<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">It would be disastrous if this new ownership fails to come to terms with Wilcox. Should Wilcox elect to accept the teams qualifying offer and enter into free agency next season the fans of this community may in fact write off ownership as unwilling to compete before they have any chance to prove otherwise. The reasons for and against re-signing Wilcox are becoming very apparent. While attending the Rocky Mountain Review earlier this month it became clear that complaints of Wilcox? work ethic are very well justified. Multiple sources including players who had joined Wilcox in previous Clippers? training camps cited examples of Wilcox clashing with Clippers Head Coach Mike Dunleavy over conditioning related issues. One source went so far as to say that prior to last season Dunleavy had told Wilcox in no uncertain terms that if he reported out of shape for his third consecutive season that the team would not play him. When he reported again with no signs of off season improvement or conditioning the team held to their word and limited him to 13mpg before trading him to Seattle in February. Wilcox has reportedly been out of contact with the team this offseason and the Sonics are leery of investing big money or a long term guarantee into a player who does not show the level commitment this organization expects. Furthermore a significant extension to Wilcox could restrict their ability to come to agreements with Nick Collison and Luke Ridnour, both of whom are notoriously dedicated offseason workers. Wilcox? camp however can point out the obvious PR pitfalls presented should the two fail to come to terms. Also NBA teams continue to set atrocious examples as marginal players such as Nene and Al Harrington both look to be receiving contracts in the range of $10 million per year. Wilcox possesses all the physical tools to be better than either of those players and arguably should be paid on a par with them. Multiple sources close to the situation indicate that a deal with Wilcox may be in place soon. Prior to the ownership change the Sonics had held firm in their contract offer which was far less than some would expect. It is believed that the 6?10 PF has some concerns regarding his reputation around the league and that he is unwilling to take the gamble that he can receive a large contract next season. Since the ownership change every indication I have received points to the fact that the organization does understand the significance of this move from a public relations perspective. While they are hesitant to greatly overpay based solely on fan desires both sides seem to feel that a short term contract can address Wilcox? desire to get paid without having long term consequences. Thus the team may be willing to overpay for a 3 year contract, or settle upon a more reasonable 5 year contract in order to get the deal done. </div> http://sonicscentral.com/blog/?p=737
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Sir Desmond:</div><div class="quote_post">http://sonicscentral.com/blog/?p=737</div> This guy really showed that he should be playing when he was with the Clips. Scary game he has!! They BETTER sign him, if not, it will be a huge loss for them. Whoa nelly! Meant to say when we was traded to the Sonics!!!!!! Man! With guys moving around so much these days it's hard to keep up. Anyways, cool to see the Sonics are signing him. They need him badly.
Yes, but there was a reason he wasn't getting PT even over Kaman at C in 04-05, and it's not because he wasn't talented.
Jayda Evans in the times further hints at the rumour...must be all but done to be leaking so well... <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">There's also word that the Sonics will announce the signing of forward Chris Wilcox, who made a strong impression when he was traded from the Los Angeles Clippers for Vladimir Radmanovic. It is rumored that Wilcox signed a three-year deal</div>
We (they?) gotta do what we gotta do, but this doesn't make me happy: <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">While attending the Rocky Mountain Review earlier this month it became clear that complaints of Wilcox? work ethic are very well justified. Multiple sources including players who had joined Wilcox in previous Clippers? training camps cited examples of Wilcox clashing with Clippers Head Coach Mike Dunleavy over conditioning related issues. One source went so far as to say that prior to last season Dunleavy had told Wilcox in no uncertain terms that if he reported out of shape for his third consecutive season that the team would not play him. When he reported again with no signs of off season improvement or conditioning...</div> Pro athlete can't hit the gym 3 x week and do some running in the off season?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Roland Hood:</div><div class="quote_post">We (they?) gotta do what we gotta do, but this doesn't make me happy: Pro athlete can't hit the gym 3 x week and do some running in the off season?</div> Hmmm..I've never seen him out of shape, he's built like a tank, lean & mean & never huffing & puffing.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Sir Desmond:</div><div class="quote_post">Apparently the contract is heavily incentive based.</div> Smart! I know if I was a GM, that's the only way I would do it. The players would put more into their off-season training & during as well. They would be more focused because of it.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting LRVBADASSBALLIN:</div><div class="quote_post">Hmmm..I've never seen him out of shape, he's built like a tank, lean & mean & never huffing & puffing.</div> Well we all don't see the details of training camp. Him being built does not mean he's in shape, you can stay looking muscular all year, but cardio and conditioning wise, you can be out of shape. Also he won't huff and puff, but you see the lack of conditioning when he's missing defensive assignments because he's using defense to rest, or being lazy in terms of boxing out or getting rebounds because of the same reason.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting og15:</div><div class="quote_post">Well we all don't see the details of training camp. Him being built does not mean he's in shape, you can stay looking muscular all year, but cardio and conditioning wise, you can be out of shape. Also he won't huff and puff, but you see the lack of conditioning when he's missing defensive assignments because he's using defense to rest, or being lazy in terms of boxing out or getting rebounds because of the same reason.</div> Maybe he's like that during pre, but season time he's a gamer!
what's the big deal? jerome james used to play himself into shape and he was ready to go by the time the first round of the playoffs two years ago.
Times reporting 3 year $24M for Wilcox. Neither side will officially confirm. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">"Nothing has been finalized," Fried said. "We want to conclude [contract talks] as soon as possible so Chris can get with a team and begin preparing for the season." Sund declined to discuss the negotiations in detail, but said: "We've had dialogue this week, but nothing has really changed and no agreement has been reached."</div>
I want this to be over with but I am hoping that we don't overspend for Weezy. I am more interested in being able to save money for guys like Collison and Swift to get paid than I am about abandoning them just for the sake of signing Wilcox. I said in an earlier thread that I don't think that Chris will get a contract that exceeded 8 million dollars per year but I am now leaning toward extending a contract that does not exceed 7 million dollars per year. Wilcox is a great young talent but he hasn't proven that he can be counted on for an entire 82 game season--let alone the duration of his contract. He has many holes in his game both offensively and defensively and I would like for him to continue to be motivated to improve in those areas--instead of the alternative if he is truly only motivated by money. I know that Wilcox does not want to go for a 3 year 21 million dollar deal but I almost feel that we should play hard ball with him b/c we are going to have a bunch of free agents next year that are all going to be expecting pay raises (w/ the exception of Fortson). Lewis, Collison, Ridnour, Fortson, and possibly Wilcox will all be free agents next season and I don't want to lose all four of them b/c we gave too much of the pie to Wilcox. I hope that this gets done soon b/c if it doesn't than Wilcox will be signing a qualifying offer.
