Sam Smith: Still an Idiot

Last March Sam "idiot” Smith wanted to swap Gordon for Collison because Gordon wouldn’t be happy coming off the bench for the Bulls. This would change for him by coming to Seattle? No.
Now, One-side Sam (he only sees one side of his dream deals) has this gem:
“So here’s the deal, and to me it makes great sense for both teams: The Bulls’ No. 2 pick and a player–probably Michael Sweetney–to Seattle for Ray Allen. Maybe the No. 16 pick, too, if necessary.

That somehow doesn’t seem like enough for Allen, a six-time All-Star and probably the NBA’s best shooter. But the Sonics, who have said they don’t intend to trade Allen, are in financial trouble with a sale or move or both possible.” - Sam Smith

The Sonics want two MORE picks because? They want Sweetney because Wilcox, Collison and Petro can’t fill those minutes?
How does this make the Sonics better, One-side Sam?

The Answer: It doesn’t, you idiot!

And no, it isn’t enough for Allen.

I guess he has to write something in order to get paid. I just feel bad for the Chicago fans that still think Sam has a brain.

(originally posted on Sonicscentral.com)

Sonics Suggested Retail Price: $400 Million

Reported today in the Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle), John Lombardo of the Sports Business Journal is purporting that the Sonics are setting their value at $400 million, according to a source.

“Seattle SuperSonics owner Howard Schultz has put a price tag of at least $400 million on his franchise, according to a source familiar with the proposal, a figure that positions the club to be sold for a record NBA amount despite its continuing financial struggles.

The potential sale is being handled by Goldman Sachs. Officials did not return calls for comment. Sonics officials also would not discuss the potential sale price.” writes Lombardo.

Lombardo also reports these items:

“While talk of a Sonics sale continues, the team also is seeing changes in its front office. Chief Marketing Officer Mike Humes has resigned, effective May 31, leaving the team with a key vacancy in its sales management ranks. No replacement had been named for Humes as of last Thursday.

Humes joined the Sonics in 2004 after working for the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets. Humes said he plans to stay in the sports marketing business.

Humes’ departure comes after public relations chief Marc Moquin resigned last month.

Senior Director of Public Relations Valerie O’Neil is also leaving the team in June to take a similar job with Schultz’s Starbucks operation. “

Nice work John Lombardo of the Sports Business Journal.

(originally posted on Sonicscentral.com)

Sonics Suggested Retail Price: $400 Million

Reported today in the Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle), John Lombardo of the Sports Business Journal is purporting that the Sonics are setting their value at $400 million, according to a source.

"Seattle SuperSonics owner Howard Schultz has put a price tag of at least $400 million on his franchise, according to a source familiar with the proposal, a figure that positions the club to be sold for a record NBA amount despite its continuing financial struggles.

The potential sale is being handled by Goldman Sachs. Officials did not return calls for comment. Sonics officials also would not discuss the potential sale price." said Lombardo.

Lombardo also reports these items:
While talk of a Sonics sale continues, the team also is seeing changes in its front office. Chief Marketing Officer Mike Humes has resigned, effective May 31, leaving the team with a key vacancy in its sales management ranks. No replacement had been named for Humes as of last Thursday.

Humes joined the Sonics in 2004 after working for the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets. Humes said he plans to stay in the sports marketing business.

Humes' departure comes after public relations chief Marc Moquin resigned last month.
Senior Director of Public Relations Valerie O'Neil is also leaving the team in June to take a similar job with Schultz's Starbucks operation.

Remember, you heard it here second, nice work John Lombardo of the Sports Business Journal.

Turning a Negative into a Positive

The Sonics have announced that David Locke will be the third play-by-play radio announcer in the team's 40-year history. Congratulations go to David and the Sonics.

First, the bad news. As a radio talk show host on KJR-am in Seattle David was a tireless worker in a state of perpetual self-promotion. His endless self-aggrandizing made me nauseous, and his propensity for pointing out when he thought he was being cute was the worst radio ever to be broadcast over the air. His use of statistics is useful, his over-emphasis on his work with numbers is not. It's his job to look up facts, assemble them in a way that support some kind of argument, for the three hours he is on the radio. Of course, I can get better numbers at 82games.com and not have to listen to David's personal life. David's radio show, Locked on Sports, is a gem, but hearing "are you a loyalist" to his email list every 11 minutes is too much. I was a loyalist for about two months: it was of zero benefit to me as a Sonics fan. I got off the list after I had discovered that I was not reading anything that I didn't already know and I was deleting the emails along with the other spam. Thank go that's over with.

Now, the good news. David Locke actually did a pretty fair job on the Sonics radio broadcasts. I do find his play-by-play a bit shrill but I suspect that will get toned down after his 80th game. It might be good for the team, on balance, that he'll work like crazy to get people to listen to him. In the end his look at me attention getting might actually draw people to Sonics games in-spite of him.

It will be a rare occasion where I end up without hearing Kevin Calabro. That's just a fact.

--
supersonicsfan

Rick Adelman Out as Kings Coach

ESPN, and others, report that Rick Adelman is done as Kings coach. Not a complete shocker.

Geoff Petrie, the Kings’ president of basketball operations, wouldn’t give any clear-cut reasons for the decision not to extend Adelman’s contract, which expires in September. But owners Joe and Gavin Maloof, apparently dissatisfied with Adelman for years, are widely thought to be behind the move.

- ESPN

I don’t expect the Sonics to look his way. But, if Nate McMillan gets canned by the new Blazers owner maybe Adelman ends up back in Portland. His last team in Portland could include one of the future Blazer owners.

( originally posted at Sonicscentral.com)

Don’t Just Say It, Wear It, Renton Sonics

I don’t know if this will ever happen, but I love the effort.

From today’s Seattle Times:

The Rotary Club of Renton will sell 900 T-shirts with the words, “Renton, Future Home of the Sonics” and on the back, “Ahead of the Key, Baby!” a play on the city’s slogan, “Ahead of the Curve.”



Rotary officials say the shirts are designed to advance the city’s bid to host the Sonics, over a bid by Bellevue business leaders and the ongoing negotiations with Seattle over an expansion of KeyArena.

The club wants to “have people recognize that this is really a serious effort,” said Don Bressler, a Rotary board member. “If we had 10,000 [shirts], I think we could sell them.”

The shirts will go on sale Tuesday for $10 on the Renton Chamber of Commerce Web site, gorenton.com.

A hundred of the shirts will be printed today for Rotary club members — with the first five going to Sonics headquarters to team honchos like Howard Schultz and Wally Walker.

(originally posted on Sonicscentral.com