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Originally posted by rainman
the sonics situation is impossible to read and i think within the ranks they dont know what the other is doing.payton had a very good year but he is 34 so although he could be effective for 4 or 5 more years you could make the argument that by the time they are ready to compete for a title he would be over the hill.he would like a long term deal and they want to wait till afer next year to see where they are at.who knows?what i think some of these gm's like to do is get into this rebuilding mode.this gets them off the hook to produce a winner and buys them several years to do it.problem is they have this huge need at pf and unless they want to send gary to portland for a dale davis or a rasheed wallace i dont know where else he would fit,maybe the knicks for kurt thomas.in most scenarios they dont get equal value back.how about he goes to golden state for jamison and either welsch or dunleavy?
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JESUS, dude, you think the Sonics are going to trade The Great Gary Payton for KURT THOMAS or ANTAWN JAMISON? I happen to be a big Rasheed Wallace fan, but I doubt Portland would do that deal.
Anyway, people make too much about the whole "championship" thing. The GM's primary goal for ANY team in professional sports is to put a team on the floor that is going to sell tickets. Gary Payton will continue to be a good enough player for the next 4-5 years, and so he will continue to be a top draw. You don't trade Gary Payton for Kurt Thomas for ANY reason--that trade doesn't make you a better basketball team, it certainly doesn't sell more tickets (although I suppose it would save money).
BOTTOM LINE: I don't think Payton will be getting max offers next summer from other teams because of his age. Which means the Sonics will be able to give him an offer slightly below the max. And Gary Payton IS a max player, and will CONTINUE to be a max player for the next 3-4 years (BELIEVE IT, the dude is an incredible physical specimen, some guys can just play forever and ever)--so of COURSE the team should re-sign him! PLUS, they're going to be able to lock up Rashard Lewis this summer (sooner or later) to a nice deal, something less than the max that he thinks he's entitled to.
So many teams in the NBA are burdened by longterm max contracts--not the Sonics! This team is in much better shape than most people realize--this team is a SHOO-IN for the playoffs next year and, assuming Payton is re-signed to an extension, the next year and the next year!
I WOULD like to see the team go out and get somebody else who can score inside. Donyell Marshall would be a GREAT FIT for this team! And he's ANOTHER guy who can be had for not very much money (the midcap exception). This is what the Sonics would be looking at for the next couple of seasons:
PG Gary Payton
SG Brent Barry
SF Rashard Lewis
PF Donyell Marshall
C Jerome James
Key backups: Desmond Mason, Vladimir Radmanovic, Calvin Booth
That team has a pretty good shot at being a lot better than people think over the next couple of years--#5 in the West isn't out of the question!