Second Coming: A SuperSonics Return

[trekfan]

December 16th, 2015

The final buzzer sounded and Max let out the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding, letting out a loud yell and a fist pump that would make Tiger Woods blush. The arena was rocking with the chants of "LET'S GO SONICS! LET'S GO SONICS! LET'S GO SONICS!" as the crowd stayed, stood, and gave a standing ovation to the team.

All of it was deafening, all of it was near ear-shattering, but it made him feel alive and it felt good. From his seat right behind the bench, Max reached over and offered his hand to his favorite player, Ray Allen, and the two shook enthusiastically.

Twelve years ago Ray had become a Sonic and immediately became one of Max's favorite players -- just 20-years-old at the time, Max was still in college, still watching Sonics games on his small 12-inch tube TV, and half the time he was fighting with the damned thing to get good reception.

But the one thing that had always held true with that TV and Ray was that, when Ray shot a three, the TV would never have an issue; any other play was up in the air as the signal fluctuated sometimes, but the threes by that sweet shooting guard were never missed by Max.

If he was honest with himself, signing Ray was a move made for nostalgic purposes more than anything; some in Seattle held a small opinion of him since he was traded to Boston, but Ray had never said anything prior to that about being traded. Above all, Ray was a professional -- and an adopted son of the city in Max's opinion.

"Way to go, Ray!" Max yelled above the clamor, his voice barely registering, but Ray heard him all the same and only smiled as he was swallowed back up by his teammates. His insertion into the starting lineup hadn't been flawless -- he wasn't shooting great, but he was doing better than Crawford and the first-team just ran better with him.

Max slowly turned in his seat, listening to the arena applaud and cheer, and felt his chest fill with joy. This is what Seattle was supposed to be, this was the sanctuary that the people of this city had been missing. Seattle wasn't known for its sunny skies, and every team that played there played outside, where the clouds would hang.

But there were no clouds in this arena; there was only the Sonics and the joy they brought, the bright lights of the greatest sports stage in Seattle. Basketball was back and it was beautiful.

****

The game had been over for nearly two hours now, but Max could still feel the buzz in the air. His skin crawled with excitement and, not for the first time, he looked down at the box score of the game.




The team was finding its way. Now sitting at 15-10, they were still in the 7th seed of the playoffs, with Dallas trailing them at 12-12. It wasn't as good as some in the media demanded (Max's opinion of the Seattle Times Vonny Lee wasn't high) but it was good enough. With Noel returning to the starting lineup from his injury soon, the team would be even better.

"That was some game." Max turned around to see Paul Allen, owner of the Blazers and the Seahawks, with a grin affixed to his face. "Must admit, I thought we had you at the ten minute mark."

Max grinned back at him. He had invited Paul to the arena after the game for some drinks and conversation. He had questions he wanted to ask. "I thought we were going to let it slip away," he admitted as he reached into the mini-fridge and pulled out a bottle of white wine. "Would you prefer something else?"

Paul waved him off. "That'll be fine, thank you." Rather than taking a seat in the plush leather chairs of the owner's suite -- something Max had no intention of ever using, he'd rather be on the floor -- Allen sat down at the minibar. "You've assembled quite a team."

Max finished pouring both their glasses, stuck the wine back into the fridge, and gave a glass to Paul. "I'd like think so." He held out his glass. "A toast: to Seattle. May it continue to thrive."

Paul clinked his glass against Max's and took a sip of his wine. He nodded with approval. "You have good taste."

"My mother instilled me with it; my father was always a beer drinker." Unbidden, memories of his father's rants against wine popped into his mind; the old man had always been a staunch defender of beer while his mother had always found it unrefined.

Both his parents had drank and so had his brother.

Gill just took it too far.

"You want to know something," Paul stated, amusement in his voice. "I suppose I would have questions too in your position."

Brought back to the moment, Max put aside his feelings on his brother. "Uh ... yes, actually." He took a sip of his wine, then sat his glass to his far left. He pushed his frames up. "Why did you fight for me?" He held out his hands. "For this?"

"I would hope my love for Seattle is more than apparent at this point," Paul joked, his lips curled into a smirk. "This city, these people ... they matter more to me than words can express." He pointed at Max. "And that's why I fought as hard as I did for you. For this. Since the Sonics were relocated, this city hasn't been the same." Paul leaned forward a little, his voice dropping an octave. "Even when we won the Superbowl, the feeling wasn't quite the same as the championship in '79. That title and the feelings associated with it ... I've never felt anything like that since."

Max took another sip of wine as he watched Paul's face relax. "And that's why you threw your support behind me, some punk coder?"

He laughed. "It was a gut feeling, I admit. Your ambition was far greater than anything I thought was still out there. People don't have the passion you do, it's a rare thing and should be encouraged; accepted. You came in here strong and you made a believer out of me." He sipped his wine, then added, "But I was a believer in the Sonics first. I would have supported anyone who managed to clear the hurdles you did."

Max chuckled at the compliment; it wasn't often a billionaire had good things to say about him. "I hope the other owners don't take it out on you."

Paul waved off the comment. "Most of them understand business is business, not personal." He frowned. "But Bennett isn't one of those. He tends to take things personally." He pointed a finger at Max. "And you should beware that you don't do the same. You have to balance passion with practicality. Clay Bennett isn't my favorite person in the world, but I have -- and will -- have to deal with him. It's a fact of the NBA."

Max's face grew dark. "You can do that. I won't. The Thunder are at the top of the list of organizations we have to bring down; they, and they alone, are the most responsible for the loss of the Sonics. They still parade around with our star."

"Their star," Paul corrected, his voice cautionary. "Durant is OKC and OKC is Durant. One day he may leave there ... but that day isn't coming soon. I hope you don't think he'll head anywhere but there this summer."

Max shook his head. "I'm not that delusional."

The other man laughed. "Just make sure to keep it that way. In the NBA, the more delusional you get, the worse your team becomes."

[Gensi2k]

This team is really surprising me. Gortat and Landry are really in tune, Crawford seems to be back to the good old days...I think the Sonics' return in postseason is close!

[trekfan]

Quote: Originally Posted by Gensi2k

This team is really surprising me. Gortat and Landry are really in tune, Crawford seems to be back to the good old days...I think the Sonics' return in postseason is close!

Yeah, I'm really surprised how well the team has come together. It's based around a pick and roll offense, defensively it's protecting the paint, and the bigs are going to work. Lionel Hollins runs a system that is very big-man friendly and I've tried to replicate that here.

And here are the highlights from last night's game.

[eyes of hazel]

Great writing man.

I think the 2016 NBA Draft will be key. Seattle fans will be excited about the Sonics finally having player that's "theirs" from the roots since the return.

Intrigued to see who is drafted, and if that young player will succumb to the pressure.

[trekfan]

Quote: Originally Posted by eyes of hazel

Great writing man. I think the 2016 NBA Draft will be key. Seattle fans will be excited about the Sonics finally having player that's "theirs" from the roots since the return. Intrigued to see who is drafted, and if that young player will succumb to the pressure.

*bows head* Thank you!

The 2016 draft is going to be key for Seattle. Right now the team does have youth in two key spots in the SF and PF positions (Hollis-Jefferson and Noel respectively) but we lack elsewhere. Both our guard spots are old and we need youth there. I don't think we're in bad shape at the center position -- with McCullough on the roster, I plan to train him up and move him to PF, then send Noel to C once Gortat ages out of being a starter (two seasons, I'd guess).

But this draft is really about finding a guard of the future and our pick is dependent on what the Wizards do and right now they're doing okay. Luckily the guard fields are pretty deep in this draft (and there are a number of young guards floating around the league should I need to trade for one).

Stay tuned as the first trimester report is on it's way, recapping the first third of the season for all NBA teams and where things are looking from here.

[trekfan]

The NBA First Trimester Report

December 24th, 2015

By Vonny Lee


The NBA has just concluded the first third of its season and, already, this year is shaping up to be better than the last. Teams, high and low, have surprised and disappointed. Let's check it out.


The Atlantic



1. The Knicks -- the New York Knicks -- are sitting atop the division for what feels like the first time in ages. The addition of Aaron Afflao and rookie Kristaps Porzingis (henceforth called KP because no one wants to spell that name) has been a boon to the team -- KP was averaging 14 points and 7 boards before going out with a broken wrist, a return likely in a few weeks. Melo himself is doing some of his best work in years and it looks like Fisher -- and Phil Jackson -- weren't so crazy after all. We all should have learned better not to underestimate those two.

2. The Raptors -- disappointing to say the least, especially based on what people thought this team could do in a weakened Atlantic. But with New York's rise comes the fall of other potential contenders and Toronto is just in the playoffs at this point at the 7th seed, but they can't feel secure; they have three other teams close to them in record looking to make their way up, one of them within their division.

3. The Wizards -- Washington is not having the year they wanted. Coming out of the gates strong, the Wizards have hit a rough patch of late, losing the last 9-of-11 games, four of those by less than four points. The team, having locked up Bradley Beal for the future, thought it could look forward to a season where all the pieces come together, but increasingly it looks like the talent can't get past the coaching -- Randy Wittman is on the chop block if this season goes awry and it looks very likely he'll be gone at the end of the year unless the Wizards pull off some playoff victories.

4. The Celtics -- it's been a tough year for Boston fans; after the surprise run to the playoffs last season, the Celtics had to have been pleased with their core, but the additions of David Lee hasn't helped the C's; in fact, Lee's defensive short-comings are even more apparent here than they were in the West. Lee is shooting only 42 percent from the field, his worst percentage in years, and the Celtics look to miss the playoffs as it currently stands. Ainge might work the deadline to get some more picks, but it's likely he stands pat and waits for the offseason, where the C's will have to make a big move to show the fans that they're not content with inconsistent mediocrity.

5. The 76ers -- everyone expected them to be among the worst teams in the league and Philly doesn't disappoint there. As has become the yearly tradition with this team, their 1st round big -- in this case Okafor -- was injured and just recently came back after missing the last 13 games. Okafor is everything advertised and more, scoring 23.6 points and nabbing 13.2 boards. He's kicking butt and taking names, but the rest of his team is ... lacking. The other big left, Joel Embiid, is averaging a double-double at 11 points and 10 boards; Philly can keep them both, but the two rarely share the floor and someone has to go -- my bet's on Embiid, but he's a risk with his injury history. That said, he has played in more games than Okafor this year and he's only getting 25 minutes, which means that -- should he be made a starter -- he'll be getting more points and boards.

[trekfan]

The NBA First Trimester Report

December 24th, 2015

By Vonny Lee


The Central



1. The Cavs -- are sitting pretty, with the best record in the NBA. This is the team that all of Cleveland thought they had when they traded for Kevin Love and the Knicks that weren't horrible. Love is scoring 15 points and pulling in a little over 10 boards a game, shooting 47 percent from the floor and 42 percent from deep; exactly the spacing the Cavs need. LeBron is having a MVP year with almost the exact numbers from last season, but he might be beat out by Irving, who's scoring 25 a game while shooting 50 percent from the floor, 44 from deep, and has stayed free of injury. They are the best team in the East and possibly the league.

2. The Bulls -- the first year without Thibs on the sideline in what feels like ages, the Bulls aren't quite the same team they were but they may not be that much better. Their record speaks to their inconsistency but Bulls' fans are happy to see Rose playing well again; he's averaging 18 points, 6 dimes, 45 percent from the floor and 34 percent from deep, numbers that are big improvements over last year. The Bulls only MVP other than Jordan, Rose is the soul of the team -- he'll only ever leave if the Bulls tell him to (PR suicide). Hoiberg's offense has helped Rose, but the Bulls have yet to adjust all the way to Coach Not Thibs. They're currently in 5th seed, hoping to climb their way higher.

3. The Pacers -- are struggling without Hibbert and West, but PG-13 is back in full force, scoring 23 points, bringing in 9 boards, and shooting a ridiculous 51 percent from the floor and 46 percent from deep. He's the star of this show, which is what Larry Bird wanted, but there's a decline from George Hill, who's barely shooting 42 percent, and the bigs aren't that intimidating. Ellis is playing well, shooting 48 percent from the floor and scoring 17 points, making that signing look good so far. This is the first year of the "faster" Pacers, but the only thing they seem fast at is losing games.

4. The Bucks -- new uniforms, new court, new contracts ... familiar results. After a surprise playoff berth last season, the Bucks looked to be a team on the rise, but instead seem to be a team that's not ready to take that next step. The Bucks have a logjam at the three and four, one too many players overlapping with skillsets. The depth, a boon last year, is a bust this time and the key difference is Michael Carter-Williams, whose size is helpful defensively but whose shooting is killing the team yet again -- MCW is shooting only 38 percent from the field and a paltry 14 percent from deep, his averages actually down from a year ago (and the year before that) and the rumblings are that the Bucks may end this experiment sooner rather than later.

5. The Pistons -- they are the worst team in the league, a feat only Philly would want to achieve. SVG's revamp of the team hasn't had the desired effect and its looking like his dual role as coach and GM is making things worse rather than better for this team. Detroit's struggles aren't doing much to endear them to the fans, whose attendance is at a six-year low, and Reggie Jackson's contract looks like a massive overpay. Brandon Jennings is a free agent at the end of the year and it doesn't look like he wants to be back at this point.

[trekfan]

The NBA First Trimester Report

December 24th, 2015

By Vonny Lee


The Southeast






1. The Heat -- are scorching the league, period, end of story. Miami's record isn't quite as pretty as the Cavs, but they're clearly the second-best team in the conference and look to be the only team able to take on the Cavs. Wade is putting out about 17 points, but he's playing the most efficient ball of his career, shooting 48 percent from the floor and 36 percent from deep. Bosh is going for a cool 24 points and 9 boards a game, knocking down 44 percent from deep, and the Heat's bench is killing it -- specifically Gerald Green, who's scoring 15 points as the dedicated sixth man.

2. The Hawks -- have dropped off a bit from the blistering pace set last year and this team is preparing for a future without franchise center Al Horford. Horford, reportedly, is looking to be on a title-contender before his career ends as he approaches 30 and looks to cash in on the big money available this year in FA. The Hawks are confident he'll choose them in FA, but sources around the league have it that Al is setting his sights on a winning team out West (away from LeBron, who can blame him?). The Hawks team is distracted and this iteration of them may be the last time all these players are together -- if Al leaves, the team as currently constructed probably undergoes critical changes.

3. The Grizzlies -- haven't transitioned as smoothly as some thought, but they're finding their footing after a rough start. Mike Conley reupped with the team and the Grizz's post heavy, grind it out style is appropriate for a conference that invented that play so many years ago. The future for this team is still up in the air after Zach Randolph's contract runs out -- after next season -- but, for now, the Grizzlies are in the thick of the playoff race, looking to make gains.

4. The Hornets -- are disappointing, again, and Jordan is getting itchy. Jefferson has been out with an ankle injury the last 20 games and just entered back into the starting lineup, but his contract runs out at the end of the season, along with the contract of Batum (having an ugly year, shooting 39 percent from the floor and 31 percent from deep, scoring just 13 point a game). The Hornets will have money to burn in a FA market that begs for overpaying for the sake of overpaying; will Jordan be able to avoid saddling his team with overpriced players? History says no.

5. The Magic -- might just be regretting hiring Scott Skiles, who has had a big effect on the team; he's brought down everyone's scoring averages and turned an entertaining young team into one that is struggling on defense and having minutes taken away as a result. Skiles has never been known as a coach who nurtures young talent and the Magic are the definition of that term. Orlando may need to move on this offseason if the team doesn't begin to respond better.

The Top Ten in the East