<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Sonics give Wilcox qualifying offerBy GARY WASHBURNP-I REPORTERBefore the Sonics began paring down their list of potential selections for the NBA draft on Wednesday, they took care of some critical business.The Sonics' window for offering Chris Wilcox a qualifying offer began a day after the Miami Heat won the NBA title, and on Friday club management submitted its offer to Wilcox, the forward who will command major free-agent attention. The offer gives the Sonics the right to match any offer Wilcox will receive from other clubs, and he can begin fielding those on July 1. Wilcox averaged 14.1 points and 8.2 rebounds in 29 games after being acquired from the Clippers. A team that could emerge as the Sonics' primary competition is the Memphis Grizzlies.The Sonics have to decide whether they will pay Wilcox's expected asking price of $8 million to $10 million per season. The 6-foot-10 forward doesn't turn 24 until September and could be one of the team's cornerstones if he re-signs.Of course, the Sonics would prefer to know if Wilcox will return before Wednesday's draft, but that won't happen. So the team has been focusing on power forwards and shooting guards for the 10th pick.General manager Rick Sund, coach Bob Hill and director of personnel David Pendergraft worked out 24 players in the past week.Among those at Furtado Center were North Carolina State forward Cedric Simmons, who is considered a Reggie Evans-type player with plenty of physical talent; Connecticut center Hilton Armstrong; Arkansas forward Ronnie Brewer; and Memphis forward Rodney Carney. That quartet could be in the mix for the 10th pick.Several of the players the Sonics auditioned this week were targeted for the 40th pick, including Michigan State forward Paul Davis, UCLA center Ryan Hollins, San Diego State forward Marcus Slaughter, California forward Leon Powe, George Washington forward Pops Mensah Bonsu and Illinois guard Dee Brown. Urkraine forward Oleksiy Pecherov and Yotam Halperin of Israel also worked out.</div> Should be interesting to see if Seattle will match the offer...
