Well, the last 24 hours has been a great period for the Sonics, who managed to clear cap space / dead weight, while dramatically improving the team, acquiring a legitimate superstar in Kevin Durant in the process. I applaud the efforts of Sam Presti, he is finally moving this franchise in the right direction. I'm very interested to see who he is going to bring in as Coach for this team, and cannot wait to see them in action next season. You Seattle fans should be proud, fans around the league are finally excited about the Sonics again, lol. Especially me, I'm fascinated by the rebuilding process, trading, drafting etc.
We certainly have some interesting pieces - it's not the most balanced roster, but it's early days and there are certainly pieces there that give some room to make more changes. Durant was the obvious pick, but Green is an underrated selection to compliment him. I also love the aquisition of Delonte West. Of course, everything right now comes down Rashard Lewis.
I should add, such an upheaval may work wonders and it may backfire, but one big positive is it shows Presti has the balls to make the big call and not go the conservative route. He's been in his first senior GM role for all of a couple of weeks and he's already traded one of the biggest names in franchise history.
I would assume you guys arent even going to bother offering Lewis an extension, It wouldnt make much sense to me if you did, now that you have Green and Durant, and also being in such a great salary situation. Dishing out $10Million+ a year for Lewis would be pointless.
I really don't understand how someone could say that bringing back an All-Star forward would be pointless. I don't care how many small forwards we have -- losing Rashard Lewis for nothing should not be an option for the Sonics. We have and will never be a major player in the free agent market so I would rather accumulate good players through the draft (which we did yesterday) and through trades (the pieces around Jeff Green are suspect) than try to dump payroll in order to lure a quality free agent to the Emerald City. Hasn't happened in our 40 year history and I don't anticipate it happening now -- even with the wunderkid as our GM.
I believe Jimmy Mac came via free agency. I don't want to lose Shard but would love to get a young, talented point gaurd to ease my pain if we sign and trade him. I agree that letting him walk is not an option and should not even be discussed. It wouldn't be good for the team or for Lewis, and really is the worst way to end the love affair I can imagine.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">I don't care how many small forwards we have -- losing Rashard Lewis for nothing should not be an option for the Sonics. We have and will never be a major player in the free agent market so I would rather accumulate good players through the draft (which we did yesterday) and through trades (the pieces around Jeff Green are suspect) than try to dump payroll in order to lure a quality free agent to the Emerald City. Hasn't happened in our 40 year history and I don't anticipate it happening now -- even with the wunderkid as our GM. </div> hit it right on the head. look at all the complaining fans have been doing after seattle and portland got the top 2 picks. nobody really sees the northwest as an ideal city to play in and therefore freeing up money to attract a free agent most likely won't work out for us. what stars we have we need to resign and keep or at least get something in return for them. rashard will be resigned; the question is whether or not it's to keep him on the team or because of a S&T
The Sonics need to keep Rashard, simple as that. The young players need a guy who's been on the team for a while, and who better than Rashard Lewis? I was listening to Kevin Calabro on KJR just now and he was saying how Rashard showed signs of better ballhandling skills and taking his man off the dribble. We saw it when he'd get the isolation at the top of the key. You guys think we can start Durant and Rashard and put them at 2 or 3 depending on the matchups per game, and then have Green come off the bench to support those positions? I think this is a good opportunity for Rashard to emerge as a leader of a young team. But of course, that depends on what the mindset of the new management is.
<div class="quote_poster">Iron Shiek Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I really don't understand how someone could say that bringing back an All-Star forward would be pointless. I don't care how many small forwards we have -- losing Rashard Lewis for nothing should not be an option for the Sonics. We have and will never be a major player in the free agent market so I would rather accumulate good players through the draft (which we did yesterday) and through trades (the pieces around Jeff Green are suspect) than try to dump payroll in order to lure a quality free agent to the Emerald City. Hasn't happened in our 40 year history and I don't anticipate it happening now -- even with the wunderkid as our GM.</div> It doesnt make sense to me, you have 2 young potential All Star SF's as of yesterday, re-signing Lewis creates a log jam at the 3 (Durant, Green, Szcerbiak, Lewis), if this team is looking to rebuild, and go young, I dont see the point in bringing Lewis back (Unless of course Presti looks for a sign and trade or somthing). I understand Lewis would be good locker room presence for the young guys aswell, but do you really want to pay a guy $10,000,000+ a season to hinder their development? There will be alot of struggling for playing time going on. Unless of course Durant gets the start at PF, but I figure he is more suited to the NBA 3, and I cant really imagine Lewis wanting to play PF.
Then you actively look to sign and trade him. You can't just let him walk for nothing, and especially in a situation where we're looking to attract as much public support as we can, you can't just let someone who's been with the organisation as long as Rashard has just flat out walk.
<div class="quote_poster">Iron Shiek Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">(the pieces around Jeff Green are suspect)</div> I can tell you, those pieces aren't suspect, I know exactly what you got. A washed up player who was overrated even in his prime in Wally (still has the abillity to contribute but his Salary is insane. In Delonte West you got one of the only players in the NBA for whom winning seems to be the most important thing. I've never seen a small player block as many shots as he has, and I've never seen a player dive after more lose balls. For all his hard work he is still very good at positioning himself to get a clutch rebound or to get open for a clutch shot, which he can sink pretty well. He's not an overwealming tallent but I would say he's certainly a legit starting tallent albeit never a Superstar. How hard he works is what lifts him to being a great Team contributer and a fan favorite though.
I have warmed up to the idea of resigning Rashard, as long as the contract is reasonable. Jeff Green coming off the bench isn't really that big of a deal, and he or Rashard can be traded if necessary.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Casual:</div><div class="quote_post">I have warmed up to the idea of resigning Rashard, as long as the contract is reasonable.</div> Rashard has said he wants a contract starting at $10 million (the amount he would have made this season with Seattle had he chosen not to opt out) that is worth a total of $80 million over six years.
So the 'next step' for Orlando is to photoshop Rashard into a Magic uniform? That is truly a franchise going places.
It all depends on Rashard Lewis and what the Sonics will be willing to spend on him. Also, when Durant expires, expect a big-time signing - at least $12 million on the first year of his new contract.
<div class="quote_poster">Sir Desmond Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">So the 'next step' for Orlando is to photoshop Rashard into a Magic uniform? That is truly a franchise going places.</div> What does that have to do with anything?? Reports have him going to Orlando, NY, or Houston, not coming back to Seattle.
