Thursday, May 24, 2007

Seattle's possible offseason plans

In the recent NBA draft lottery, nobody was hoping for a top two pick more than the Seattle SuperSonics. They have made the postseason only once since trading Gary Payton and there are rumors that they could move to Oklahoma City. The reason why is because the owners don't want to pay for a new arena, so they are trying to let the city do it for them. With the number two pick, it would be a shocker if they picked someone other than Kevin Durant out of Texas. Durant could be the next LeBron James or Kevin Garnett and he could be the right guy to keep the SuperSonics in Seattle. He would be part of a nucleus that would include Ray Allen, Rashard Lewis, and Luke Ridnour. I expect it to be raining threes in Key Arena next year at a record pace, which could entertain Seattle's fans so much that they could want to help fund that new arena.

In addition to that entertaining lineup, the SuperSonics will likely have a new rival, the Portland Trail Blazers, who are expected to take Greg Oden with the number one overall pick. The SuperSonics and Trail Blazers play in the same division, which means that the Northwest Division won in the lottery more than any other division. These two teams will play four games against each other every year, so Oden vs. Durant will probably be the big rivalry of the next generation.

As for the rest of the offseason, I expect the SuperSonics to try to keep free agent Lewis around and if they can't do that, entertain trade offers to potentially bring in a decent big man. Maybe they could also bring in a proven veteran to help out their bench. Seattle could have made the playoffs this year if they didn't suffer injuries to Lewis and Allen.

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