Today's Times: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/spor...soniwrap16.html <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">To have a successful team, a championship-caliber team, you have to spend money," he said. "You can't keep [getting] young guys. We've been a young team ever since I've been on the Sonics. And hopefully if they do sell the team, then we'll have an owner that's going to be able to do that for us.</div> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I want to be (in Seattle). Now if they [management] want me here, we'll have to see," he said. "That's up to them</div> Anyway, now that I think of it, I wonder if the plan last summer was to sign Vlad to 6/42 and have him as our starting 3 after trading Rashard for, say, Wilcox and Maggette
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">To have a successful team, a championship-caliber team, you have to spend money," he said. "You can't keep [getting] young guys. We've been a young team ever since I've been on the Sonics. And hopefully if they do sell the team, then we'll have an owner that's going to be able to do that for us.</div> Because Rashard was one of the young guys we've been trying to develop. It's only been 1.5 years since he was one of those 'young guys' and has a ways to go to be one of those guys you 'spend (max) money on to be a succesful, championship-caliber team', IMO. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I want to be (in Seattle). Now if they [management] want me here, we'll have to see," he said. "That's up to them"</div> I Read: 'I want to be in Seattle if they give me a max deal. If management doesn't give me a max deal, then they don't want me here'.
Rashard is a good player...but there's so many more things that he could do...and should do with his size and skills that he doesn't do. So IMO it's not worth giving him the max. It would be interesting to see if and when he opts out.
Well considering that there isn't much depth behind Sweet Lew to begin with I think that it should be priority #2 for us to find a serviceable replacement for him in the event that he decides he is no longer interested in being here long term. Priority #1 remains this offseason to resign Weezy. Rashard is only 26 and I would be disappointed if he would opt out with the sole intention of leaving the Emerald City. Rashard is more than capable of being an All-Star again and I hope that he would use next season as a way of proving he deserved max money instead of complaining that the Sonics aren't willing to make things work for him financially. Next year's team will have four potential free agents, Ridnour, Collison, Moore, and Lewis. Outside of Lewis I don't see any of those players trying to earn their next paycheck through the media. That should make for a more harmonious locker room than the one we had this season--which didn't consist of bad people but was driven to asking for a "release" b/c of the presence of Bob Hill.
