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Old 09-27-2015, 11:15 AM   #5
trekfan
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Re: Second Coming: A SuperSonics Return


September 22nd, 2015



The coffee, fresh brewed and steaming, sat before him, its scent enhancing his morning and making him feel far more human than he had any right to feel, especially after a long night of research. Being an owner of an NBA team was a time intensive thing, especially when that same person was also the GM. Max had no idea how intense any of this was until he actually got in.

It was hard to believe it had been nearly a year since his arrival in the NBA; it had been one of the fastest years of his life. No longer a software developer, he had ascended into a lifestyle that resembled nothing like it was portrayed. There was no glitz, no glam, no fame where he was right now … he only had money and ambition to guide him.

The money had been enough to get him into the league. The ambition had been enough to allow him to propose — and succeed — in relocating the historically bad Nets to Seattle. He hadn’t made many friends in the process but in this league one didn’t get friends until one earned them. Cuban is a friend ... I think, he mused to himself as he rubbed his eyes.

He swiveled in his chair and stared out the window of his new arena. Yes, it was mostly his as the local Seattle government refused to put too much into it. He was perfectly fine with that, to be honest — owners didn’t need to beg for publicly funding when they had more money than God. It was a joke that they did; part of the reason Max was so polarizing was because he had paid for the arena. The other owners, especially those with aging facilities, weren’t pleased at the precedent he had set. Luckily, many of the other owners were hands-off where the operations of their team was concerned, so Max wouldn’t have to deal with too much pushback.

And even if he had, that’s why he brought in Danny Ferry. Danny was respected and his time with the Hawks, though short, helped proved how valuable he could be.

His speaker buzzed and he turned in his chair, giving it his attention. “Yes, Fredricka?”

“Mr. Ferry is here to see you,” his secretary responded, the sound of her gum chewing echoing around him.

He allowed himself a smirk — Fredricka and he went all the way back to high school. One of his closest (and brutally honest) friends, Max had grown to appreciate her quirks. One of them was how loudly she chewed the gum. “Go ahead and send him in.” He paused, then asked, “Tropical?”

“Nope, mint today,” she answered with amusement. The “what gum flavor are you chewing today” game was also something that went back to high school. The speaker cut out and Danny entered the spacious, mostly empty, office.

“Max,” Danny said as he adjusted his collar, scratching at his neck. That was a tell that his PBO was concerned about the trade proposals Max had sent him earlier that morning.

Max leaned back in his chair, motioning for Danny to sit down. “Take a load off.”

Danny chuckled. “It’d be easier to do if you wouldn’t send me things like this,” he said as he flashed his tablet at Max, the screen opened to Max’s email full of trade offers. Danny pointed at the one at the very top. “That one concerns me more than anything. How can you be thinking of trading Lopez there?”

“Saves him from having to move too far,” Max joked.

His humor wasn’t well-received as Danny’s mouth tensed into a frown. “Look, I like the talent we get back, don’t get me wrong, but I’d prefer your second option.”

It was Max’s turn to frown. “The Wizards don’t have as much to offer as the Blazers.”

“But it’s better for them and us,” Danny countered.” He changed the screen on his tablet, showing him the potential trade he had drawn up working from Max’s initial take. “They’re going to miss on Durant and they know it — look at how they’ve positioned themselves with all these contracts. They’ll have plenty of cap space next summer and guess what?”

“No one to spend it on without Durant,” Max agreed. He tapped the edge of his desk, his mind quickly analyzing the ramifications of the trade before him. “You think they’d buy that? They seem set on Durant.”

“It’s a pipe dream.” Danny shook his head. “Durant is rooted in OKC; as much as he loves that area of the country, he’s in no hurry to leave Westbrook for Wall; the talent gap between the two isn’t large but it isn’t insignificant. Wall is more injury-prone and Wall has been the alpha-dog for DC for years now.”

Max nodded along, agreeing with thought processes. This is part of the reason why he hired Danny — the man had a mind that thought a lot like his, they spoke a similar language. “They won’t be able to afford to sign Beal to that extension and bring in Durant without sacrificing a ton of depth.”

“Durant will likely want LeBron-levels of roster control, too if he goes there … the price would be too steep for Washington. They need a fallback plan.” Danny pointed at the tablet. “And we could be it.”

Max took a sip of his coffee, then nodded. “All right, I’ll call them up. Care to sit in?”

Danny eased himself down into the nearest chair and crossed his legs comfortably. “Let’s give it a try.”
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