With our 11-14 record there has been increasing speculation that drastic moves will be made to improve our standing. With Ray Allen inked at 80 million I consider him pretty much untouchable at this point. He is the face of the franchise and, with his salary, may be one of the more difficult players to move. Ron Murray, Vlad Radmanovic, and Reggie Evans are all qualifying offer signees and since the rule has been implemented I've yet to see a player be traded to a team during his qualifying offer season. The contract that an opposing team would be getting is peanuts compared to what it will cost to retain such a player so my guess is that all three of these players will remain Sonics for the rest of the season. *And for the record, Ron Murray has played horribly this season. I don't get a chance to watch all of the games live b/c I'm often on the road or sleeping when the games come on (plus I don't have access to the League Pass where I live) but I do tape all of the games and watch them after the fact. Outside of maybe three games Flip has looked like he is on the playgrounds of Philly. He has to be amongst the league leaders in shot attempts per 48 minutes. Too many turnovers, too many defenses lapses, too many missed jump shots. Considering that he stretches on the bench when he is coming into the game you would think that instead of hoisting up jumpers when he gets into the game he would look to get to the rim, get to the line, or at the very least post up. Every team in the league goes underneath the screen when he is in the game to force him to make jump shots--and those shots only go in when he starts the game going to the rim. He seems to have lost a step getting past people and finishing at the rim as well. To be honest I think he has taken steps backwards from his play two seasons ago. He obviously hasn't lost his confidence but it seems as if he has lost the ability to consistently play organized basketball--instead reverting to a playground style that relies totally on one on one basketball and matador defense. Mikki Moore and Rick Brunson can both be free agents after the season and considering their limited roles thus far I don't expect them to jump at the chance of returning to the Green and Gold. That leaves the rest of the bunch--"The Core Guys" Rashard Lewis -- can opt out in '07 Danny Fortson -- contract up in '07 Luke Ridnour -- 2 years left on a rookie contract Nick Collison -- 2 years left on a rookie contract Damien Wilkins -- 5 years left on contract signed this summer Vitaly Potapenko -- 3 years left on a contract signed this summer Robert Swift -- 3 years left on a rookie contract Johan Petro -- 4 years left on a rookie contract Obviously the player with the highest value on this list is Rashard Lewis but there are some players on this list with some market value. General managers are probably intrigued with the potential of Swift and Petro. Pot serves a purpose at a very reasonable price. Damien Wilkins showed enough last year to get offered 15 million dollars. Nick Collison is as steady of a second year player as you will find. And people are still enamored with Luke Ridnour's potential as a lead guard. All things considered what type of a deal do you think could best help us not only in the short term but also the long term? At this point I wouldn't be opposed to looking at trading Rashard Lewis and Robert Swift to Los Angeles for Corey Maggette and Chris Wilcox (provided the assurance that you can keep Chris). We should be able to retain the scoring of Rashard with Maggette and Wilcox could be that athletic 4/5 that could deter teams from going in the paint with lay ups. To this point he has underachieved but I think in a different environment he could flourish. Neither one seem to be in the good graces of Mike Dunleavy and I think that they would love to be able to work with a novice like Swift to assist in his potential. What do you guys think could help the green and gold?
Merry Xmas, Shiek I had similar musings this morning as I read the paper this morning. For some reason the local rags here make no mention of Ridnour's pathetic play this year, especially the 4th quarter blunders of late. Anyway, I'd be up for the Maggette trade - he's still pretty young I think, averages 20+ and provides some nastiness at both ends that we're lacking. I don't see the Clips biting on Swift, though, since Kaman is really coming on and they have a serviceable backup already. As sad as it sounds, I think Swift and Ridnour would be welcomed in either Boston or Utah, since both teams seem to like white players quite a bit. So I'm thinking Rashard and Swift for Pierce and maybe Jefferson or Tony Allen (if healthy, and I think, out of jail?). Hopefully Ainge is still enamored. Or Swift and Luke for Jefferson and Allen. I'd also like to have Boozer, and I hear he's out of favor with Larry Miller. But I wouldn't do that straight up for Rashard, I'd have them throw in a pick as well. That would give us Boozer at the 4 and allow Vlad to start, make him happy and him want to come back next year Some struggling teams that might want to deal are Orlando and Chicago. Unfortunately Orlando has no one I want except for Dwight Howard and I assume he's untouchable. I'm not a Steve Francis fan, and I think he has a max contract anyway. Now Chicago, I like Luol Deng, Hinrich, Gordon and Duhon. So Rashard and Luke or Swift for Deng and Hinrich/Gordon is something I'd pull the trigger on. I think the main thing is we just need to get more athletic, especially defensively - all of our guys get beat off the dribble with regularity and none of our guys can finish at the rim. Also, one worry I have is that regardless of who we get as a 'supporting cast', we'll always be catering to Ray Allen's game. For example, in the Dallas game we ran a beautiful pick and roll with Ray making a nice pass to Vlad for a layup. I assume that's what we call 'running our stuff'. The next possesion Ray jacked up a contested 3 with 20 on the clock. Basically a live by the jumper die by the jumper team as long as Ray is around. Or can he play a Rip Hamilton type game where he gets his shots while complimenting the other guys.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Iron Shiek:</div><div class="quote_post"> At this point I wouldn't be opposed to looking at trading Rashard Lewis and Robert Swift to Los Angeles for Corey Maggette and Chris Wilcox (provided the assurance that you can keep Chris). We should be able to retain the scoring of Rashard with Maggette and Wilcox could be that athletic 4/5 that could deter teams from going in the paint with lay ups. To this point he has underachieved but I think in a different environment he could flourish. Neither one seem to be in the good graces of Mike Dunleavy and I think that they would love to be able to work with a novice like Swift to assist in his potential.</div> I'm not sure I like this, for two reasons. 1) Is Maggette an upgrade on Rashard? He is stronger, a better rebounder, tougher and gets to he line, but there are also downsides to his game. He isn't a consistent shooter outside of 18 feet, his low basketball IQ seems to make him prone to the odd boneheaded play, and I'm not sure he is the most efficient player going around. Rashard suits this team perfectly, because he is so long, runs the floor so well and has an outstanding perimeter game. When you consider the steps he has made in the last two seasons, I don't see how we get better. He is having a better season than last term when he was an All-Star, but Brand's form and our record will probably mean he misses out at this point. 2) I was once enamoured with Wilcox, but now I wonder what he would add? He is either an undersized centre or a skinny power forward who hasn't added much body mass or strength since he was drafted. Nick is our starter next season, regardless of whether Reggie goes, and as of right now, I'm not sure I'd want to give Wilcox extended minutes in the middle (although something needs to be done there I do admit). I'd rather hang onto Swift for another 12 months and take stock then, assuming we can't get a starting quality centre in return. Without looking into it really closely, the name that comes to my mind is Jason Collins in New Jersey. Krstic has firmly entrenched himself in the middle and Marc Jackson is also around, and while Collins isn't going to win many flair contests, he has always seemed to be the sort of guy who can start, play 20-25 minutes, block a shot here and there, grab a few boards and play smart interior D.
No I dont like Rashard for Magette. Ray should be our guy that drives to the rim and gets to the line[like Magette does]. Im tired of him throwin up shots. Maybe we should trade Ray for Magette and Kaman, that would give us Magette at the 2, and Kaman as a solid defensive center for us. ^ I wish ahha.
