Radmanovich has repeatedly demonstrated that whatever his body looks like, his mentality screams, “I am NOT a power forward. I like to shoot jumpers, threes if possible. I much prefer the possibility of overpowering a smaller guy than being brutalized by some thug if I have to mix it up in the middle posting up felons.” To me this seems more than reasonable. It’s easy to talk about what a PF SHOULD do. But unless you have a death wish and superior dental insurance, the paint is NOT a place for the weak of heart in the NBA. Radman, with his typical European sensibility, would be better left to the more cultured environs of the perimeter where he can hang out with twos and threes, shooting jumpers and discussing the budget deficit. So in my convoluted mind this begs the question: Why not trade Lewis? Yes, you heard me right. Not only does he have far more established trade value, but teams he was interested in (namely Dallas & Houston) actually demonstrated something between mildly flirtatious and serious interest in him when he was a free agent last summer. As much as I like him, wouldn’t it make at least a modicum of sense to send him back to the Lone Star State from which he hails, making everyone happy? Radman would become our new fixture at SF, and instead of someone else's spare parts & cast offs, we could actually wind up with some SERIOUS help down low in exchange for Lewis. I decided to look at what personnel could be involved from the Texas teams, and how they would mesh with the resultant new Sonics. This is the difficult part because it entails actually evaluating talent & matching salaries. But I figure if Wally can do it, how hard can it be? Well, he sort of does it. And nobody can fault the guy for trying. The results may not have been all that great during his tenure, but no one can say the guy isn't making an attempt. So before you criticize my efforts, remember that I'm not getting paid nearly as much as Wally to come up with any scenarios. Actually, I'm not getting paid anything at ALL. You decide who offers better value. Trading Lewis is pretty nutty to begin with, so please bear with me here. After spending hours at www.realgm.com coming up with ridiculous trades that were accepted, only one made any sense to me. I'll spare you all the rest. That trade is Lewis & Potapenko for Nowitzki & Najera. That's right. Hear me out on this one. We know that Cuban wants Lewis, right? Well you don't get something of that magnitude without giving up something in return. Lewis is probably a deal, especially since he's signed through 2007. Pot's deal comes off the books in 2004 if my sources are right. Dallas would get a bargain in a player we know they want and a throw in who will free up CAP space after 2004.The Sonics on the other hand, get a proven Center/Power Forward tied up only one year less than Lewis, who offers a lot of what this team needs. Why throw in Najera, you ask? Well first of all, to make the salaries work. Second of all, because I've always liked him & thought he wasn't a bad player for a reasonable salary lost & overshadowed in a logjam of talent in Dallas. And third because he gives us an experienced backup at SF who given the chance, would love to play more minutes. And he is tied up through 2007. Assuming that Sikma will continue to bring out the smarts in the talented Jerome James, this gives us a well rounded team of Booth & James at center; Nowitzki, Collison, & Evans at PF; Radman & Najera at SF, & some combination of Allen, Barry, Murray, Daniels, & Ridnour at guard. Murray, Frahm, Barry, & Sesay all have contracts ending in 2004, & it is unlikely that you’ll see any of them return with the obvious exception of Murray (& possibly Barry) who is looking more & more like he's in for a big raise. But that would be more than compensated for by the loss of Barry's veteran salary if he doesn't return. If you think you can get something that this team needs & not just another expendable part by trading Barry, then go for it. What’s important in my scenario is that the talent is more evenly dispersed, & the salaries are manageable. Now, you can laugh all you want at the unlikelihood of this trade ever happening. Lord knows I've laughed at a bazillion such proposed trades. But what I want you to look at is the resulting TEAM we wind up with. It is a team that is capable and deep at every position. It is a team with a good mix of proven veterans and promising youth. It is a team with talent both inside and out that can run, rebound, light it up, & play the exciting kind of basketball most of you want this team to play. It is a team with an extended nucleus that could be expected to play together for many years. It is a team of players that complement each other, & could go fairly deep into the playoffs, especially as the young players improve. And it is a more diversified team than we currently have without a preponderance of redundant parts. Is
it doable? I’ll leave that to better basketball minds than mine.
Go ahead & rip this one to shreds. But keep in mind that I've always
criticized Wally for not seeing the big picture. This, I think, puts together
a team of players that has all the necessary parts. You can say that Dirk
isn't the banger we need, but I think he works well with an improved James,
Booth, Evans, & Collison amidst a myriad of combinations Nate likes
to play. It’s a balanced team, & more importantly it utilizes
what we have to get us what we need, & where we want to go.
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