Sonic Force

Since Gary is our teams most notable figure, a topic with him as the main focus would probably garner the most attention. My question to you is this.

How much longer do you feel Gary Payton can play at an all star caliber level, and given the arrivals of such pg's as Andre Miller and Baron Davis, where do you think Payton rates as of now in the overall top PG position.

To me, Gary Payton is still the best pg in the league. Alot can be said with the sudden rise to stardom of Jason Kidd and what he has done with the Nets but do I honestly feel Payton could have done the same thing in the same position? Yes..

Lets not forget that the Nets were missing to injury key members in the nucleus that took them to the NBA finals this year. Taking nothing away from Jason Kidd, but its alot easier to pull a dramatic Cinderella type story in the Eastern Conference than it is, here in the West.

Now, an argument can be made that if there was going to be a year to make a run for the championship, last year would have been the year. However Rashard Lewis disappointing post season coupled with the obvious need for an inside presence (Baker will never be the same ) made it blatantly obvious that the Sonics may not ever be a serious contender for the championship during the rest of Gary Paytons tenure.

So where does that leave the Sonics, or Payton for that matter?? Will he demand to be traded while he still has all star caliber quality left in him? Will he stick it out with a team that right now, doesn't have alot of championship hope? I for one, feel that at this point in his career, Payton is a veteran and will conduct himself in a professional manner, however if the opportunity arose where he could respectfully be traded to a contender for adequate compensation, he would be grateful. It would be sad to see him go, but he deserves to go somewhere that can get him a ring. In the meantime, we need to find ourselves "The Next Star"

spartansfan223

I believe Payton will stay in Seattle for the couple of years he has left in him. Although Payton is a true all-star point guard, his age is a big factor which prevents him from being traded. Seattle is unable to build around him anymore either, since in a few years he will be out of this league and any sort of plan would be diminished. Payton will still contribute on offense and be the defensive hound he is until his career ends because of the intensity he carries within himself and brings to the court each game. That is something that no one, even age, can take away from him.

Ghost

In my mind payton is in the top five out of all the point gaurds.

1 J-kidd
2 baron davis
3 steve franchise
4 gary payton
5 andre miller

Those are my top five at point gaurd.

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Pitt > New York?

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robyg1974

Yeah, I agree with the first guy, Gary Payton is STILL the best PG in the league. Much better shooter than Kidd (by a LONG shot), much better assist-to-turnover ratio than Kidd, a better defender than Kidd, he even blocks more shots than Kidd. Kidd gets more rebounds and that's IT. If you put Payton on the Nets last season and Kidd on the Sonics, PAYTON would have led the Nets to the NBA Finals, PAYTON would be getting all the MVP attention, while KIDD would have led the Sonics to, oh, about seventh place in the West.

And, I see no reason why Gary Payton will not continue to be one of the top five or six PGs in the league 3-4 years from now. I remember back in around '96, when John Stockton was the same age as Payton is now, people were wondering how many more good years HE had left in him--one year or two? Six years later, Stockton is STILL in the league, and he's STILL one of the ten best PGs. He has slipped a little, but not a LOT.

Here's my top ten PGs for next season:

1 Gary Payton
2 Jason Kidd
3 Mike Bibby
4 Andre Miller
5 Steve Francis
6 Baron Davis
7 Stephon Marbury
8 Steve Nash
9 John Stockton
10 Jay Williams

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Roby G.

rainman

the west just got tougher for pg's with the trade of miller to the paperclips.myself i think gary could play at a high level for at least 5 more years.i dont really look at him as a point guard,he is better playing off the ball and letting brent barry run the offense.as for kidd all of a sudden becoming a great pg where has everyone been he has always been a great one.

jmk

Jason Kidd's recent rise to stardom?! Are you kidding me? Kidd was a star on the Mavs, the Suns, and now the Nets. He has been a star most of his career. And yes I believe Kidd is a better PG than Payton, as most other people do.

Wilt_The_Stilt

It would be awesome if Payton came to the Lakers as a FA-he has said he would like to play in LA I think-I know I am probably dreaming...but that would ensure a few more titles.

C-Shaq
PF-Horry maybe
SF-George
SG-Kobe
PG-Payton

That would give us three players who are the best at their positions.

__________________
"We've learned Kobe Bryant has been asked to run the Federal Reserve. The feeling is, he can do more with three quarters than most of us can do with a whole dollar."
--Peter Vescey, NY Post

robyg1974

Talk about something that isn't going to happen! The Lake Show has some serious payroll problems, they can't afford to take on somebody like Payton. And Payton AIN'T gonna settle for what the Lakers will be able to afford to give him next summer (the mid-level exception).

It'll be a shock if Payton doesn't re-sign with Seattle.

And Fox is the starter at SF for at least the next couple of years, George remains a backup, don't you think?

EVERYBODY wants to play for the Lakers, that doesn't mean that they'll settle for less than market value to do so, though!

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Roby G.

Ghost

It would be awsome to see Gary Payton on the lakers but it wont happen beacuse i think gary is deveoted to seattle and it's people and payton has about 4 or 5 all star type years and now he has comption for the starter job on the all star team with dre miller and steve franchise.

__________________
Pitt in Tha Garden - 6-0
Knicks in Tha Garden - 12-22

Pitt > New York?

http://www.myspace.com/jmillet21

tenkev

This is kind of off topic but it is about GP. What I want to know is if he always guards the opposing PG. Like against the Lakers, who guards Kobe? GP or Barry? If it is GP, what teams does he guard the SG and which the PG?

OZZY

BINGO!

Right on, I also feel Gary Payton is the best PG in the NBA, he is the best defensively, and your right he can shoot way better than Kidd, Gary has a much better post game, Gary can hit clutch shots better than Kidd, and Gary has a better shooting percentage. Kidd might get more assits but if you want all around best PG, Payton is the man.

Seattle would be real dumb to let him go, and I agree with the come on the Wolves statement I only wish that would happen!

robyg1974

I'd rather do that deal with the Pistons that I suggested recently:

Gary Payton and Calvin Booth to the Pistons; Clifford Robinson (free agent at the end of the 2002-03 season), Jon Barry (also a free agent at the end of the 2002-03 season), Chucky Atkins, Rodney White, and the Grizzlies' 2003 1st round pick (should be top five) to the Sonics

The Sonics would SUCK next year, and so will the GRIZZLIES, so that's two high lottery picks right there. This is a relatively quick rebuilding process--they should be back in the playoffs in 2-3 years. It's not like the current Sonics team has ANY SHOT AT ALL at beating one of those top 4-5 teams in the West anytime over the next 2-3 years ANYWAY!

Here's the collection of nice, young, cheap commodities that the Sonics will be looking at going into the 2003-04 season--not a bad foundation AT ALL:

1 Grizzlies' 2003 1st round pick (should be top five overall)
2 Sonics' 2003 1st round pick (should also be top 5-7 overall)
3 Mystery 2003 free agent (the Sonics should have a fair amount of cap room next summer)
4 Desmond Mason
5 Vladimir Radmanovic
6 Jerome James
7 Rodney White
8 Predrag Drobnjak
9 Joe Forte

Along with some nice, cheap, VETERAN commodities:

10 Brent Barry
11 Chucky Atkins

And everybody else:

12 Vitaly Potapenko
13 Ansu Sesay

Let's say that the Grizzlies get the #4 overall pick and that the Sonics get the #6 overall pick next year. What kind of players can the Sonics expect to get with these picks? Here are the #4 and #6 overall picks from the past TWELVE NBA drafts:

2002: Drew Gooden and Dajuan Wagner
2001: Eddy Curry and Shane Battier
2000: Marcus Fizer and DerMarr Johnson
1999: Lamar Odom and Wally Szczerbiak
1998: Antawn Jamison and Robert Traylor
1997: Antonio Daniels and Ron Mercer
1996: Stephon Marbury and Antoine Walker
1995: Rasheed Wallace and Bryant Reeves
1994: Donyell Marshall and Sharone Wright
1993: Jamal Mashburn and Calbert Cheaney
1992: Jimmy Jackson and Tom Gugliotta
1991: Dikembe Mutombo and Doug Smith

Let's not count the 2001 and 2002 drafts for now, since the verdict is still out on those dudes, okay? Let's look at the 1991-2000 drafts.

Among the #4 picks, four (Marbury, Wallace, Mashburn, and Mutombo) are All-Stars, two are potential All-Stars (Odom and Jamison), one USED TO BE a star (Jackson), one has been good but not a great (Marshall), two are complete busts (Daniels and Fizer). So that Grizzlies 1st round pick has a PRETTY GOOD CHANCE of being something pretty special.

Among the #6 picks, two are All-Stars (Wally World and Walker), one USED TO BE a star (Gugliotta), two had promising careers cut short by injuries (Reeves and Wright), two are mediocre bench players (Mercer and Traylor), the other three are complete busts (Cheaney, Smith, and Johnson).

So, when you get down to #6, your chances of coming up with something special diminish more than you might think. However, the Sonics have done a brilliant job of drafting players over the past several years, and they've NEVER had a chance to pick as high as #4 or #6 in HOW LONG? I can't even remember! I don't think that Wally Walker/Rick Sund will blow it, in other words.

Which is why I like the trade with the Pistons. We gotta get that Grizzlies pick!