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| Friday, September 15 Users: Sonics have an upside, but need size ESPN.com |
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The Ewing-Baker trade talk now appears history, but Seattle fans are still talking about getting a big man. Some ESPN.com users like Baker and want to see him succeed. Others think he just can't succeed. A lot of our users spoke about the talented Gary Payton and emerging Rashard Lewis. And in the end, the general feeling from users was that the Sonics will do better than last year. Anyway, here are some of the better e-mails we received on the Sonics and the Team Offseason Spotlight. Enjoy, and check out our spotlight index page to read our breakdowns and your user comments on each NBA team.
Well, first of all, I think that the Sonics have a great chance of doing well this year. I know that the Lakers and the Blazers are looking awfully good but I believe that the Supes have a decent team. Now I'm not saying they're going to win it all, but I do think they can go deep in the playoffs. I am positive that they're a better team than Houston, Dallas, Sacramento and Minnesota. They've got Gary Payton! Not only is he the best point guard in the NBA but with the emergence of Rashard Lewis and the refocused Vin Baker (hopefully), the Sonics have a legit chance of doing some damage this year. Their bench is decent and they can beat any team on any given night. Rebounding will be an issue and yes, they still don't have a "real" center, but they are an exciting team to watch. Maybe they'll be able to make a deal before the season that can add depth. Tim Sibley Portland, Ore.
I have watched the Sonics for years, way back when they had Jack Sikma. Is that the last time they won a title? Hmmm, that's weird ... that's the last time they had a center, too. Meanwhile, I love watching Payton play. He deserves a ring. But unless he gets a real center to help him, he better get traded. Wally Walker has worsened the team since he's been there. Good luck, Gary ... you are a hell of a player. Brian Wendt Spokane, Wash.
Imagine Payton, J.R. Rider (because Payton mentioned him to Wally Walker), Rashard Lewis, Maurice Taylor, and Ewing as your starting five. With Grant, Patterson, Barry and McCoy off the bench, that team could beat anyone in the league if they could mesh together. But Walker once again couldn't improve the Sonics this offseason and Payton is another year older. Mr. Ackerley, please fire Westphal and Walker and get someone in here that will help our beloved Payton win a championship before he demands a trade. Kevin Kirkland, Wash.
Despite everyone's ravings of you "gotta have a talented big man," the talent is there -- this team took one from the Lakers at home last season, and lost to them in overtime at Staples Center in the other game. When Utah had a 2-0 series lead over the Sonics in the playoffs, it looked bleak, but then Westphal relented and allowed the Sonics to play the trapping D that made them so feared during the Karl years. Suddenly the series went down to the last shot. Had the Sonics employed the same stingy D in Games 1 and 2, there might not have been the need to go back to Utah for Game 5. Here's hoping Westphal listens to his assistants, especially Nate McMillan, and lets the Sonics build on that chemistry and that trapping D strategy. Baker can and will elevate his game this year -- he has to get that monkey off his back, and a gold medal won't be enough. But if Westphal starts messing with the lineup and bad-mouthing players, he should hit the road before anyone else. Paul Plunkett Los Angeles, Calif.
I feel that Seattle could surprise people this year. Sure, they are not going be better than the Lakers, Spurs and Blazers, but they should compete with the Jazz, Suns and Kings. Desmond Mason and Shammond Williams will redefine small ball and help the Sonics win well more than 45 games. Thomas Johnson Tacoma, Wash.
The Seattle Supersonics have been on a serious slide ever since Wally Walker took over the GM job. His moves have made the Sonics older, weaker and smaller. He needs to go. Gary Payton can only carry this team so far. Even though the Sonics possess a talented backcourt, it is inside where they lack a solid presence on both ends of the court. There is serious trouble when Vin Baker is your main inside scoring threat. Ask yourself this, when is the last time you saw this guy dunk the basketball? Talk about soft, if he doesn't get stronger physically and mentally, the Sonics will go nowhere in the continually strong Western conference. The Sonics have talent in Payton, Barry, Patterson, Mason and Lewis. Unfortunately they only have three spots to play them at. A move needs to be made to get more inside force, something they have needed since the departure of Shawn Kemp. Jeffrey Sao Seattle, Wash.
Your review of the Sonics failed to grasp the improvement of this team over this time last year. Rashard Lewis improved a great deal. The Sonics now have a clear starting small forward. Lewis may even be an All-Star in a year or two. The guy emerged at the end of the season, and clearly won a starting spot. At worst he's a legitimate NBA starter, at best he's going to be a star. Either way, it's a huge improvement over the question marks surrounding the position last year. As for Ruben Patterson, if he stays or is traded for a good big man, the team is better than this time last year. He could be a top sixth man. The other youngsters --Shammond Williams, Desmond Mason, Laz Borrell and Jelani McCoy -- look good. As for Vin Baker, sure, we've all heard the hype, and sure the Sonics even tried to move him, but he's in shape. Probably 25 pounds lighter than last year. He'll play because he has to, and he has something to prove. Maybe he won't go back to his All-Star form, but 18 and nine would be a reasonable expectation.
There's four good reasons why the Sonics have improved. The result should be better than a 45-win team. I'm not counting on contention this year, but I think they moved closer.
Let me just say that Payton is head and shoulders above the rest of the point guards in the NBA. Stats don't lie. It is sad that Wally Walker and Paul Westphal are incapable to work the deals in Pat Riley fashion and provide some help for this veteran point guard. Payton seems to be bound to grow old on a below average team, after he has spent his career playing on Sonic playoff teams of the past when he and Kemp ruled the town. It is sad situation and I wouldn't blame Payton if he demanded a trade. Seems that every year Sonics management follows Chicago's footsteps more and more. Armin J. Prijedor, Bosnia
I'm a Seattle fan who bleeds green come November. And yes, Baker worked hard the last two seasons to earn the title of most overpaid in the NBA, but am I the only person willing to give him another chance to redeem himself? The Ewing/Taylor combo for Baker was intriguing, but SCARY for any true Sonics fan. What if this year is Vin's return to dominance in the post?!? I firmly believe it is -- Vin is primed to return to form, and I believe that he will. As a Sonic fan, I'm excited for the coming season and wait anxiously for my boys to silence their critics. Matt Gamage Anchorage, Alaska
Since taking over as the Seattle Sonics GM, Wally Walker has made some of the worst deals in the history of sports management. How many times has Billy Owens been traded? Who was the mastermind behind his original contract? And what about Jim McIlvaine? Running Shawn Kemp out of town? Turning someone as classy as Detlef Schrempf more sour than lime concentrate? Vin Baker's maximum contract? Hiring Paul Westphal to revive a team in need of defense, muscle and heart?
Perhaps the greatest disaster is that the Sonics have completely cut the team off from its history as champions. Paul Westphal was hired over Paul Silas, and players with the heart of Gus Williams, Jack Sikma or Dennis Johnson are benched for people who are more likely to tow the company line. Wally Walker is turning my favorite team into the Cincinnati Bengals of basketball.
Payton was right about Ewing! Why in the world would Seattle want a 38-year old gimp who was slow when he was young? They're vastly better off with Stepania -- who, by the way, has much more potential in my view than McCoy. It will take a miracle to take the Sonics past the first round of the playoffs, but there is good, young talent on this team that is well worth watching. But the key is the word YOUNG! Ewing would be a disaster. I don't understand why that isn't as obvious to Walker and Westphal as it is to Payton and about a million fans. Dan Lindsay Hilo, Hawaii
I think that the Sonics got lucky last year. Going into the season I felt that the Rockets would be the No. 8 team in the West. Instead they got off to a slow start, then Barkley got injured, and their season went through the window. I was impressed that the Sonics beat the Kings in the final week of the season and then took the Jazz to five games. Then in the offseason if they would have picked up Patrick Ewing and Maurice Taylor I think they would have become one of the better teams in the West. Unfortunately, they didn't and now they may not even make the playoffs with the Mavericks and the Rockets improving. Jason Masterson Ringgold, Ga.
Trade Wally Walker for a big man. Jayson Parker Brier, Wash.
I think the Sonics are fine. Sure, we don't have a real center, but if you look at film from last year, Horace Grant did an outstanding job against a lot of true centers. He had a real knack for sinking the little jumper from the top corner of the key , and that did a real good of job keeping big defensive men out of the lane. Defensively he held his own. Gary Payton is always phenomenal and will be again this year. Rashard Lewis will be much improved, Desmond Mason will be a blast to watch in the pros, Vin Baker is looking trimmed down and, I feel, really has something to prove. Think about it: he'll have been playing all summer (with Gary no less) and given his quickness and size, he can succeed. If he can get going to his left off the block every once in awhile, the man will be, once again, great. The Sonics are a very good team this year. Unfortunately, we are in the same division as the Lakers and Blazers (ouch!) Rusty Willoughby Seattle, Wash.
Your analysis of the Sonics includes the observation that Seattle fans do not want to see more of Jelani McCoy. On the contrary, McCoy could be part of the solution to our rebounding and frontcourt problems. It is coach Paul Westphal and GM Wally Walker Sonic fans would like to see hit the road. Terence Favor Lynnwood, Wash.
The Sonics' only focus was to re-sign Lewis and McCoy -- in effect banking on the team getting better as Lewis, McCoy and Baker all step up their games. Those three will be better than last year, but just enough to win another No. 7 seed -- and what good is that? I don't believe a deal for Ewing is dead; Taylor is gone, but he doesn't bring boards anyway. How about Baker for Ewing, then the Sonics give the bench Detroit passed on to Miami. A Ewing trade sells tickets, and gets 10 boards and 15 points if he's healthy. We're not yet competing with Portland or L.A., but challenging Phoenix and Utah for the No. 4 seed. Kevin Flanagan Seattle, Wash.
You don't know what you are talking about. The Sonics are twice as good as Houston. Vin will be back this season and they will make it to the playoffs and past the first round. Payton will have an MVP-type year and Lewis will score a good 17 points a night. As for Ewing, he is too old, the guy would be hurt for half of the season and still get paid $14 million. That's all I have to say. Jermaine Miller Seattle, Wash.
As we Sonic fans painfully watch what is left of the George Karl era when the Sonics ruled the West, this season brings what George would have never have given us: young talent. It will be exciting to watch budding stars Lewis and Mason. What better opportunity they have to play alongside one of the most competitive players in the league in Payton. Playing and learning alongside him will do more for these two athletes than coach Westphal would be able to do even is he was to coach them throughout their NBA careers. Robert Kenevan Cartagena, Colombia
The Sonics have improved, no doubt. There were plenty of raised eyebrows before the season when people saw the name Ruben Patterson as the likely starting SF. Lewis is a future All-Star with ice in his veins and he has the game to be an all-around player. I think defensively he is better than most think and will get better when he adds a bit more muscle. I'll admit we will struggle to get past Portland, San Antonio or the Lakers in our conference. A first-round exit could be repeated if Horace Grant is forced to play major minutes at center this season... Don't hang your heads, fellow Sonics fans. We have some young pups with plenty of talent that are more than capable of taking up the challenge when Payton's star begins to fade! Brad Wickham Melbourne, Australia
I am disappointed in the way things have shaped out so far for Seattle. With the whole Baker-for-Ewing fiasco out of the way they still have no center, nor made any significant moves to strengthen themselves. Baker should not be surprised or upset he was being shopped. How can you play for a team, have all your teammates depending on you night in night out, and you CAN'T stay in shape? But when it's time to play in the Olympics with NBA superstars, where winning is about as certain as the sun shining, then you get in shape? Baker should be ashamed of himself. They do have some nice pieces with Payton, Lewis and Mason, but without any major moves to acquire a decent big man, even a Jamie Feick type, they WILL have a hard time even duplicating last year's record. And Payton deserves better! Brian Teaneck, N.J.
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