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The article doesn't even mentioned the Spurs.
Sonics shopping Radmanovic
Sonics GM Rick Sund has been a busy man. In addition to intense, ongoing negotiations with Ray Allen on a contract extension, the Sonics also have been trying to gauge the trade value of forward Vladimir Radmanovic.
Radmanovic, the leading contender for the Sixth Man Award, has been a huge part of the Sonics' success this season. However, there's a strong likelihood he'll try to leave Seattle this summer. He's been asking for a trade for more than a year, prefers to start and feels the Sonics too often play him out of position at the four.
While the Sonics would prefer to keep him, they've been doing their due diligence and trying to see if there's a deal out there that makes sense. They've talked with the Clippers about Chris Wilcox, the Bulls about Tyson Chandler, the Nuggets about Nene, the Wizards about Kwame Brown and the Sixers about Samuel Dalembert.
The common denominator? The Sonics clearly are trying to address what is going to be their biggest problem this summer -- filling a pretty huge hole in the middle.
Jerome James and Vitaly Potapenko are unrestricted free agents, and the team isn't thrilled about bringing either back. If the Sonics could get a young, athletic big man in exchange for Radmanovic, they'd pull the trigger in a second.
So far, however, they haven't had much success in their shopping. Most teams see Radmanovic as a three, and the Clippers, Bulls and Nuggets really aren't in the market for one.
The Wizards could use a player like Radmanovic, but giving up Brown is a pretty steep price. To make the numbers work, the Sonics would have to throw in Nick Collison and Ronald Murray. Would that weaken the team too much, given the fact Brown still is not healthy enough to play?
The Sixers also could use Radmanovic. He's a Jim O'Brien type of player -- a long, 3-point shooter who isn't afraid to let it fly. Put Radmanovic and Kyle Korver on the floor together and it would be raining 3s in Philly. Would Philadelphia part with Dalembert? According to sources, the Sixers have been pretty firm with teams calling about his availability. However, the Sixers know Dalembert is going to get a huge offer from the Hawks in the summer and probably don't have the stomach to match.
