According to the Seattle Times, we worked out Huskies guards Nate Robinson and Curtis Allen, Araujo, Marcus Moore from Washington St., UCLA's Trevor Ariza, Ok St's swingman Tony Allen, Missouri's Arthur Johnson and Miah davis of Pacific. No word on how these went, as of yet.
That's some conflicting stuff for me... on one hand I love Nate Robinson and I think he could bring alot to the Sonics in a year or two. On the other hand I know he is not ready for the NBA and he should take advantage of a longer tenure at U-Dub. As for the other guys...Araujo is really the only guy that would be considered at the 12 pick. Curtis Allen likely won't be drafted and the rest are late 1st round to 2nd.
Curtis was worked out? I should have asked him how it went when I was talking to him last week...I had no idea. He won't be drafted, though. I don't know if he was holding back when we played, but he couldn't even dominate a pick-up game. Nate dominated, but...Luke Ridnour comes out of the game, replaced by Nate Robinson? I don't think I like that idea. Small to smaller. Araujo and Allen are the only players I see in the list that have a shot of being picked up by the Sonics. Allen could be the defensive guard we need.
Here are a couple more rumours, to add to that big one I posted earlier. From Sam Smith: Ray Allen and the #12 pick to Chicago for Eddy Curry, Antonio Davis and the #3 pick. From Chad Ford: Rashard Lewis, Vlad Radmanovic, Flip Murray and the #12 to Chicago for Curry, Jerome Williams and the #3.
More workouts: Kris Humphries from Minnesota, Pape Sow from Cal State Fullarton, David Harrison from Colorado and Adam Prada of UC-Irvine. I am not too big on Harrison, but Humphries could go up the draft board after his official measurements were around 6'10 in shoes.
I'm pretty close to settling on one of either Kris Humphries or Al Jefferson. Simply, I don't think we can adequately address the need of a center in this draft. We'll be reaching for pretty much anything. Humphries and Jefferson have measured in at '6"10 a piece, with shoes... so a frontcourt of Collison and Kris/Al wouldn't be out of the question from time to time (obviously not our starting frontcourt, though). I'm a believer in competition theory, put these guys up against eachother and hopefully a star (or two, touch wood) evolve. I know there is the Lewis/Radman precedent, but I think the character of Collison and these two is on another level in regard to determination. I should also add this is reliant on us keeping Ray, and running with what we've got... Otherwise we may trade for a big and draft small/project C. Obviously we still need to address the issue of a starting center, we could look at a trade package (Flip + a SF?) or a Bones S&T. Obviously we're not going to inherit a world-beater, but don't underestimate the benefit of adding a piece to the puzzle. Erick Dampier, Keon Clark or Mark Blount would suit me just fine. Even we give the MLE to someone like the latter two over the course of 2 or 3 seasons, I'm a lot more comfortable with that than our current situation. A S&T for Dampier would be complicated, but we could do something as per last year's Miller deal where we throw say Flip and Radman to a 3rd party, who gives a player or two to Golden State (Chandler?). Thus, with no major overhaul, we look like this in 04-05: Point Guard: Luke Ridnour Shooting Guard: Ray Allen Small Forward : Rashard Lewis Power Forward : Nick Collison Center: Erick Dampier/Keon Clark/Mark Blount Benchy McBenchwarmers: Antonio Daniels Kris Humpries/Al Jefferson Ansu Sesay Tony Allen (2nd rounder) Herve Lamizana (2nd rounder) (Flip Murray, if untraded) What I like about this plan is that we're hedging out bets. Ray Allen and any of those three options at the 5 won't give us too many more years, but they should be able to get us back into the play-offs in combination with that bevy of young talent. If it ultimately doesn't work out, 'Shard, Ridnour, Collison and our 04 draftee is not a bad talent pool to fall back on, if I do say so myself.
^ Interesting, Humphries and Jefferson may go up the draft board after their official measurements, although I still have a few questions about Jefferson at this level. Would be a long term project, and if Perovic is available I'd probably rather go down that route. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Before the pullout deadline, Martin still has time for a West Coast trip. During Martin's "invitation-only" workout Wednesday in Chicago, team officials from Seattle told the Citizen-Times they wanted to bring Martin in for a private workout against another top prospect. Though the clock is ticking, Martin said he wouldn't make a decision about that trip until later in the weekend. The first day that the NBA allows individual workouts after the NBA pre-draft camp in Chicago is Tuesday. "It's going to depend on how interested they (West Coast teams) are," Martin said. "If they are looking to use their first-round pick on me, I'll go. Anything beyond that, I won't."</div> <font size="1">Full Story courtesy of Citizen Times, via Hoops Hype.</font> That's Kevin Martin btw, a junior out of Western Carolina. I could only see us taking him with our first second rounder at 36, unless we are planning on trading down to the bottom of the first round.
Please, do not dismiss Flip as just a tradeable commodity. He is only making 600K next season and whoever we would get for him (for that price) we would definitely be getting the worst of the deal. I'd feel more comfortable resigning Flip this summer than giving Ray a maximum (or somewhere close to it) contract extension. At this point Flip could easily be signed to a multi year contract for less than 4 or 5 million dollars a year. Considering that there wasn't that big of a discrepancy when Ray started as opposed to when Flip was getting starters' minutes, I think that it should be Ray that we are shopping instead of Flip. (At this point Ray is a much better bargaining chip)
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Supersonic:</div><div class="quote_post">^ Interesting, Humphries and Jefferson may go up the draft board after their official measurements, although I still have a few questions about Jefferson at this level. Would be a long term project, and if Perovic is available I'd probably rather go down that route. <font size="1">Full Story courtesy of Citizen Times, via Hoops Hype.</font> That's Kevin Martin btw, a junior out of Western Carolina. I could only see us taking him with our first second rounder at 36, unless we are planning on trading down to the bottom of the first round.</div> Yeah, Martin's stock has been rasing so I'm not too sure if he will be available at the #36 spot in the 2nd round. It may happen but I don't think so.
Jackson to work out <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">It was a performance that made a lasting impression on many basketball fans in Colorado. Yet for Luke Jackson, his dismantling of the University of Colorado in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament was just another ho-hum effort during a dominant senior season at the University of Oregon. Jackson was one of six potential first-round draft picks who worked out for the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center on Wednesday, a group that included Duke point guard Chris Duhon and high school athlete Dorell Wright. It was Jackson's first trip to Colorado since he singlehandedly torched CU in the first round of the NIT on March 17. Jackson led the Ducks to a 77-72 overtime victory by scoring 40 points, including 31 of his team's final 33 points. It was one of several 40-point efforts by the versatile 6-foot-7 swingman, who finished his collegiate career as only the second player in the history of the Pacific-10 Conference to compile more than 1,900 points, 700 rebounds and 400 assists. "I had several 40-point games, but, obviously, (his effort against CU) was a game that was on national television. That always helps," said Jackson, who will work out next for the Seattle SuperSonics and Utah Jazz. "The biggest thing is what is going on right now. That is the past, and I'm trying to look forward."</div> <font size="1">Full Story courtesy of Pat Rooney and the Rocky Mountain News.</font> Probably the hottest prospect on the workout scene at the moment. There is strong speculation that Washington will take Deng or Childress at five, so if Deng goes top four, it's entirely feasible that Jackson goes to Cleveland at 10. Not bad for a kid who was seen as a questionable first rounder a month ago. I wonder, if he gives us a good workout, if we could pas up Jackson if he's available at 12? Obviously he's not what we need, but with his ties to Luke Ridnour and the Seattle area, added to the increasing chances that Brent leaves and Ray is possibly traded - that and he's one of the most NBA ready rookies.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Oregon's Luke Jackson highlighted a list of 12 NBA draft prospects who worked out for the Sonics this week. Others included Russian forward Viktor Khryapa and Brazillian forward Anderson Varejao. The most intriguing matchup of the week may have been a pairing of Russian center Pavel Podkolzine, who is believed to be the top center in the draft, and Peter John Ramos, a 7-foot-3 19-year-old who played in Puerto Rico. The other prospects: Auburn's Kyle Davis; Colorado's Michael Morandais; Iowa's Jared Reiner; Southeastern Illinois' Danta Smith; Spain's Tiago Splitter; and Miguel Marriaga of Venezuela. Predrag Samardziski, a 7-foot center from Serbia & Montenegro, worked out for the Sonics before withdrawing from the draft. </div> <font size="1">Full Story courtesy of Percy Allen and the Seattle Times.</font>
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> As the Seattle SuperSonics prepare for Thursday's NBA draft, they are attempting to weigh the long-term value of the 12th pick against the immediate help that could be gained from doing something else with it. Because, in truth, in a draft that features mostly unproven players coming out of high school and from different areas of Europe, whomever the Sonics may select at No. 12 for the second consecutive season is not going to elevate them from their current malaise. What the team's management would prefer to do is trade the pick for a veteran player who could provide much-needed leadership, guidance and skill while at the same time getting out from under the three-year guaranteed contract that a first-round draft pick commands. But what Seattle is discovering as general manager Rick Sund makes calls to his counterparts around the league is that this draft is considered so suspect that few other teams willing to make deals to move into the Sonics' spot. </div> <font size="1"> Full Story courtesy of Frank Hughes & The Tacoma News Tribune</font>
