ducks
05-23-2007, 02:10 PM
No. 2 pick might net Durant –
Fate smiled on the Seattle SuperSonics during the NBA’s lottery Tuesday, allowing them to nab the second pick in the June 28 draft.
With the Portland Trail Blazers leaping three teams to win the lottery and the rights to Ohio State center Greg Oden, the Sonics likely will select Texas forward Kevin Durant, the only freshman in NCAA history to win the national player of the year award.
“I am pretty excited about it,” said Sonics president Lenny Wilkens, who represented the Sonics in Secaucus, N.J., along with chairman Clay Bennett. “I think that it is great to finish in the top two. I think it is great for the franchise, for the ownership, for the fans. I think it is something positive and something to go forward with.”
The Sonics, who posted the fifth-worst record in the NBA this season (31-51), had an 18.45 percent chance of landing one of the top two picks. They leapfrogged the Memphis Grizzlies, Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks to get their highest selection since taking Gary Payton with the second pick in 1990.
The Hawks got the third pick, with Memphis and Boston following up. The Blazers had the sixth-worst record and a 5.3 percent chance of getting the top pick.
Vice president of sales and marketing Brian Byrnes said the Sonics had sold 20 season-ticket packages less than an hour after the televised announcement, and that sales staff were working all night to field calls from fans excited about the possibility of adding a 6-foot-10 player who averaged 25.8 points and 11.1 rebounds in 35 games.
More to the point, however, the franchise is hoping the momentum from the lottery and the prospects of sudden playoff contention are enough to entice the state Legislature to reverse course and grant the team a $300 million public subsidy it has been seeking for a new arena.
Without the subsidy, Bennett has threatened to move the team. He was in Kansas City on Monday to tout the viability of that city and its arena, the Sprint Center, as a potential relocation spot.
After being rejected by the Legislature at the end of the last session, Bennett has been lobbying politicians to call a special session to revisit the issue. The organization hopes Tuesday’s development and the residual excitement is enough to prompt decision-makers to take action.
“I hope it has a huge positive impact,” Wilkens said. “When you have an opportunity to get one of the top two players, it is a positive and it gets people talking about the team and keeps them in front of politicians and businesses and in front of the community.
“The Sonics are worth keeping.”
In the immediate aftermath of the lottery, there are a number of questions to be raised, most notably how this affects the free agency of forward Rashard Lewis.
Ostensibly, Lewis, who can opt out of his contract July 1 and become an unrestricted free agent, and Durant play the same position, small forward. Would Lewis want to stick around?
“Who’s to say they can’t play together?” Wilkens said. “These are assumptions that are being made. I think you have to wait and get them in training camp and then see.”
If Lewis and Durant play together, Lewis, the team’s best low-post scorer, would have to move to power forward, where Chris Wilcox started last season.
The team believes the latter will soon emerge as a star, raising the question of whether the 6-10 Wilcox would slide to center, particularly with injured center Robert Swift returning from reconstructive knee surgery.
It also seems to make Nick Collison, the team’s best rebounder, expendable. There will be little time left for him with the athletic Durant, Lewis, Wilcox, Swift and Johan Petro in the front court.
“No question about it, I think it makes us stronger,” Wilkens said. “We have to sit and look at how do we put the best team on the floor? What is the best team? What can we do to make our team better? We will continue to look at all those avenues.”
Interviews for GM
Wilkens said he has conducted several interviews regarding the team’s vacancy at general manager, though he declined to reveal who he has interviewed.
He said he would like to fill the post before he hires a coach, though he will conduct interviews during the NBA’s pre-draft camp, which begins next week in Orlando, Fla.
“I would like to get it done as quickly as possible, and more than likely I think that general manager will come first,” Wilkens said.
Wilkens’ son to be scout?
Wilkens said he is considering hiring his son, Randy, to be a scout for the Sonics.
“He is a great scout,” Wilkens said. “He has done some scouting for us. I will have him help scout a little bit in Orlando. He has some experience in that. He judges talent pretty good.”
Fate smiled on the Seattle SuperSonics during the NBA’s lottery Tuesday, allowing them to nab the second pick in the June 28 draft.
With the Portland Trail Blazers leaping three teams to win the lottery and the rights to Ohio State center Greg Oden, the Sonics likely will select Texas forward Kevin Durant, the only freshman in NCAA history to win the national player of the year award.
“I am pretty excited about it,” said Sonics president Lenny Wilkens, who represented the Sonics in Secaucus, N.J., along with chairman Clay Bennett. “I think that it is great to finish in the top two. I think it is great for the franchise, for the ownership, for the fans. I think it is something positive and something to go forward with.”
The Sonics, who posted the fifth-worst record in the NBA this season (31-51), had an 18.45 percent chance of landing one of the top two picks. They leapfrogged the Memphis Grizzlies, Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks to get their highest selection since taking Gary Payton with the second pick in 1990.
The Hawks got the third pick, with Memphis and Boston following up. The Blazers had the sixth-worst record and a 5.3 percent chance of getting the top pick.
Vice president of sales and marketing Brian Byrnes said the Sonics had sold 20 season-ticket packages less than an hour after the televised announcement, and that sales staff were working all night to field calls from fans excited about the possibility of adding a 6-foot-10 player who averaged 25.8 points and 11.1 rebounds in 35 games.
More to the point, however, the franchise is hoping the momentum from the lottery and the prospects of sudden playoff contention are enough to entice the state Legislature to reverse course and grant the team a $300 million public subsidy it has been seeking for a new arena.
Without the subsidy, Bennett has threatened to move the team. He was in Kansas City on Monday to tout the viability of that city and its arena, the Sprint Center, as a potential relocation spot.
After being rejected by the Legislature at the end of the last session, Bennett has been lobbying politicians to call a special session to revisit the issue. The organization hopes Tuesday’s development and the residual excitement is enough to prompt decision-makers to take action.
“I hope it has a huge positive impact,” Wilkens said. “When you have an opportunity to get one of the top two players, it is a positive and it gets people talking about the team and keeps them in front of politicians and businesses and in front of the community.
“The Sonics are worth keeping.”
In the immediate aftermath of the lottery, there are a number of questions to be raised, most notably how this affects the free agency of forward Rashard Lewis.
Ostensibly, Lewis, who can opt out of his contract July 1 and become an unrestricted free agent, and Durant play the same position, small forward. Would Lewis want to stick around?
“Who’s to say they can’t play together?” Wilkens said. “These are assumptions that are being made. I think you have to wait and get them in training camp and then see.”
If Lewis and Durant play together, Lewis, the team’s best low-post scorer, would have to move to power forward, where Chris Wilcox started last season.
The team believes the latter will soon emerge as a star, raising the question of whether the 6-10 Wilcox would slide to center, particularly with injured center Robert Swift returning from reconstructive knee surgery.
It also seems to make Nick Collison, the team’s best rebounder, expendable. There will be little time left for him with the athletic Durant, Lewis, Wilcox, Swift and Johan Petro in the front court.
“No question about it, I think it makes us stronger,” Wilkens said. “We have to sit and look at how do we put the best team on the floor? What is the best team? What can we do to make our team better? We will continue to look at all those avenues.”
Interviews for GM
Wilkens said he has conducted several interviews regarding the team’s vacancy at general manager, though he declined to reveal who he has interviewed.
He said he would like to fill the post before he hires a coach, though he will conduct interviews during the NBA’s pre-draft camp, which begins next week in Orlando, Fla.
“I would like to get it done as quickly as possible, and more than likely I think that general manager will come first,” Wilkens said.
Wilkens’ son to be scout?
Wilkens said he is considering hiring his son, Randy, to be a scout for the Sonics.
“He is a great scout,” Wilkens said. “He has done some scouting for us. I will have him help scout a little bit in Orlando. He has some experience in that. He judges talent pretty good.”