Vin Baker is gone. But that’s only half the story, if that. I’ve left most of my analysis of Monday’s trade that sent Baker and Shammond Williams to Boston for Kenny Anderson, Vitaly Potapenko, and Joseph Forte for my column at Hoopsworld.com, but it’s time I spoke out about something here.

This deal is about more than just shedding the contract of Baker, or even making the team better by subtraction if the Sonics’ record without him last season to be considered. It’s about more than making playing time for Vladimir Radmanovic, and even about more than clearing salary cap room for next summer’s free agent bonanza.

First off, let’s remember that Baker constitutes only half of the disgruntled and unwanted players dealt to the other side of the country. Shammond Williams, after all, had ‘grown’ on me and many other Sonics fans about as much as Baker had. I was reading some old Private Messages from the SonicsCentral message boards the other day when I noticed one that mentioned a quote I had made about Williams in about February -- “Free us from Shammond Williams” -- with the accompanying analysis from the sender, “Wow, when you turn on a player, you really turn.”

It’s funny to me to think that less than a year ago I was considered one of Williams’ biggest backers. Throughout last year, I felt that Emanual Davis played far too much and Williams not nearly enough. And last summer, when my fellow columnist Jay Leaver suggested that Earl Watson, not Williams, might have the best potential of any point guard besides Payton on the roster, I loudly rebutted him, bringing out all sorts of statistics about how Williams had improved his playmaking and was working his way towards adequacy in that regard.

That opinion changed abruptly last season; though Williams’ numbers in the assist department were actually up a bit, stylistically he was much different, as was my opinion. Suddenly I saw Williams for what many had before -- a player who thought about his own shot first and second and only then looked for teammates. Most damning offensively was Williams’ repeated overdribbling; it probably only seems like half of the Sonics’ 24-second shot-clock violations last season were due to Williams, despite the fact he played so rarely. And on a team not known for its defensive ability, Williams was the worst defender. His inability to stay with his assigned man cost the Sonics their chance to win consecutive games in Texas in March shortly after Watson separated his shoulder and precipitated Randy Livingston’s elevation into the rotation over Williams.

To his credit, Williams did not complain about spending most of the year on the bench after expecting to play heavy minutes -- and before the season, there was even some talk that he might figure into the battle for the starting shooting guard role. But it was clear that he would not like another year on the bench, and Williams reportedly asked for a trade. So he had to go. But to get a talented player like Joseph Forte in exchange -- which is essentially what the trade broke down to -- is an unbelievable steal. Forte never quite fit in with the Celtics, upsetting the team and fans by watching games in the locker room and wearing a Lakers jersey, but has an excellent chance to start anew in Seattle. In the summer league, Forte has starred, and was on the Shaw first-team this year. Of course, as with Williams, we know that doesn’t necessarily translate into NBA success. But Forte remains a solid prospect who could grow into at least a solid backup at both guard positions.

The two veterans the Sonics received in this deal, Anderson and Potapenko, have alternately been praised and mocked. If I hear one more time how Anderson is going to start (one writer had the nerve to refer to Anderson as an “All-Star” point guard; he was one, but then again, so was B.J. Armstrong at a similar time, and I don’t think the Sonics will be dealing Gary Payton to make room for Armstrong at any point in the near future), I will be sick. But then there are also those, like Steve Kelley, who say this move will do nothing for the Sonics on the court. I couldn’t disagree more. Both Potapenko and Anderson have value because they bring a quality the Sonics have long been searching for.

Forget the talk about trading Payton or Anderson, or how they’re going to play together. How nice will it be to have a veteran backup point guard behind Payton for the first time since Nate McMillan’s retirement after the 1997-98 season? Before then, Payton had never averaged more than 40 minutes per game; since, he hasn’t averaged less. Okay, the difference is really only a couple of minutes per game, but that can be important. Though Watson did a good job last season, he was still not completely trusted by the coaching staff, as evidenced by their decision to leave him off the playoff roster. Anderson, a grizzled veteran who could start -- but likely won’t -- will allow the Sonics to rest Payton slightly more next season, which should keep him fresher and allow him to exert more effort defensively. As well, if -- God forbid -- something does happen to Payton, who would you rather have starting at the point? Williams? Watson? Anderson? The choice is clear to me, which is why I like this pickup so long as Anderson can accept his role as a backup.

Potapenko’s addition gives the Sonics a dimension they haven’t had since the 1995-96 season when, coincidentally or not, they made the NBA Finals. Big man Frank Brickowski was not long for the Sonics moving on to -- where else? -- Boston after one year in Seattle. With him went the toughness/intimidator presence the Sonics had throughout much of their run of success during the 1990’s. During the earlier years, the Sonics’ toughest players were actually perimeter players -- Ricky Pierce and Vincent Askew. But Brickowski brought that toughness up a notch, willing to dish out punishment in the lane. By all accounts from Boston, Potapenko throws around his 285 pounds around in much the same manner as Brickowski. For the Celtics in the East, that wasn’t out of the ordinary. For the Sonics in the West, it could be huge. I really thought Drobnjak might be the banger/bruiser I’ve so long desired, but it turned out he was fairly soft. I guess it just took a year longer than I hoped, but now the Sonics have a physical presence.

Kevin Pelton has served as beat writer, columnist, editor, copy editor, and webmaster for SonicsCentral.com since its inception. He also writes a weekly column for Hoopsworld.com and is a student at the University of Washington in his spare time. The Candid Corner is updated every Monday. Kevin can be reached at kpelton@sonicscentral.com. All opinions expressed in this column are solely the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of other columnists or the SonicsCentral.com staff.

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