Saving Seattle: A SuperSonics Dynasty

[trekfan]

Rapid Reaction: Rockets 107, Sonics 91
By Sam Hyde|ESPN.com
November 17, 2003

The Sonics (7-2) lost to the Rockets (5-4) tonight in an effort that seemed lacking for much of the game. Houston was able to chip away at the Sonics lead through the first three quarters before breaking it open in the fourth, outscoring Seattle 33-21 and running the Sonics players into the ground. Aided by a superb effort from Yao Ming (23 points, 11 boards) the Rockets took off in the fourth and didn’t look back.

MVP: Cuttino Mobley. Mobley scored 29 points on 10-of-19 shooting and rained fire from deep, going 4-of-6 from behind the arc.

LVP: Gary Payton. Payton had a statically impressive night with 20 points, minus the fact he turned the ball over seven times, three of them in the fourth. Despite LeBron’s play (27 points on 9-of-24 shooting), Payton gets the nod for this dishonor. The Glove had very slippery hands today.

Quote of the Night: “I asked coach to take me out towards the end and he told me to stay in. The last few minutes I was so tired I just about fell asleep standing up.” -- Cuttino Mobley on how he felt at the end of the game.

[trekfan]

November 18^th, 2003

“It’s something I feel we shouldn’t lose,” Mark Cuban began, his trademark energy emanating from him as he stood beside Steve Ballmer. “Steve and I are both in agreement, David; these new divisions you’re so gung-ho for will wreck traditional rivalries and weaken the league. The system we have works and has been in place for decades! Let’s not go breaking something that doesn’t need to be broken!”

There were murmurs, some of disagreement and agreement, around the room. The Board of Governors meeting today was important; today the Board would vote on David’s proposal to institute new divisions, splitting up some traditional foes. In the end the rivalries would be maintained, at least as far as playing games went, but the issue here was history.

Out of all the people to buck trends and history, David Stern expected Cuban and Ballmer to be the ones to lead the charge; instead, the two fresh-faced owners wanted to keep things the way they were and both of them were very convincing. David had tried swaying Ballmer but that had failed.

He needed this win. The Bobcats franchise had fallen through and the entire situation was an embarrassment to him and the NBA. There were whispers that his influence and power were waning … normally he wouldn’t believe such a thing but before him stood Ballmer, who was getting further with the local and state government than David ever had for KeyArena improvements.

Ballmer was making him look weak and, the way the room was reacting to the argument he and Cuban was making, David could almost believe that he was getting weaker.

But he wasn’t ready to throw in the towel just yet. “Gentlemen, the issue is not losing tradition or rivalries,” David began, keeping his tone even and respectful. “The traditions will be maintained, just in different divisions. What will be lost will be negligible to what is gained, which is a much more manageable division system.” He pointed at the proposed new divisions and where each teams were. “Each division will have five teams, minus the Southwest division. The Hornets will stay in the East, playing in the Southeast division, minimizing the loss of our expansion franchise. Instead of divisions with seven or eight teams in them, we now have divisions that are much easier to manage and much easier for our fans to interact with.”

“Oh, that’s BS,” Cuban said with gusto. “This is just a move to change things for change’s sake! What we have works and no one’s complaining about it! You’re doing this to copy the NFL; just because they do something doesn’t mean we have to! Jesus, are we in third grade now?”

David kept a calm demeanor as he refused the urge to roll his eyes. Cuban was, as usual, over-reacting.

“The move would force our fans to re-learn the divisions and rethink the way their teams play,” Ballmer chimed in. “What we should do is build upon what we already have instead of breaking it down and realigning just to mimic the NFL. We’re a different league then them and we should embrace those differences, not reject them.”

Ballmer’s words caused more discussion. David had a response ready, though. “We should embrace our differences, but do it in a way that has shown success; the NFL’s divisional realignment has shown success. Ratings are up and so are profits; the change has reinvigorated the league.”

“Tom Brady and those damned Texans have reinvigorated the league,” Cuban shot back. He didn’t much like the Texans; having yet another sports franchise in Texas hadn’t pleased many of the other owners in that state, minus the Rockets.

“The facts are the league is making more money this way and it’s been proven resoundingly in one season,” David said calmly, playing his ace. If there was one thing the Board was more interested in than maintaining rivalries, it was making profit. “It is with this in mind that I now call for a vote on the matter.”

Cuban crossed his arms like a petulant child. “Let’s get this over with.”

The voting began. It wasn’t a long process, just yays or nays; all he needed was a majority to pass it. It didn’t need to be a large majority. When the final tally was made, the motion had passed 16-13. The vote had been much closer than David would have liked.

The meeting moved onto its next issue but David’s mind was still on the divisional realignment. It would go into effect next season but he had estimated at least twenty votes for the proposal. He had nearly lost this vote … if two had swung the other way, he would be looking at his second biggest failure of the year.

My influence is waning, he thought unhappily to himself. Keeping the owners and players in line was a tough job but one he was very proficient at. One he was good at. Yet, here he was struggling to get something passed that should have been simple.

But it wasn’t simple anymore. Ballmer’s acquisition of the Sonics had helped dissolve the Charlotte ownership group. Ballmer’s fighting of this proposal had nearly defeated it. Ballmer was weakening his position.

David needed to sway him or find a way to weaken his position. He couldn’t afford the perception of weakness that he now had; if he was perceived as weak, players and owners would get bolder and he could lose control: chaos would reign.

He couldn’t allow that on his watch. Ballmer would have to be dealt with in one way or another.

That fact was inescapable.

[illWILL8455]

I'm really loving how this dynasty is humanizing some of the biggest villains of the modern NBA. The struggle of David Stern to maintain his power and influence in the NBA with Ballmer and Cuban on the rise is really turning into an interesting storyline! I actually feel as though Stern needs to find a way to keep his power somehow.

I do really hate that the conferences are re-aligning though. I really enjoy history and tradition so anything that changes that really sucks. It's why I am not a big fan of all of the teams in college sports switching conferences. I just wish that they'd keep it the same haha. I will definitely be eager to see how Stern's power struggle plays out as this dynasty continues!

Great work, I am really enjoying this dynasty! It's very creative and unique!

[trekfan]

Quote: Originally Posted by illWILL8455

I'm really loving how this dynasty is humanizing some of the biggest villains of the modern NBA. The struggle of David Stern to maintain his power and influence in the NBA with Ballmer and Cuban on the rise is really turning into an interesting storyline! I actually feel as though Stern needs to find a way to keep his power somehow. I do really hate that the conferences are re-aligning though. I really enjoy history and tradition so anything that changes that really sucks. It's why I am not a big fan of all of the teams in college sports switching conferences. I just wish that they'd keep it the same haha. I will definitely be eager to see how Stern's power struggle plays out as this dynasty continues! Great work, I am really enjoying this dynasty! It's very creative and unique!

I am in total agreement here. If the game allowed it, I would mod it so the conferences/divisions wouldn't change, but as far as I could tell that's just not possible. But the realignment of all the conferences/teams across major sports just seems to be a money grab most of the time.

For the NBA I understand some of the thinking behind it as, prior to this, the teams were in two divisions per conference, each division having 7 to 8 teams in them. That's pretty deep for a division and each division probably could have been made it's own mini-conference at that point. The NBA's change was a direct response to the NFL IMO.

As we progress through the story, Stern's saga will be brought to the forefront. There's no telling if he'll last as long Stern did IRL.

Glad you're enjoying it so far. Stay tuned for future updates

[trekfan]

One on One: An Interview with LeBron James
By Vivian Marshall
November 17, 2003

LeBron James was drafted first overall this past June by the Seattle SuperSonics. Considered one of the best prospects to enter the NBA in many years, LeBron’s hometown team --the Cleveland Cavaliers -- was left at the altar with the number two pick. LeBron’s rookie season so far is a huge success as he’s averaging over 30 points a game.

Vivian Marshall: Firstly, thanks for dong this LeBron. I want to start with the draft process, specifically the night of the lottery. Cleveland and Denver had the best chance to land the first overall pick. How did you feel when Seattle landed it?

LeBron James: Honestly, I was stunned. I had been told by friends and family that Cleveland was gonna get it, that it was kinda destiny … and then they didn’t. When it came down to the last two picks to be revealed and they showed up second, it was just all quiet around me. I think we were all surprised.

VM: Did you have any contact with the Sonics before the draft?

LJ: No, not really. My agent got a call from them to see if I wanted to do a workout, but they weren’t going to be picking anywhere near us … at least, that’s what we thought. When they landed first overall, we went to work out with them.

VM: What was it like to have the Cavs come so close to landing you?

LJ: Honestly, it was a surprise. Everyone had been telling me for weeks that it was Cleveland and I was so sure it would be them but it turned out that’s not what went down. I was surprised … first time something surprised me in basketball in awhile. My family and friends were disappointed, they wanted to stay in Ohio, but I was just happy to know where I was going.

VM: When you went to work out for Seattle, what was that like?

LJ: A lot different. When I worked out for Cleveland, the mood was giddy, I guess. They were so happy to see me and I was happy to see them. But when I came to Seattle, they were really curious, kinda cautious. We didn’t know each other, didn’t think we would know each other. I worked out with them and met some of the people there and they were good people … really excited about what I could bring, basketball-wise. We talked a lot of basketball, actually, and it was cool … when I was in Cleveland there wasn’t so much basketball talk.

VM: Draft night in New York arrives and you show up in a very unique outfit. Care to explain that?

LJ: (Laughs) That! Man … you know, I played high school basketball at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School and our school colors were green and gold. When I was trying to pick out suits for the draft, some really wanted me to wear this all white one and I just wasn’t feeling it; I felt like, if I was heading to a team that had the same colors as my school, I wanted to represent both. So, that became the suit; green jacket, gold undershirt, green tie. Looking back, maybe I should have toned it down a little … but it was cool.

VM: What’s it been like interacting with guys like Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp, and Penny Hardaway?

LJ: Eye opening. I watched those guys play in the 90s … very talented, very savvy players. When I met them all the first time I was like ‘Whoa’. They know a lot about the game, way more than I did coming in, and I had to play catch up … they didn’t baby me, they expected me to be working towards their level, every day.

At first it was really tough because I was out of school and didn’t think I had anything left to learn, but they put that idea out of my head real fast. It’s gotten easier as we’ve gone on and those guys are my mentors, my guides; I think, without them, I wouldn’t be nearly as good right now.

VM: Final question. What’s your goal for this season?

LJ: I want to do whatever it takes to help us win; I know it sounds really boring, like it’s easy, but every game in the NBA is tough. No one out there isn’t good, anyone can be really good on any given night, these guys live basketball and meeting them, head to head, has been a really good experience for me. I want to win for the team and I’ll do whatever it takes.

[trekfan]

November 27^th, 2003

As much as he hated to admit it, it was nice not to be at his apartment today. Today he was spending the day and night at his parents’ house, enjoying the family festivities. It was a relief to be at the first major holiday of the year … it was a chance for him to catch his breath. Seattle wasn’t playing again till Saturday, facing off against the Suns, and he was pretty sure the team needed the break as much as anyone.

After losing to the Rockets the way they had -- getting thrashed -- the Sonics had gone 2-2. Their losses weren’t close and neither were their wins. It seemed a toss-up which Sonics team you’d end up getting and it was wreaking havoc with his analytics. The last four games had been all over the map and predicting trends that way was just difficult.

“Joey! Joey!” his mom called from the kitchen.



He leaned back in his chair and yelled back, “Yeah?”

“Are you eating greens?”

He sighed. She was fixing his plate, like she would always do. She fixed everyone’s plate, but he wasn’t sure why. He shot a glance over to his father, who had his nose buried in the TV guide, trying to figure out which channel the games were on. His dad, keenly aware he was being looked at, only shrugged as if to say “That’s your Mom” and started flipping through the channels.

“Yeah, I’m having greens,” he yelled back. He could hear her favorite metal spoon clacking against his plate as she deposited the greens. He looked back to his dad. “Why can’t she just let us fix the plates?”

“She likes to do it,” his father said nonchalantly. He found the channel they were looking for and grinned. “Cowboys, Dolphins. Who you got?”

Joey didn’t care at all. Football was not his sport, it was his father’s. “Dad, I work with basketball.”

“Bunch of men in shorts running up a court, really exciting,” he said sarcastically. “Anyone ever get tackled?”

“When we play the Trail Blazers, sure,” Joey joked. Those two teams didn’t like one another at all. They would be playing them next week and it was probably going to be their first real test of the season.

“Boys! Food!” his mother called as she exited the kitchen and set the food on the dining room table. She went back in to get everything else, but neither of them moved to the table.

“Think we got time for the pre-game show?”

His dad grinned. They both knew Joey’s mom would be awhile in getting everything out and set right. If there was one thing that was nice about Thanksgiving, it was family.

****

The Chinese food had finally arrived and, after paying the delivery boy and giving him a decent tip (despite how long she waited), Vivian tore into the food with a voracious appetite. No, it wasn’t exactly dignified and it wasn’t very pretty looking, but Thanksgiving was a day she didn’t have to do anything if she didn’t want to.

And she definitely didn’t want to this year. The NBA season was now in full swing and, with her new job, so was her life. Just packed to the brim with work, with hardly any time at all for anything else. She didn’t mind living the job, she was a journalist; she did important work. But she was probably less prepared for the rigors of working for SI than she realized.

She searched through her bag for soy sauce but found there was none; that was a major oversight. She made a mental note not to order from this place again but there was a knock on her door. She quickly stood up and answered the door, expecting to find the delivery boy with the soy sauce packets.

Instead, it was Dick holding a bottle of wine and some French bread. He smiled broadly at seeing her; she was dressed in pajamas, he was dressed in jeans and a polo shirt. “Catch you at a bad time?”

Food still in her mouth and god knows what else on her face, she swallowed it and ignored the feeling of heat rushing towards her face. “No,” she lied. She was so not expecting company. She stood in the doorway as she tried to gather herself.

Dick leaned his head in a little, looking at her apartment. “Mind if I come in? I brought enough for both of us.”

She didn’t want him there but she didn’t have soy sauce. The soy sauce was going to be missed and, truthfully, this was usually a lonely time of year for her. She didn’t have many friends but Dick was one of them; even if he was annoying. “All right, but you don’t mention a word of this to anyone, you got it?”

Dick nodded with false stoicism, trying to look unamused and failing. “Yes, ma’am.” She stepped out of the way and he entered into her apartment, a mix between a disorganized office, a robbed laundry mat, and a mini-dump. She was a slob and she knew it.

She didn’t mind because she never invited anyone over; she and her small group of friends usually went somewhere else. But as he surveyed the apartment she felt a great sense of guilt for being so messy. “Uh, it’s not usually like this,” she lied, hoping he’d buy the fact she had let the place go just because it was a holiday.

He cleared a space on her dining room table, which was covered with papers and notebooks, and set the wine and food down. “Totally,” he said with more amusement. He pointed at her kitchen cabinets. “So, any wine glasses?”

She nodded and went to the kitchen to grab them. It didn’t take her long to find them; wine glasses were one of the few things she knew for sure she had. She returned with them and he poured two generous glasses of red wine. “So, why the visit?” she finally managed to ask, her embarrassment now replaced by curiosity.

He grinned. “Well, I was lonely and you said at the office that you had no plans.” He handed her a glass and gave himself one. “I figured a visit wasn’t out of the question.”

She glared at him. “You could have called ahead, let me know, let me … straighten up.” She sighed but, after a moment, her withering glare gave way to appreciation. “But it’s nice to have company for once.” She narrowed her eyes. “As friends, Dick.”

He nodded and held up his wine in a toast. “To friends. Happy Thanksgiving, Viv.”

She clinked his glass and wished him the same. The two took a sip of the wine before she motioned over to the coffee table, where the Chinese food lay. “You like Chinese? I ordered enough for two.”

He smirked. “Red wine, French bread, and Chinese food? We’re a diverse people this Thanksgiving.”

She grinned.

[trekfan]

Rapid Reaction: Sonics 119, Suns 96
By Sam Hyde|ESPN.com
November 29, 2003

The Sonics (10-4) took the win tonight against the Suns (3-13) in Seattle, welcoming back Rashard Lewis for the first time this season. Lewis played decently enough (15 points, 10 boards) but couldn’t help keep his team in the game as Seattle’s offense wore down on the Suns. The Suns simply couldn’t keep up behind the play of a scorching Brent Barry (he scored all 21 of his points in the first half, going 6-of-9 from deep), the steady hands of Gary Payton (22 points, eight assists) and Shawn Marion (13 points, 14 boards, five assists).

MVP: LeBron James. James finished with 34 points and six rebounds, but absolutely caught fire in the fourth quarter when the Suns closed the gap to three points. LeBron, at that point, had only 20 points but would take over the game and forcefully slam the lid shut on the Suns; he went 3-of-4 from behind the arc in that time span and got to the line for free throws. The Suns had no answer for James tonight.

LVP: Joe Johnson. Johnson shot the ball well in the first half but went cold in the second. He finished with 31 points but only on 13-of-39 shooting. Johnson’s itchy trigger finger shot the Suns right out of the game.

Quote of the Night: “It was the first time I’d seen him since the trade. We talked about his family and stuff, talked about how he’s adjusting … and then I told him, straight up, ‘we’re gonna kick your *ss.’ He laughed at me. Who’s laughing now, Rashard?” -- Gary Payton on what he said to his former teammate, Rashard Lewis, before the game.

[trekfan]

Rapid Reaction: Sonics 107, Trail Blazer 103
By Sam Hyde|ESPN.com
December 3, 2003

The Sonics (12-4) met the Blazers (10-6) at home and the game seemed destined to go down as a classic. The Sonics came out slow, missing their first four shots, but played tough defense thanks to the new starter in the lineup, Jerome James. The team teams went into the half tied at 55 apiece before Brent Barry came out firing from deep in the third, hitting two straight threes and coming up a block on the other end to give the Sonics their first lead of the half. It would be a lead the Sonics would hold onto till the fourth quarter, when the Blazers would storm back and take a brief 98-96 lead with 2:58 to go, before Gary Payton drilled home a three to give the lead back to the Sonics, a lead which they wouldn’t give up the rest of the game.

MVP: Shawn Marion. After a slow start to the game (three points in the first half), Marion erupted in the second, finished with 24 points, 17 boards, and a key block in the final minute of the game. Marion’s scoring and rebounding proved the difference on a night where LeBron was playing well (36 points, six assists) but Gary Payton was struggling (nine points with 10 assists).

LVP: Ruben Patterson. The former Sonic spent much of the second half bricking shot after shot off the rim, wasting valuable Trail Blazers possessions that ultimately cost them the game.

WOW MOMENT: After a steal in the early first quarter from Brent Barry, he lofted it high up to LeBron who slammed it home for the dunk. In the third quarter, LeBron would get a steal and loft it up for a rare Brent Barry dunk, which sent the team’s bench -- and the home crowd -- into a frenzy.