Monthly Archives: April 2014

NBA in Seattle: A Retrospective Look at Traded Players with Local Connections

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We may not have a team in the Emerald City at the moment, but a host of players with Seattle/Washington ties were moved at the trade deadline. Whether this is good or bad remains to be seen. Here are those esteemed Washingtonians/people with Washington connections.

  • Aaron Brooks

The Seattle native was acquired by Denver from Houston to fill a need at back-up point guard. He cost the Nuggets young, swing-man Jordan Hamilton, but hopefully the former Rockets standout will provide Brian Shaw’s team a spark. The Nuggets only moved for Brooks to fill their back-up point guard spot after losing fellow Seattleite Nate Robinson for the year due to injury.

  • Luke Ridnour

A former Sonic and graduate of Blaine High School, Ridnour is one of the few ex-Sonics left in the league. He and Gary Neal are headed to Charlotte, while Ramon Sessions and Jeff Adrien moved the other way to Milwaukee.

  • Spencer Hawes

Hawes, the first Husky on the list, was dealt from deadline-seller Philadelphia to quasi-contender Cleveland for Henry Sims, Earl Clark and two second-round draft picks. Here’s hoping he finds a smidgen more team success in Cleveland than in Philly.

  • Austin Daye

The former Gonzaga standout isn’t from the state of Washington, but he was a superb collegiate player in Spokane. He’ll look to rekindle his career in San Antonio.

  • Reggie Evans

Another non-Washingtonian makes the list. Evans started his career as a Sonic and is one of a few left. He and the next player on the list were dealt to the Kings for Marcus Thornton.

  • Jason Terry

The Jet has moved again. This time from Brooklyn to Sacramento. He’s out for the year with an injury. Hopefully he finds success in Sacramento.

Seattle Seahawks’ Repeat and Dynasty Potential: Why Team’s Superb Player Development is the Key

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The Seattle Seahawks have experienced some of the usual perks of winning a Super Bowl. The parade, the sudden interest shown by media in the team’s players, etc.

Another result of the Super Bowl win has been a number of teams taking interest in the Seahawks’ free agents. Other teams are/were looking to take some of the Seahawks’ exceptional depth. The team has already lost supporting players Chris Maragos, Paul McQuistan and Clinton McDonald to free agency while key players like Golden Tate, Red Bryant, Walter Thurmond and Chris Clemons have also left town.

In addition to those players, the team also lost cornerback Brandon Browner and tackle Breno Giacomini, while players such as Sidney Rice and Michael Robinson could be brought back, but nothing is certain.

All of these losses will be felt in one way or another, but the team’s superb player development will help them sustain their winning ways.

Pete Carroll and friends find diamonds in the rough. Players like Doug Baldwin, Jermaine Kearse, Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor. Players who were late-round draft picks or undrafted. These players soon develop into starting players, as evidenced by Sherman’s meteoric rise to elite status.

Developing late-round/undrafted players also gives Seattle a huge boost in terms of the salary cap and money. These players’ rookie contracts are much cheaper than a first or second-round picks’ contract. All of this adds up, thus the team can target more players in free agency to supplement the team.

So far, some of the Seahawks’ more prominent losses in free agency are easily replaceable with much cheaper players who could develop into better players.

For example, Tate’s will be replaced by Jermaine Kearse, while a healthier Percy Harvin will improve the offense even more so. The two should more than make up for the former Notre Dame standout.

Kearse is still on his rookie deal, while Tate signed for five years and as much as 31 million dollars with Detroit. This will save the Hawks lots of cash to funnel into players like Harvin or complementary veterans on shorter contracts.

On the offensive line, McQuistan and Giacomini will be replaced by younger players like Michael Bowie and Alvin Bailey. The team showed confidence in the latter pair last season and could also draft a lineman or two come April. Former first-round pick James Carpenter could also start.

Cornerback Byron Maxwell is another young player who will find himself starting again next year. The former Clemson Tiger filled in admirably for Browner during his suspension and in the process left no doubt that he was the better player for the role, as opposed to Thurmond. Maxwell, as well as young, cheap and talented corners Jeremy Lane, DeShawn Shead and Tharold Simon, will make up for the loss of the departed players.

All in all, players like Kearse, Bowie and Maxwell may or may not turn into star players. Their impact probably won’t be the sole reason the Seahawks turn into a dynasty. What will propel the Seahawks into a dynasty is their ability to continually find and develop under-valued players into impact performers.