Tag Archives: seattle sonics

Speculative/Potential Sonics Coaches

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The Kings had a poor season. They struggled on the court and needed a truly miraculous effort by Kevin Johnson to even give the city a small chance to keep the team. The Kings had a poor season, and regardless of the move to Seattle, are likely in for some changes.
This is why this is here, not to blow smoke on the matter, but to give you, my fellow Northwesterners, a look at who might be in the realm of possibility.

Phil Jackson. Everyone would like to have the Zen Master as their coach. But likely, no one will get him. Jackson is retired and will probably stay that way. We Sonics fans can dream, right?
(That isn’t to say that the rest of the list are garbage candidates, but there are few current coaches who can compete with the Zen Master, and we aren’t getting Popovich, Doc Rivers or George Karl. Wait a minute…)

George Karl. A dark horse at this point, probably more of a long shot. There is no thought process that the Nuggets can have that convinces them to let him go. Denver would probably want compensation for Karl if he left, big “if,” I know. They would also probably ask for the world, all of its moons, and half of Chris Hansen’s income next year. If Andre Iguodala leaves in free agency, Tyreke Evans isn’t a bad fit to replace him on the wing, from a “tools” stand point. He (Evans) could be a better defender, I know.

Brian Shaw. If Jackson is hired as a potential “czar” and/or advisor of the Sonics’ front office, then Shaw would make a whole lot of sense as the head coach. Shaw is widely regarded as one of the better assistant coaches in the league, and I’m still trying to wrap my head around why the Lakers didn’t give him the head coaching gig when the Zen Master retired.

 

Nate McMillan. Having Mr. Sonic back on the side lines would be a hand-in-glove fit. Insert Reign Man and Downtown puns here.
It’s all speculative at this point. Regardless of who the coach is, we’re getting basketball back in Seattle.
Who would you add to the list? Let me know in comments below.

Get on the Sonics Priority Ticket Waitlist Now and Support the Sonics!

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Are you interested in getting on a waitlist to have the opportunity to buy Sonics tickets before everyone else does? Check out the waitlist over at sonicsarena.com. I’ve already signed up, it’s super easy. Join me in supporting the NBA coming back to the greatest city in the world: Seattle.

All you have to do is enter your phone number, email, zip code and a few other minor details.

You don’t have to give them your credit card, and you don’t have to buy anything. You simply sign up to get on the waitlist so you have the opportunity to buy Sonics tickets when they become available.

It’s a simple survey, it takes five minutes and the end result is the opportunity to get Sonics tickets in the future. And who doesn’t want that?

The last question in the survey is “Who is your favorite Sonic?”

So I’m asking you, who is your favorite Sonic?

Sonics Priority Ticket Waitlist Goes Live on Thursday!!!

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A Priority TIcket Waitlist for future Sonics tickets goes up Thursday over at the official website of Chris Hansen and the effort to bring the Sonics back.

Be sure to sign up here or check the website here. The post can directly be viewed here.

I know I’ll be signing up. It goes live March 14th at 10 AM SST (“Sonics Saving Time!”).

Get ready to sign up as well!

The Sonics are coming back folks. Get ready!!!

You can also reach the fine folks at Sonics Arena on twitter here.

Future Sonics Need to Go Get a Big Name or Two

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The Kings have won 17, 25, 24, 22 and 19 games the past five seasons. Obviously the second to last number was during a lockout-shortened season, but the winning percentage still equates to .333. Not very good. Not at all.

The Kings’ current group isn’t cutting it.

Last month I wrote a piece on the Kings’ to-do list. In it I said the team should start Thomas Robinson. That obviously isn’t going to happen. Robinson is gone, off to Houston, and the return is Cole Aldrich, Toney Douglas and Patrick Peterson. Not the biggest or best return, but fantastic if you consider that Francisco Garcia and Tyler Honeycutt’s collective contracts are gone.

The idea was inspired by an audio trinket on ESPN’s website. On it Bill Simmons and Ryan Russilo talk about trades they would make.

Simmons brought up a deal that would send Rondo to Sacramento Seattle for DeMarcus Cousins, Jimmer Fredette and one of the Kings’ Sonics’ bad contracts to Boston.

This is what Seattle needs, a big time player to build their team around Continue reading →

In Case it Wasn’t Obvious, Three More Reasons to Have a Professional Basketball Team in Seattle

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  1. Duh.
  2. Exposure. This isn’t to say that NBA scouts are ignoring the Pacific Northwest. Kelly Olynyk and CJ Wilcox have drawn numerous professional scouts over the course of the season. There is just so much talent that might be overlooked due to the gaping black hole that is the non-presence of an NBA team in Seattle. Washington’s Big Three of UW, Washington State and Gonzaga have produced a good number of pros lately. Brandon Roy, Klay Thompson, Nate Robinson, Ronny Turiaf, Isaiah Thomas and recent Spurs’ signing Aron Baynes highlight a solid group. Again, NBA scouts aren’t necessarily overlooking the Northwest; it is just harder for it to get exposure for the second-tier guys without an NBA team. I say second-tier guys not because of their level of play or potential, it’s just usually the pro scouts go to see a big-time college player and might stumble upon another guy who they want to bring on to their team. Washington colleges as a whole haven’t had a lot of “it” guys like I referenced before, so it’s harder for other guys to get noticed who should be.
  3. Duh. And this isn’t just for repetition (though it partly is.) Seattle provides a much better “market” (I guess you could say) and landing spot in general than prospective cities Virginia Beach, Las Vegas and Anaheim. Plus Slick Watts’ headband has more NBA history than the three cities combined. Just saying.

Let me know your reasons in the comments section below.

Well Known Piece: Spite: Why Again, is the Sonics’ History in OKC?

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(Here’s a piece I wrote where I talk about the Sonics’ illustrious history and why it belongs to the people in the largest city of a certain Midwestern state. Again for all you twitter folks out there this would call for a #NOKC. Anyways, I wrote it last June on my other site knowhitter.com, thought you might like to check it out.)

(Also if you like what you read here you can check out my other site where this was originally posted, knowhitter.com.)

 

Oh yeah, spite. That’s the answer, or at least that’s my take on it. You see, not only have we (Seattle) lost our team, but in a matter of years the Raiders are in the NBA Finals. So, not only does that irk me (that’s the PG version), but I should also point out that all of the Sonics’ history is owned by Clay Bennett and his “posse”.

So, assuming you’re still following along after that painfully short lead-in, here is my perception:  spite. Yes, spite. Why else would you want to take a team’s history? When Seattle gets a team back (looking at you Stern), I don’t want that team’s history. That’s their history; they accomplished it, and they deserve to have it.

Say your team is gone along with its history. Say you’ve had some Hall of Fame worthy players as well. Now let’s say that those players’ jerseys were never retired and that the history, as stated, is owned by somebody else. Welcome to our world readers who aren’t Northwesterners and/or Sonics fans. Gary Payton’s jersey was never retired, and the ability to retire it now lies in the hands of Clay Bennett. And that’s what bugs me. Bennett isn’t going to retire the Glove’s jersey. Even if he did, GP has said he doesn’t want it retired in OKC. So basically, the jersey is useless in OKC’s hands. And that’s what bugs me. They know that they weren’t going to do anything with the jerseys of guys like Payton and Kemp, not to mention the 1979 NBA Championship Trophy. But they own the history nonetheless. Which seems spiteful to me.

You’ll notice that I don’t refer to OKC as their actual nickname, and more accurately call them the Raiders. They are in fact just that, Raiders, who took the team and the history.

A quick side slant at Bennett and Stern here. Stern named Bennett the head of the NBA Relocation Committee. That might be the worst hiring since the Knicks brought in Isaiah Thomas. Or maybe even worse.

Another  thing that is bothersome (again, being PG rated here) is that every time I watch the NBA playoffs, they throw out stats like “OKC’s first playoff (put accomplishment here) in over 15 or 20 years.” That’s also a load of bahooey (again PG), because it wasn’t OKC. It was the Sonics.

And just to clear things up, I’ve got no ill will towards the Thunder players or coaches. Most of them weren’t in Seattle, but the people I do have a problem with are Bennett and his “posse”.

And Stern.