c of his laboring post moves. I don't think that his inside scoring is worth us changing the dynamic of our offense. It's amazing how Nate is being linked with every open job in the league when teams are not allowed to negotiate with him until after June 30. Right now the only team that can offer Nate a deal is the Sonics, and considering how this year played out, I guarantee that the offer will be made. The only question is how much will the offer be for? I've heard that Howard has offered Sund a contract that pays less than his last one. If Howard is willing to low ball the lieutenant in his army, that is a tell tale sign that no one is going to be offered a contract that exceeds their market value. This team is losing too much money and I believe that Howard will be content with going into next season claiming that the nucleus of the roster are the few holdovers from last season.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Iron Shiek:</div><div class="quote_post"> I've heard that Howard has offered Sund a contract that pays less than his last one. If Howard is willing to low ball the lieutenant in his army, that is a tell tale sign that no one is going to be offered a contract that exceeds their market value. This team is losing too much money and I believe that Howard will be content with going into next season claiming that the nucleus of the roster are the few holdovers from last season.</div> I think Sund got lowballed because Wally decided that he really does the GM job still anyway since he holds final decision on all player moves. Sund wants to be the man and Wally just wants a smile face to sit in the chair and do what he's told. You can't really afford to lowball Nate too much...though I do believe his family situation and Sonic "love" may allow them some sort of the oft talked about Seattle "discount."
When Abdur-Rahim played in Atlanta, I think he led the league in getting his shot blocked. Didn't stop him from getting 20-10, just thought it was a funny stat.
