This is BS...why would seattle take back a contract when they can let Lewis flat-out walk. They are getting Durant ON A ROOKIE deal. Plus, why would they pair JC with Ray and Durant??? The amt Shard is asking for does not add up to what the "potential deal" is worth. Shard's asking for like $12M per year over 5 years. We would actually be in a WORSE position for a good shooter that plays like a 6'5" guard with out any D.

Plus I highly doubt that Lenny Wilkens is going to help out Zeke...he pretty much ripped him this year when he was "free" to talk. If I am going to sign and trade Lewis, there is much better out there. Plus enough of this local crap with Nate and Jamal being from Seattle...the damn team aint even staying there. Plus, Isiah's priority this summer should be getting rid of Francis.

This is flat out fodder.

Be prepared Knicks fans- any "name" that comes out will be linked to us:

Vince
KG
Carter
JO
Pau

and counting.

Craw makes half of what ray makes. Craw has a terrible shooting percentage but he still is a good player and a deadly scorer when he has it going. Remember that durant is coming to town. They don't need rashard anymore. they actually would make out like bandits if they got Frye, Nate and craw. Frye could be their center with Wilcox and durant up front. Craw in the backcourt with Nate could be a very good team. If they pawn off ray Allen they could really jack the team.

[Edited by - enyspree on 30-05-2007 10:15 AM]

this deal does not make any sense for Seattle... Allen/JC/Durant.. that just doesent make any sense. How about:

Q Rich/Frye/Nate - Lewis

that makes a little more sense imo

then we would have a lineup of

Marbury
Crawford
Lewis
Lee
Curry

.......Tasty

Posted by franco12:

anyone else upset at the notion of being stuck with Lewis until he is 34?

So who should the knicks target?

jamal is owed 35 mil over the next 4 years, that is roughly 8.75 mil per year for a young SG who can play two positions and averages 18ppg.

Let me ask this question, is Rashard lewis going to make us that much better? especially with him probably getting 14mil a year, knowing the knicks...

Geez, another move I just don't get...

Posted by tomverve:

Interesting... the reasons I could see Seattle interested in something like this are:

1) likely getting Durant
2) dealing from a position of weakness; want to get something for Rashard rather than let him walk
3) JC and/or Nate could help spark fan interest at an absolutely crucial time for the franchise

I would not surrender Balkman or Lee in any deal for Lewis. The packages of JC + Nate or Frye + Nate are definitely doable. Seattle is not getting 100% fair return on such a deal but they might do it anyway, for the reasons listed above.

If something like this happens we would likely be overpaying for Rashard in terms of years and/or dollars. But if that is compensated for by underpaying in terms of assets lost, it's not so bad.

Thank you, tom. This is exactly what I'm saying. This is a CRUCIAL time for the Sonics as a franchise if they hope to stay in Seattle, which I suspect the owners want to do. Sure, they can let Lewis walk, but that would not help generate fan interest at all, and probably have the opposite effect. Not all fans want to rebuild and suck, especially after the Sonics fell off after being good for that one year 2 years ago, after years of mediocrity before that.

BIG NO to Lee or Balkman going to the Sonics for Lewis. Either of those two only go for superstar talent. Lewis has never been a #1 guy. A very strong talent, but that plus the facts listed about their pressures, mean we should not give up either of those guys for him.

My sense is that this is a VERY realistic deal, because of the pressures the Sonics face. Both teams get a shot at what would help their short term goals as franchises.

Lets not forget just how good Rashard Lewis is.......

22.4 PPG on very high %

46% FG, 40% 3pt and 84% FT

6.6 RPG not bad for a SF

2.4 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.7 blk


Not bad at all

Posted by martin:

Posted by PresIke:

Posted by Queeniepop:

This is BS...why would seattle take back a contract when they can let Lewis flat-out walk. They are getting Durant ON A ROOKIE deal. Plus, why would they pair JC with Ray and Durant??? The amt Shard is asking for does not add up to what the "potential deal" is worth. Shard's asking for like $12M per year over 5 years. We would actually be in a WORSE position for a good shooter that plays like a 6'5" guard with out any D.

Plus I highly doubt that Lenny Wilkens is going to help out Zeke...he pretty much ripped him this year when he was "free" to talk. If I am going to sign and trade Lewis, there is much better out there. Plus enough of this local crap with Nate and Jamal being from Seattle...the damn team aint even staying there. Plus, Isiah's priority this summer should be getting rid of Francis.

This is flat out fodder.

Be prepared Knicks fans- any "name" that comes out will be linked to us:

Vince
KG
Carter
JO
Pau

and counting.

Queenie, the Sonics are not necessarily moving yet. The owners may be from Oklahoma City, but they can make a crapload more money by keeping the team in Seattle. According to CNN Money here are the average family incomes for:

Oklahoma City: $48,162
Seattle: $70,133

With both having similar population sizes (although Seattle is larger and home to more high income earners), which market do you think would be the preference for an owner to have the team?

So it still is about generating fan interest in the team in Seattle, when they have not declared that they are moving the team just yet. They gave a 12 month window last July. So it is not just about what makes sense b-ball wise. Bringing in Seattle natives and popular players in the area like Jamal and Nate helps them with a shot at keeping the team in Seattle, where they can make more money. To wait 3 years for Durant to be a star (maybe) by then Allen is too old, they may be forced to move to Oak. City. Crawford turned 27 this year and Nate is turning 24 tomorrow, actually so they get younger too.


[Edited by - PresIke on 05-30-2007 10:28 AM]

I know you didn't mean it this way, but avg income and poulation size are but 2 factors. If the owners are indeed from Oklahoma City they gotta have better ties with the business community than in Seattle and may also have better ties politically (stadium finiancing) etc. Didn't Oklahoma folk come out to games and fill the stadiums? Seattle has a professional football team which may also dilute some of the ticket purchasing power for a city of it's size.

Who thinks that Seattle would rather pawn off Allen for picks, cash, players that would attract fans and players that are coming off of the cap shortly if they are going to stay up north?

martin, they have openly declared an interest in staying in Seattle essentially for the very reason I listed:

http://newsok.com/article/3060094

When Clay Bennett and his partners first bought the Seattle SuperSonics, he would drive around the Puget Sound area marveling.


"I couldn't get my hands around what good fortune, to have a team in that marketplace with a new facility,” said Bennett, the Oklahoma City businessman whose group purchased the NBA franchise last summer. "I really thought we would get a deal done. An extraordinary opportunity.

"But lately, I don't have those same feelings.”

Bennett said Tuesday that despite the splendid lottery news of last week — the Sonics will pick second in the NBA draft, giving them either Greg Oden or Kevin Durant, both projected superstars — he is out of ideas for a new arena in Seattle and has begun preliminary discussions with Oklahoma City and Kansas City about possible relocation.

"My expectation and my belief is that if we leave Seattle, we're quite likely headed to Oklahoma City,” Bennett said from his office on the 31st floor of Oklahoma Tower. "But that decision has to be made with appropriate due diligence. We have to do that work. Just can't proclaim we're moving here.”

Bennett said the Sonics got a "little bump” in ticket sales from the lottery news but no momentum on the arena front.

Bennett said ideally the Sonics would launch the career of either Durant or Oden in the franchise's long-term home but that it was unlikely for the franchise to seek relocation this summer.

"For now, without a building solution, it's our intent to play in Seattle and apply for relocation immediately after the (Oct. 31) deadline,” Bennett said. The Oklahoma City group agreed to give Seattle until Oct. 31 to produce an arena deal.

Now, there are certainly reasons to suspect that the Sonics up to this point had been feeling like they may be moving, but it doesn't sound like they want to move for the very reasons I stated, so my point is not just me talking. Connections with the business community, means what exactly for their profit gains when there is more money available to be made in Seattle, which is fact. Certainly football is there, but that's 8 home games, man. Their issue is an arena.

However, I have family who lives in Seattle, and as doable as this deal may be, I think the population there may just not be in support of paying for the building of a new arena, no matter what. To be honest, I agree with them, as much as I want to get Lewis. Seattle paid for two brand new stadiums for the Mariners and the Seahawks, when they have significant education, public transportation, and traffic problems, and even worse, voters came out against tax subsidies going to pay for the Seahawks stadium but they somehow got overridden.

Seattle residents are upset because tax dollars went to renovate Key Arena barely a decade ago:

http://www.citizensformoreimportantthings.org/page2.html

Here is a blog about the stadium issue from the Seattle Post Intelligencer with locals sounding off, often against stadium subsidies, which stems from the history of what happened with those two stadiums, as well as how they and other stadiums built in cities elsewhere have failed to stimulate economic growth:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/soundoff/comment.asp?articleID=310362

However, if the owners believe a Lewis deal with the Knicks gets enough excitement from people on the border about whether to support the stadium then they may go for it. If not, then we get no Lewis, and the Sonics probably go to Oak. City.



[Edited by - PresIke on 05-30-2007 11:00 AM]

[Edited by - PresIke on 05-30-2007 11:01 AM]

a core of Lewis, Curry and Marbs does not excite me at all.

JO, Curry and Marbury does.