Post by mgcoug2 on Nov 11, 2010 14:25:58 GMT -5
Will it take another ginormous ring to make Mrs. Bryant happy to be in Seattle?
The owner of the Seattle Supersonics was awoken by his General Manager mgcoug2 late in the night and was asked “What if I told you I could get Kobe Bryant on the roster, would that be something that might interest you?” The owner of course said yes, even after being told that the team would be left at least temporarily with a roster of role players around him. Hours later history had been made as the Sonics acquired Kobe along with Tom Gugliotta, Mehmet Okur and Matt Harpering. Of those three only Gugliotta is expected to have much of an impact on the team in the upcoming season although the team has been pleasantly surprised on their scouts reports on Okur who is only 24. The price was steep as the Sonics traded Hedo Turkaglu, Jamal Crawford, Ben Wallace, Ben Gordon and Dalibor Bagaric along with the Sonics and Lakers firsts in 2004 to the Lakers. Most GM would say a starting lineup that had Hedo, Crawford, Big Ben and Ben Gordon would be a nice young core to build around and they would be right but the Sonics consider Kobe a unique talent and he better be with what is left around him. When asked for his thoughts on the trade Kobe said, “I don't like coffee” and “who am I playing with anyways I think I saw some of these guys play on ESPN in college but am not sure.” The Sonics have been working the phones trying to add talent and the recent free agent signing of Malik Rose should help as he adds muscle and rebounding for the team down low. The team also just missed out on adding a player who would have helped them and filled their need at SF and is hoping to find a few players to add around Kobe sooner rather than later.
So how did this deal go down? Well the Sonics and Lakers talk frequently discussing deals they have been offered and just keeping up with the league. A few days ago the Lakers complained about the offers they were getting as they were not meeting their expectation. The Sonics said I am sure we don't have enough but we could offer a package of Hedo, Ben Wallace and Jamal Crawford and don't forget that we do own your pick. The Lakers kept it in mind and got back to the Sonics later with a counter proposal. Ultimately it took the Sonics agreeing to include rookie SG Ben Gordon in the deal to get it done but the team after years of building slowly and without many results decided it was time to go all in on a great player and see what happens.
This deal is very risky for the Sonics and as currently configured it will take an all time great season by Kobe Bryant for the team to be any sort of factor out west. The team is hoping to add a couple of solid role players via Free Agency and then make a few trades to strengthen the roster for the next 3-5 years.
Will this deal pay off for the Sonics? Only time will tell, but when you get a chance to get the best you go for it.
Is it a bright or cloudy future in Seattle?
