SoS - DDSPB2

[Mr.Big_698]

The NBA has decided after only a partial season with the New Orleans Hornets under there ownership that it's time for a change of scenary. A big time owner has came into the picture buying the Hornets and breaking the stadium lease all in the same day.

"The team has been totally stripped down, with them trading away any long term contracts after being purchased by the NBA. I see it as an oppurtunity to restore a franchise that has been taken from a faithful fanbase. I'll be bringing in some new management and trying to build a team around our up and coming young stars. I hope we are welcomed back into the fold here in Seattle, and hopefully our second marriage is better than the first,"

That was a quote by the new owner of the Hornets, Mr. Gary Carmin. He is in the process of bringing the team back to Seattle and branding them as the Sonics once more. A story that mirrors Cleveland and the loss of the Browns, the Sonics are back in Seattle.

[Mr.Big_698]

"Eenie meanie minie moe, catch a tiger by his toe, if he hollers let him go, eenie meanie minie moe," as Mr. Carmin goes around the room reciting the childrens rhyme his finger stops and it's pointing at me. I don't think much of it and I smile at Mr. Carmin. I was just an intern sitting in on this legal meeting taking notes. That all changed pretty quickly.

"You there son whats your name?" Mr. Carmin asked as he continued to point at me. His mind seemed to be working through an idea slowly. It was like a light bulb had turned on above his head.

"My name is Junior Asper sir, I'm an intern with your legal firm," I politely smiled at him. His smile broadened after I spoke.

"It's your lucky day Mr. Asper, your getting a promotion," my thoughts completely froze. A promotion? What kind of promotion could be given to an intern I wondered.

"Your going to be the general manager of the Seattle Sonics, look I've even got all the paper work ready. The last guy who ran the team into the ground is fired now, and I think your his replacement," I was stunned. I loved the Sonics before they were stolen from my city. It had killed my love for professional basketball.

"Sorry to say sir, but Seattle doesn't have a team anymore. I don't even think you own a team sir," he laughed in my face.

"Did no one tell you what this meeting was for Mr. Asper? I have bought the New Orleans Hornets from the NBA. I have plans to build a new stadium here in Seattle, and to rebrand the Hornets as the Sonics. Take back our basketball history and all that drama," my jaw was on the floor. Without thinking I hugged Mr. Carmin.

"Where do I sign?" He laughed once again and passed me all the necassary papers to become the new GM of the Sonics.

I continue to regret not reading those papers before signing. It would've been nice to know what I was getting mysef into. To be short it was like hopping into the aftermath of a trainwreck. WIth my lack of knowledge on recent events in the NBA, I didn't realize that New Orleans had completely destroyed there foundation of Chris Paul and David West. Traded them both away for capspace and draft picks. There is only one player on the roster, a result of the Chris Paul trade to the Sixers. That's SG Evan Turner, who in his first season made the all-star game as a reserve, made the all-NBA second team, and was snubbed as rookie of the year do to the amount of wins.

So a pretty good player isn't a bad start I suppose, considering the capspace it leaves me, yet the other restrictions that were put into the contract I signed makes it so I must stay beneath the salary cap, use fourteen roster slots, I must allow my coaches contracts to expire, and I must have atleast one player with a homegrown flavour. Also I was hired late into the offseason as the draft is tomorrow.

I'm going into the draft blind with only the previous GM's notes, and my coaches input.

My head coach is the fourty-one year old Chris Finch who was just a mediocre coach in the D-League before being hired by my predecessor. He squeezed fifteen wins out of a roster that would've won maybe six games without Evan Turner. He also developed Turner into a force within the first thirty games of the season.

His first assistant is the experienced Tony Barone who is helping Chris grow into the role of head coach. He's an all-around solid coach in this league.

T.R. Dunn could be a first assistant on most teams and will probably leave the team when his contract is up. A very good assistant.

The last coach is former player Damon Stoudamire I think he was brought in to be a player coach. He was probably a big reason why Evan Turner settled down after the first quarter of last year.

I trust these coaches to help me make the right decisions on draft night. This is make our break for my future. For the franchises future.

[Mr.Big_698]

Well the draft has started, we fell from the first pick in the lottery down to the third pick. Looking over the notes I have and watching some tape on the relative candidates for the top of the lottery this draft looks terrible. There’s only one player that is consistently listed in the top five by any scouts and that’s SF Linehan Perry. He’s a 6’10 forward with a great scoring skill set and good quickness. Everything else is just a shot in the dark. I just hope there’s a diamond in the rough. I’ve got two picks in the top half of the draft #3 and #15. No second round picks this year. I need a big man and possibly a wing of some sort. There looks to be a very good crop of point guards in free agency this year\ so I’m not overly worried about drafting one.
The draft is kicked off with Phoenix selecting Linehan Perry first overall.

1<SUP>st </SUP>Phoenix - SF Linehan Perry - Safe selection at the top of the draft. Could be very good beside Steve Nash.

2<SUP>nd</SUP> Detroit - SF Clifton Mack - A solid all around player to replace Tayshaun Prince in the lineup.

3<SUP>rd</SUP> Seattle - SF Keiron English - A spread the floor type of shooter with the potential to become something greater down the road. He’s a guy with great size on the wings. Hopefully he can develop some consistency and be a starter for us.

4<SUP>th</SUP> Toronto - C Frankie McQuay - Looks like a solid starter in the NBA. His skill set is almost a perfect fit with Andrea Bargnani.

5<SUP>th</SUP> Minnesota - SG Joe Rayner - Looks like the steal of the draft. He is a bit undersized or I might have taken a harder look at him. He looks to be an all-star in a backcourt with Ricky Rubio.

6<SUP>th</SUP> - Oklahoma City - SG Clark Richardson - A clone of J.R. Smith to almost a tee. Could be a great sixth man.

7<SUP>th</SUP> Milwaukee - SG Chris Calvert - A big rhythm three point shooter. He’s a 6’8 giant and averaged 26 points in college.

8<SUP>th</SUP> Washington - PF LaVall Lopez - A finesse four that is completely redundant on a roster with Blatche.

Trade Alert
Dallas Trades:
SF Damion James

Orlando Trades:
SF Stanley Robinson

9<SUP>th</SUP> Miami - C Esmond Morris - Ranked as the top pick in the draft before workouts. He slipped because at workouts he was extremely lazy, and aggressive to players who would out play him. A good value pick at nine but may never develop to a rotation player.

10<SUP>th</SUP> Sacramento - C Jason Vinson - A big body with very few offensive skills to speak of. He was drafted a bit too early here to a team with big man depth.

11<SUP>th</SUP> Memphis - SF Tom Mells - A solid value pick here to shore up the bench in Memphis. He is a solid defender and shooter.

12<SUP>th</SUP> Indiana - PG Jameel Moss - The first point guard off the board to help fill a need for Indiana. Could be something average to good for them beside Danny Granger.

13<SUP>th</SUP> Cleveland - PF Aleksander Bajic - A solid pick who was touted as being a top 10 pick early on but he didn’t measure out to a very good height and fell done the boards quickly.

14<SUP>th</SUP> Houston - PF Jay Patrick - A finesse four that would compliment Yao Ming’s inside presence nicely.

15<SUP>th</SUP> Seattle - PF Bernard Miller - A finesse four with a very large upside, good work ethic, and was a captian on Arizona State in his freshman year. Could be a very solid bench player for the Sonics.

16<SUP>th</SUP> Atlanta - SG Rob Alexander
17<SUP>th</SUP> Boston - PG Nashon McArdle

Trade Offer
Utah Trades:
2011 1<SUP>st</SUP> round draft pick

Boston Trades:
PG Nashon McArdle

18<SUP>th</SUP> Philadelphia - C Larry Ward
19<SUP>th</SUP> New York - SF Matt Lepore
20<SUP>th</SUP> San Antonio -PG Russell Stone
21<SUP>st</SUP> LAL - PG Cleveland Claxton
22<SUP>nd</SUP> Boston - C Stephaine Bradley
23<SUP>rd</SUP> LAC - C Micheal Bradley
24<SUP>th</SUP> Golden State - SF Dan Winston
25<SUP>th</SUP> Dallas - PF Charles Ireland
26<SUP>th</SUP> Portland - SF Henry Hendricks
27<SUP>th</SUP> Orlando - PF Bill Vidoni
28<SUP>th</SUP> Brooklyn - SF Jon Barnes
29<SUP>th</SUP> Chicago - PF Brett Greene
30<SUP>th</SUP> Denver - SG Charles Jalabert