Future direction starts at the top
The thumping of hip-hop music that regularly emanates from the Seattle SuperSonics locker room after games was replaced by the likes of a somber funeral dirge after they lost Game 6 and a Western Conference semifinal series to the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night.
The realization that this incarnation of the surprising Sonics was a thing of the past brought shock, tears and sadness to a group of men who achieved far more than anyone imagined possible, given the trifling expectations placed upon them before the season.
That, in turn, gives way to the cold, humbling reality that the NBA is, first and foremost, a business, and while the pride of achievement makes the heart swell, the knowledge that some of these players, eight of whom are free agents, will not be back brings the dream state crashing soberly to a more earthly stratosphere.
Though nobody knows precisely what the future holds, the Sonics have a blueprint of what they would like to get done, starting with general manager Rick Sund and coach Nate McMillan.
Sund’s attorney has been speaking with Sonics CEO Wally Walker for the past month, and now that Seattle is eliminated from the postseason, Sund will undertake his contract negotiations himself.
Though it is not clear what Sund’s salary is, he is thought to be among the lowest-paid general managers in the NBA and would like a raise to the middle tier. The Sonics have not said what they will offer Sund, who has been in the league for 30 years, but the issue should be resolved in the next week or two.
The NBA draft is five weeks away.
All along, McMillan and the Sonics had said Walker would begin talks with Lonnie Cooper, McMillan’s agent, once the Sonics no longer were playing.
McMillan’s four-year, $10.8 million contract does not expire until June 30, which means the Sonics have exclusive negotiating rights for six weeks. They will not give him permission to speak with other teams.
It seems likely the Sonics will try to work out a deal before the draft. If they do not, the Sonics likely would allow McMillan to coach elsewhere rather than get into a bidding war with richer teams. Cleveland and New York both have an interest in McMillan.
It is unclear how the threat of a lockout might affect the negotiations with McMillan. Normally, teams would not want to wait until the middle of summer to choose a coach. But if a lockout stops business, some teams could gamble and wait for McMillan’s contract to expire.
A more pressing concern is the contract of guard Ray Allen, a five-time All-Star and second-team all-NBA player this season.
The sides had discussions until the end of February, when negotiations broke down at the All-Star Game in Denver.
According to a source, the Sonics increased their initial offer of $68.5 million to $75 million over five seasons. Allen asked for an incentive clause that would allow him to make $80 million if his production did not decline in the first three years of the contract. It was unclear why talks never resumed, but the sides have not spoken since.
There are possibly six teams – Cleveland, Atlanta, Charlotte, New Orleans, Milwaukee and the Los Angeles Clippers – that could offer Allen a contract, though Charlotte likely does not want to build around a 29-year-old guard, and the Clippers likely don’t have enough money to lure Allen.
The most likely suitors for Allen are Cleveland and Atlanta, with Milwaukee joining in if it loses Michael Redd. Portland would like to work out a sign-and-trade for Allen, though the Trail Blazers likely don’t have players that interest Seattle enough.
The Sonics want to bring back restricted free agent Vladimir Radmanovic and can match any offer he receives from another team. They likely will make him an offer starting at $7 million, which they hope dissuades him from considering other teams. Such a contract would make him the third-highest paid player on the team, behind Allen and Rashard Lewis.
Antonio Daniels will opt out of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent. After an impressive postseason, he is likely to attract a team’s mid-level exception of around $5 million, a significant increase over his current salary of $2.2 million. It was unclear if the Sonics would match.
Perhaps the biggest question mark on the team is Jerome James, an inconsistent center who was ineffective in the regular season, had a superb playoff series against Sacramento in the first round and then was inconsistent against San Antonio.
The Sonics question whether James’ work ethic would suffer if he procured a long-term contract and are loathe to extend him such an offer. They might allow him to leave in order to develop rookie Robert Swift, whom they envision as their center of the future.
Meanwhile, Reggie Evans, Damien Wilkins and Ronald Murray all are restricted free agents the team can keep by matching offers from other teams. They would like to keep Wilkins. Evans’ future is unclear because of the development of Nick Collison. And Murray likely will be kept only if Allen leaves.
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