Loose Lips Sink Ships

The rarest of rare things happened yesterday, there was a trade rumor involving the Sonics.
Here it is from DraftExpress.com:
Multiple sources have told DraftExpress today the a deal that the Pheonix Suns and the Seattle Supersonics are working on a potential blockbuster trade.

Stop DraftExpress! Ok that's likely very true. People say all kinds of things to media for a variety of reasons. Resume DraftExpress.

" The Sonics have implied to numerous people ovewr the past 48 hours that "something is going to go down," while another source in Seattle told us that the Supersonics are "getting very close" to finalizing a trade.

Stop DraftExpress! They say principals are Lewis, 10th pick with Fortson's ending contract for Marion and the 27th pick.

Well, that's far reaching. I would have to wonder who would say such a thing to DraftExpress. I do not doubt that the Sonics are calling teams to talk trade, it was in the newspaper yesterday.
This was written by Frank "the Tank" Hughes in the Tacoma News Tribune yesterday: ...the Sonics are entertaining thoughts of trading down to get a first-round pick next season, giving them two picks in what ostensibly will be a strong draft year.

However, that decision will not be made until next week, according to general manager Rick Sund. Currently, teams are completing their player evaluations. They will take stock of their strategies over the weekend and begin making calls to other teams to talk trade possibilities on Sunday or Monday, with things heating up as the draft approaches.

Stop Frank! The Sonics will call teams and talk trade. Not that Frank thinks they will, Sund says they will.

Now a raking in the order of believability:
#1: The Sonics are calling teams to talk trade. That appears to be a fact.
#2: The Sonics could trade down in the draft (see the rest of Frank's story). That appears to be a fact.
#3: Somebody contacted DraftExpress and said the Sonics are talking to teams (see#1) and that they are close to something (see #1 again), and that the person contacting DraftExpress said the Lewis+Fortson+10th pick for Marion+27th pick. That appears to be a fact.
#4: The Sonics are shopping Fortson. That appears to be a fact.
#5: The Sonics and Suns have had some contact. That appears to very likely (see #1 again).
#6: The Suns and Sonics mentioned Lewis or Fortson or 10th pick or Marion or 27th pick. That appears to somewhat likely (see #1 again).
#7: I'll throw this out there, #10 for #21 and #27. It's possible they mentioned this.
#8: Lewis+Fortson+10th pick for Marion+27th pick, or something a lot like it, is "getting very close ". I'll believe it when it happens, and not one second sooner.

The problem is not this rumor, or that there is a rumor; but the problem is that the Sonics don't ever talk about trades so anything that remotely involves the Sonics becomes a hot potato among the Sonic fans. They are tight lipped. Ray Allen didn't know he was going to be a Sonic until the day/hour it was happening. Payton didn't know he was going to the Bucks until the day/hour. They swapped for each other AND the Bucks were playing the Sonics that night in Seattle. Nobody knew because the Sonics don't talk and insisted that the Bucks (including bigmouth Karl) not talk.

The Sonics just don't talk. Maybe that's changed. Maybe it's crap.