The Associated Press is reporting that Minnesota has traded Kevin Garnett to the Boston Celtics, and the deal just needs approval by the NBA. According to reports, Boston is sending Al Jefferson, Theo Ratliff, Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair, Ryan Gomes and a future first-round draft pick to Minnesota.

With Garnett in the fold, along with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, Boston should now contend for the Eastern Conference title.

Seattle's schedule just got easier as well with Minnesota in rebuilding mode, joining the Sonics and Portland. Read more about the trade here.

Multiple sources are reporting that trades talks between Boston and Minnesota involving Kevin Garnett have rekindled, with the potential of a deal getting done today.

The deal reportedly would send Garnett to Boston for Al Jefferson, Gerald Green, Theo Ratliff and Sebastian Telfair.

Apparently, the hold up is the negotiation of a contract extension for Garnett. Rumor is he wants five years and $125 million.

This trade could affect the balance of power in the Northwest division. With Garnett not in Minnesota a young Seattle squad could pick up a few more wins next season.

Read more about the trade here, and another report here.

According to the Denver Post, the Seattle SuperSonics have hired Denver Nuggets assistant coach/director of scouting Bill Branch to take over as director of pro personnel for the Sonics.

Branch's worked for Denver for 10 seasons, including the last five years serving as an assistant coach and director of scouting.

According to the report, Branch is regarded as one of the NBA's top advance scouts and has 20 years experience working in the league.

The Sonics fired director of basketball operations Dave Pendergraft, and director of college scouting Steve Rosenberry in June, allowing Presti to build his own staff.

Presti hired Scott Perry as assistant general manager and retained assistant general manager Rich Cho, considered one of the best salary cap specialists in the league.

Branch's last day in Denver will be Tuesday, the Post reported.

A grass-roots effort to keep the Seattle SuperSonics in town took on an official tone on Thursday at the Mainstage Comedy Club across from KeyArena.

Brian Robinson, co-founder of Save Our Sonics and Storm, announced his group’s initiative effort has been filed with the City of Seattle, with plans of getting it on the ballot for a February vote.

The group created a political action committee called "A Deal is a Deal." The initiative, if approved by City of Seattle voters, would prohibit the city from entering into an agreement with the Sonics ownership group that did not include fulfilling the current lease agreement with KeyArena that runs until 2010.

“It specifically bars the city from entering into a new agreement that allows the team to vacate the premises early,” Robinson said. “Our concept is that if the public makes a public/private partnership that they invest significant dollars in with a planned return over a period of time, then they have to get what they bargained for.

“That’s why we’ve termed this ‘A deal is a deal.’”

Three separate attorneys who specialize in writing initiatives have reviewed the measure, Robinson said. And he believes the measure will hold up to scrutiny in court.

The group now must secure more than 18,000 valid petition signatures from Seattle city residents to submit the initiative on the city’s February 2008 ballot.

Robinson said he has not talked to Seattle mayor Greg Nickels about the initiative, but plans to do so in the near future.

Marty McOmber, spokesperson for Nickels had this to say.

“He (Mayor Nickels) has no intention of letting the Sonics out of the lease,” McOmber said. “It’s a lease that goes through 2010, and he expects them to honor that. In fact, he hopes to be able to sit down with the Sonics and find a way to keep the Sonics in Seattle past 2010.”

Nickels plans to meet with Sonics chairman Clay Bennett to renew arena talks in a few weeks.
Chris VanDyk, leader of Citizens for More Important Things, also shared the stage with Robinson.

VanDyk and his group opposed taxpayer money being used for the construction of Safeco Field and Qwest Stadium, and recently succeeded in getting Initiative 91 passed by Seattle city voters. The initiative attempts to block taxpayer subsidies for the remodel of KeyArena.

However, VanDyk said he’s not against the Seattle Sonics staying in Seattle — just the taxpayer money being used to help owners build stadiums.

He believes that money should be used for better purposes, including social programs.
VanDyk also believes the Sonics should honor its lease with KeyArena.

“It would be easier for us if they just packed up and left and this went to the courts and was gone,” VanDyk said. “But we want good solutions, and not just litigious solutions to the problem.

“We want to help drive real compromise, real solutions and not just have the lawyers get paid by fighting in court.”

Robinson said his ultimate goal is for a long-term solution to bubble to the surface that keeps the Sonics in Seattle.

“The NBA has to take a real hard look and say, ‘Do I want to leave a 40-year legacy, and all of the history included in the No. 12 market in a beautiful, coastal city and leave to go somewhere else and start over?’

“And we’re very convinced that if we buy the time and make the offer that won’t happen.”

Listen to Robinson and
VanDyk talk more.

And click here for more information about the initiative.

Seattle’s latest addition Kurt Thomas talked to the media on Thursday afternoon. The 12-year NBA veteran was well-spoken and talked for about 10 minutes about several topics, including what he sees as his role on the young Sonics team, being traded by Phoenix and what he’ll bring to the table for the Sonics.

Seattle used its $9 million trade exception the team received in a sign-and-trade to Orlando for Rashard Lewis to land Thomas and two first-round draft picks — one in 2008 and one in 2010. Seattle also sent Phoenix a conditional, second-round pick.

Although Thomas was a valuable defensive player for the Suns during the team's playoff run last season, Phoenix needed to dump the veteran forward’s salary to get under the luxury tax threshold.

Thomas will make $.8.1 million in the final year of his contract this season. His deal then comes off of Seattle’s books at the end of year, creating some salary cap space for the Sonics.

Thomas is a family man that believes in working hard and should help provide stability, accountability and focus to a young Seattle team.

Here are a few quotes from the Thomas interview. Listen to the entire interview here.

On being traded by Phoenix:

“There’s always a chance for a trade. You can’t really get down about it. You just realize with a new general manager coming in with a different philosophy things will change.

“For me things changed and now I’m here in Seattle. I don’t have any hard feelings about it. I enjoyed my time in Phoenix. It was great. I enjoyed playing with those guys and I’m looking forward to playing with these guys here.”

On Kevin Durant:

“He’s young, but he has a lot of talent. He had an unbelievable one year in his college career. Hopefully he'll come to this level and be exciting on the floor, especially for the fans here in Seattle.”

On what he brings to the table:
“I’m a guy who plays with a lot of intensity, a guy who is focused on the defensive end of the floor, and a guy who will put the ball in the hole on the offensive end.

“I’m a guy who can shoot the ball, a 15-to-17 foot jump shot. I can play on the inside. And I got pretty nice touch around the basket.”

On being a starter or coming of the bench:

“I think everyone believes they are as a starter. I’m just going to come in here and try to play with some passion. Be helpful wherever — whether I’m a starter or coming off of the bench. That’s not my concern. I’ll leave that to P.J.”

On his new head coach P.J. Carlesimo:

“He’s definitely a coach that’s been around who knows about the game. I’m just willing to learn as much as I can from him. Especially since he has a championship ring.”

By now you’re probably waded through the myriad reports on NBA referee Tim Donaghy, a 13-year veteran who is being investigated by the FBI for betting on games, including ones in which he officiated.

But perhaps you didn’t know that Donaghy worked six Sonics games last season, all loses except for a 96-89 home win against Charlotte on March 4.

According to gambling experts referees can most affect the over-under-line (total points scored by the two teams).

In the six Seattle games Donaghy worked the over was hit four times.

In the last two seasons, in games Donaghy officiated teams scored more points than Las Vegas expected (hitting the over) 57 percent of the time. The league average is 49 to 51 percent, according to an ESPN.com report.

The premise is Donaghy could help control the total points scored in the game by calling fouls early in the fourth quarter, forcing teams into the bonus early in the quarter so teams would shoot more free throws and have a chance to score more points in the quarter.

Whether or not Donaghy may have affected the total points scored in games he officiated, or the outcomes of games still remains uncertain. But looking at some of the past games he worked certainly there are some interesting occurrences over the past two years. This
story takes a closer look, and also provides a game-by-game report on games Donaghy worked the past two seasons.

Also, Truehoop, ESPN’s daily blog on the NBA, weighs in here.

Here’s the Seattle games Donaghy worked last season.

Dec. 20, 2006 —A 103-95 (198 total points) home loss to Dallas. The Sonics were an eight-point underdog, and the over-under was 192.

Jan. 30, 2007 — A 122-102 (224 points) loss at Dallas. The Sonics were a 13-point underdog, and the over-under was 199.

Feb. 10, 2007 — A 114-93 (207) home loss to Sacramento. The Sonics were a three-point favorite, and the over-under was 208.

March 4, 2007 — A 96-89 (185 points) home win against Charlotte. The Sonics were a 2.5 point favorite, and the over-under was 185.

March 11, 2007 — A 120-119 (239 points) overtime loss at Toronto. The Sonics were a six-point underdog, and the over-under was 204.

April 1, 2007 — A 114-103 (217) home loss to Denver. The Sonics were a five-point underdog, and the over-under was 208.

The Seattle SuperSonics have called a press conference this afternoon to introduce Kurt Thomas. We'll also have a chance to get an update on other players and see if PJ has added to his coaching staff.

Also today, Save Our Sonics and Storm will have its press conference this afternoon to announce its plans to get on a ballot an initiative that would force Sonics ownership to abide by the KeyArena lease unitl 2010. I'll be at both events and file a report here later this afternoon.

Brian Robinson, co-founder of Save Our Sonics and Storm, has announced the group’s initiative effort to force the Sonics ownership group to honor the team’s lease with KeyArena, which extends to 2010.

Called “A Deals a Deal”, the initiative if it makes the City of Seattle’s ballot in February, would mandate that the city not be a partner to any agreement in which a professional sports team relocates prior to the expiration of their existing lease, effectively making binding the pre-existing Sonics lease through the 2009-2010 season.

Robinson and his group would have to collect 25,000 valid petition signatures to get the initiative put on a ballot.

States Robinson in the press release:

“We are confident that this initiative is legally viable and – more importantly – that it will send a clear message to the Mayor’s office that engaging in conversations regarding a lease buyout are against the wishes of his constituency.

“This issue is about more than basketball and we expect it to appeal even to those who are not sports fans. When cities make significant investments in any type of public/private partnership there must be an understanding that both parties, as well as their successors, adhere to the terms of the contract. In the case of the Seattle SuperSonics, that means they should remain in the KeyArena until the completion of the lease in 2010."

The group will hold a press conference on Thursday, 3 p.m. at the Mainstage Comedy Club, 315 First Avenue in Seattle.

Robinson secured an unlikely source of support in Chris Van Dyk, co-chair of Citizens for More Important Things. Van Dyk’s group was responsible for the passage of Initiative 91 last year in Seattle, which attempts to block the use of city taxpayer subsidies for the remodel of Key Arena.

For more information go here.

Meanwhile in Orlando, that city inched closer to realizing a new $1.1 billion mixed-use development that will include a new basketball arena when the Orlando city council approved the plan. However, the plan, which includes a new arena, performing arts center and remodel of the Florida Citrus Bowl, still has to be approved by the Orange County Commission.

As expected, Seattle center Robert Swift was cleared by doctors for full contact on Monday, and should be full go when training camp begins in September.

Sonics team spokesman Tom Savage confirmed Swift has been cleared. Swift won’t have his first official practice until training camp begins this fall. But more than likely Swift will come back to Seattle in the near future to continue workouts, and will participate in team scrimmages with other Sonics players in town at the Furtatdo Center until the start of training camp.

Dr. Steven Lombardo of California, who operated on Swift's knee, gave him the final OK on Monday.

Swift has been diligently rehabilitating a season-ending, right knee injury suffered just before the regular season began, and has made steady progress toward a full recovery. The 7-footer was in Las Vegas a week ago for the team’s participation in summer league play, but did not compete and worked out with Seattle strength coach Dwight Daub.

Swift said he’s gained 40 pounds in the last two years, and is up to 280 pounds. He is expected to help anchor Seattle inside along with centers Johan Petro and Mouhamed Sene.

Also, Kurt Thomas, the newest member of the Sonics, is expected in town this week to complete a physical for his new team. Seattle acquired the veteran big man from Phoenix in a deal that sent the team's $9 million exception to Phoenix, along with a conditional second-round draft pick. Seattle received Thomas, a 12-year NBA veteran, and Phoenix’s first-round picks in 2008 and 2010.

According to a report in the Sacramento Bee the Sacramento Kings will give Sonics reserve point guard Mike Wilks a tryout on Tuesday.

Wilks, 28, played in 47 games for Seattle lastt season, and has bounced around the league, including a stop in San Antonio in 2005 that netted a championship ring.

With a log jam at point guard for Seattle it appears Wilks would be the odd man out if invited to camp this fall.

The Kings are looking for someone to backup Mike Bibby. Bibby was involved in several trade rumors this summer, but appears to be staying put in Sacramento. Read more here.

Kobe Bryant drained the game-winner and led the blue team over the white team in a 105-104 win.

But Seattle's Kevin Durant continued to impress, scoring 22 points, pulling down five rebounds and snatching four steals.

Durant helped lead blue's comeback over the white team. Here's the box score.

This story at NBA.com describes first day action at the USA training camp in Las Vegas. Seattle rookie Kevin Durant is one of 17 players invited, joining LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and others.

Durant's smooth shooting stroke left Coach K impressed.

Team USA will scrimmage on Sunday, 7 p.m. The game will be televised on FSN.

Jeff Green finished with a double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds) as Seattle won its final summer league game over Dallas 85-79.

Olu Famutimi led Seattle in scoring with 13 points, and Johan Petro finished with 12 points and five rebounds.

Check out the box score here.
Seattle finished 2-6 overall in summer league action.

Kevin Durant, who did not play in the final two summer league games in Salt Lake City, is in Las Vegas training with the USA team, and will play in the team's scrimmage on Sunday.

Here’s the Sonics preseason schedule

Tuesday, Oct. 9 at Sacramento ARCO Arena, TBA

Friday, Oct. 12 at Cleveland Quicken Loans Arena, TBA

Saturday, Oct. 13 at Indiana Conseco Fieldhouse, 7 p.m.
.
Thursday, Oct. 18 L.A. Lakers Rabobank Arena Bakersfield, Calif., 7 p.m.
.
Saturday, Oct. 20 Houston, KeyArena, 7:05 p.m.

Tuesday, Oct. 23 Golden State, KeyArena, 7:05 p.m.

Wednesday, Oct. 24 at Portland, Rose Garden, 7 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 26 Phoenix, General Motors Place, Vancouver, B.C., 7 p.m.

Sam Presti and the rest of the Seattle’s brass are pretty happy over in Sonics land. They managed to turn Rashard Lewis’ departure into a positive by getting Kurt Thomas and two first-round picks in return for the $9 million trade exception the team received from Orlando and a conditional second-round pick.

I have heard some complaints about Seattle bringing in an aged, mediocre veteran forward. For those of you that question the trade you should take a look at this blog.

Phoenix fans believed Thomas did the best job of guarding Tim Duncan in the their playoff loss against the Spurs, and some are pretty upset with him leaving.

Think about the Chicago Bulls bringing in veteran Antonio Davis four years ago to help nurture that young team, and you have an idea of how the organization views the affect bringing in Thomas could have on this young Sonics squad.

“He compliments the guys that we have in place up front,” Presti said. “And part of his value comes on the offensive end. He can stretch a defense. You have to rotate to him. He’s someone that can make life easier for his teammates with his ability to shoot the ball.
“Kurt can play both front-court positions. We like the versatility of our core up front.”

It’s unlikely that Phoenix would get the conditional second round pick. Orlando would have to finish in the top five in the east, and if that occurred the pick would be 55 or worse in next year’s draft.

We all know Phoenix should be pretty good in 2008 with Grant Hill in the fold and a solid nucleus back, but by 2010 the Suns could be on a downward slide and Seattle could be cashing in on a pretty good pick.

The move gives Seattle five first-round draft picks in the next three years to build around centerpieces Kevin Durant and Jeff Green.

Sonic fans should be happy this new regime is making moves that seem to be helping the team build for the future. Whether that future will take place in Seattle or not is another matter.

Take a listen to Clay Bennett here. He was on KJR 950 today. Bennett is supposed to get together with Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels in the next week to discuss the possibility of building a new arena for the Sonics.

The Sonics have reportedly made a deal with Phoenix, picking up veteran big man Kurt Thomas and the Suns' 2008 and 2010 first-round picks for a second-round pick and the Sonics trade exception, valued between $9 and $9.5 million.

I'll have more details on the trade a little later.

Without future star Kevin Durant the Seattle Sonics won their first summer league game, defeating Chicago 96-89 in the Rocky Mountain Revue.

Seattle was led by two unlikely players — Johan Petro and Mouhamed Sene. The two big men combined for 35 points and 20 rebounds.

Petro had his best game of the summer, finishing with 20 points and 14 rebounds. While Sene chipped in 15 points and six rebounds.

Seattle is 1-6 in summer league play.

Jeff Green had another strong performance, finishing with 22 points and five assists. And forward Quinton Hosley poured in 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Check out the box score here.

It's hard to gauge whether Sonics chairman Clay Bennett's announcement that he wants to talk about an arena deal with Seattle-area officials is a half-hearted attempt to save face before he applies to relocate in November, or an honest effort to try and work out a deal to stay in Seattle.

I think we'll have to wait a couple months and see how the talks progress.

Even with some of the cynicism expressed by some media folks and members of the Sonics fan base, Seattle still has some things working in its favor.

1.) The team is already here: If you look at previous efforts to move sports franchises, it's always easier to keep a team than it is for a city to secure a team.

2.) Bigger market vs. smaller market: Seattle is a bigger market than either Oklahoma City and Kansas City, which should mean larger TV contracts and other revenue if the Sonics stay.

3.) More money in Seattle: There's more major players with wealth in the Seattle area than Oklahoma City and other potential NBA cities (excluding Vegas). I think that makes it easier for an arena development project to get done.

The negatives
1.) Bennett's an Oklahoma guy: There's really no overooking this fact. He's a midwest guy and Oklahoma City is clamoring for a team.

2.) Failure in Legislature: The Sonics first effort to secure a deal in Olympia was swatted down without much support.

3.) Apathetic fan base: Although growing with the draft of Kevin Durant and Jeff Green, Seattle Sonics fan have not come out in full force.

What will be the outcome? I think we'll just have to wait and see how serious the discussions become. It seems with all of the money in the Puget Sound region and the economic impact a potential, multi-use arena would have that something would get done.

But we have to take all of the rhetoric by Bennett and others with some restraint. It's just part of the negotiations in trying to get a deal done.

The Orlando Sentinel wrote a long feature on Rashard Lewis a few days ago. You can check it out here.

I just got this from the Sonics. I'll have more later.

SEATTLE - One year after announcing the purchase of the Seattle SuperSonics and Storm, Chairman Clayton Bennett says it’s time to take an honest and serious look at the status of an arena development process and the future of the teams in Seattle. Bennett has issued a call to action to the political, business and civic leadership of the city, county and state asking for substantive dialogue to discuss potential solutions.

“One year ago this week we announced the purchase of the teams,” Bennett said. “As part of the purchase and sale agreement, we committed to the previous owners and the NBA that we would work for one year from the close of the transaction, until October 31, 2007, to secure the development of a successor venue to KeyArena. In this time we developed what we believed was a pathway to a successful NBA and WNBA future in the region; a new multi-purpose arena with the SuperSonics and Storm as lead tenants. We were disappointed with the results at the Legislature and further disappointed at the lack of progress since the end of the session. We now invite the leadership of the Seattle area to reengage on this issue.”

Bennett said he has asked Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels for a meeting as soon as possible.

“As the Mayor of Seattle, the home city to the SuperSonics and Storm, we believe the Mayor is the appropriate person to provide leadership and guidance on this issue,” Bennett said.

Bennett emphasized again that the ownership group’s priority is keeping both the SuperSonics and Storm in the Seattle area.

“From day one we have maintained that it is our objective and preference to keep the teams in the market. However, this can only be achieved through the development of a new state of the art multi-purpose arena facility,” Bennett said.

“The issue is clear and simple; does the leadership of the region wish to retain its professional basketball teams? If so, serious productive discussions must commence at once. If not, as owners we must consider all of our options in regaining the financial viability of the business,” Bennett said.

From the Associated Press

Kevin Durant has signed a seven-year, $60 million endorsement deal with Nike that includes a $10 million signing bonus, the second-largest rookie deal in basketball.

Nike and Durant’s agent’s office confirmed Wednesday that the deal had been reached.

Durant was the No. 2 overall pick in the NBA draft by the Seattle SuperSonics. The 6-foot-9 forward played his freshman season at Texas and was named The Associated Press Player of the Year.

Durant’s signing was a point of much speculation after No. 1 draft pick Greg Oden signed with Nike. Oden a 7-foot center, was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers.

“We are very pleased to have Kevin as a part of the Nike Basketball family,” Craig Zanon, Vice President and General Manager of Global Basketball for Beaverton-based Nike. “Kevin is an amazing talent on the court and a quality person off the court and we are happy to be partnering with him as he starts his NBA career.”

The deal includes a line of signature products for Durant. He reportedly turned down a lucrative offer from Adidas, believed to be $70 million. Adidas declined to comment.

“I am extremely pleased that we have finalized a partnership for Kevin Durant with Nike,” Aaron Goodwin, Durant’s agent said in a statement. “I know Kevin is excited to join the Nike family and to help grow their basketball business.”

Seattle remains winless in summer league action, losing to Utah 102-88 in the Sonics first game in the Rocky Mountain Revue.

Durant led all scorers with 29 points, and Jeff Green poured in 25, but the two rookies were the only Sonics in double figures.

Seattle shot 35 percent from the field and was outrebounded 39-26.

Durant will now head back to Las Vegas for team USA training camp. Seattle plays the Chicago Bulls on Thursday. Check out the box score here.

Sports Business Radio is reporting the Seattle's Kevin Durant is close to finalizing an agreement with Nike, reportedly a multi-year deal worth an undisclosed amount.

Durant had been in the middle of a bidding war with Nike and Adidas. His agent, Aaron Goodwin, reportedly wanted Durant to take the deal with Adidas, believed to be worth $40 million. But Durant has been involved with Nike since he was in eighth grade, and apparantly had the last word. Read more here.

Seattle failed to get a victory in the Las Vegas summer league, finishing 0-5. But anybody watching the game tonight had to walk way impressed with rookies Kevin Durant and Jeff Green.

In some ways Green overshadowed Durant with his play tonight. I think he really represents the type of player Seattle wants to have on its team. With his versatility he can play the 2, 3 or 4. He handles the ball well, can post up and shoot the 3, and he rebounds and plays defense.

Green's 32 points and 13 rebounds was impressive.

And I thought Durant again showed why he will be tough to defend this season. He's quick enough to take people off the dribble, but defenders have to get up on him because he can hit the 3.

He's probably taking too many jump shots at this point, but he'll start to figure out where he needs to get the ball in time.

I don't think anyone is worried about wins at this point. The teams that are winning down here (think New York, Minnesota) have several NBA players on their roster and are winning because of that veteran leadership.

The young guys on Seattle's roster still dont' understand the intensity level they have to play at to be successful in the NBA. It takes time.

But what I think Sonics fans got a glimpse of is how well Durant and Green can play together. Now it's up to P.J. to start to figure out how to put this young team together.

Seattle is down seven, but Kevin Durant and Jeff Green are having their best games playing together.

Green has a double-double (23 points, 12 rebounds), and Durant has 21 points and three rebounds.

They haven't had much help, but it's been entertaining watching the rookie duo get up and down the floor.

We'll see of Seattle can put together a run in the fourth quarter.

Turnovers and poor defense are hurting Seattle, as the Sonics continue to show their youth.

Seattle has turned the ball over 11 times in the first half, leading to 13 points for Portland.

And the Sonics allowed 16 Portland points in the paint.

Kevin Durant (12 points) and Jeff Green (12 points) have carried the load offensively. Seattle needs to get a third scorer involved to help them out.

Seattle continues to struggle shooting the ball, finishing 12-32 (37.5 percent) from the field, and 10-of-18 from the free-throw line (55.6 percent) for the half.

Gary Payton arrived here at Cox Pavilion during the beginning of the first quarter, and is sitting up in the stands with his agent, Aaron Goodwin. Kevin Durant and Payton both share the same agent in Goodwin.

I believe Payton has a house in Las Vegas, but it's interesting that he'd take the time to come down and see Durant play.

Payton has told the Miami Heat that he is considering retirement.

Seattle is down 26-17 at the end of the first quarter against Portland Trail Blazers, who are without Greg Oden and LaMarcus Aldridge.

Durant has seven points and two rebounds, but Jeff Green has provided the highlights with two emphatic dunks created by quick footwork driving baseline.

As an NBA player heading into his third season, Nate Robinson didn’t need to be here.

But the explosive, 5-foot-9 playmaker felt he had to prove that he could distribute and run a team.

Consider Robinson’s mission accomplished.

The University of Washington alum was named MVP of the Las Vegas summer league, leading New York to a 5-0 record. Robinson averaged 18.5 points and seven assists for the Knicks. He’s played in three summer leagues. The Knicks are 15-3 in those games.

Seattle’s Kevin Durant was named to the first team.

Now Robinson needs those performances to transfer over the regular season.

“I just wanted to get everybody involved,” Robinson said. “That was the main thing. I think I did a pretty good job. Guys were knocking down shots, playing together and sharing the ball.”

Robinson also got a chance to play with good friend and former Husky Tre Simmons, who joined Robinson on New York’s summer league team. Simmons averaged four points a game coming off the bench.

“That’s my guy,” Robinson said about Simmons. “I see him everyday during the summer time. Our kids are the same age. He’s like my brother.”

The NBA summer league first team includes: Aaron Brooks (Houston), Al Thornton (Clippers), Craig Smith (Timberwolves), Javaris Crittenon (Lakers), Jose Juan Barea (Mavericks), Kevin Durant (Sonics), Kyle Lowry (Grizzlies), Louis Williams (Sixers), Marco Belinelli (Warriors), Rodney Stuckey (Pistons), Rudy Gay (Grizzlies), Randy Foye (Timberwolves), Spencer Hawes (Kings) and Von Wafer (Nuggets).

Brooks, who graduated from Franklin High and attended the University of Oregon, was named the rookie of the month. Brooks averaged 22.2 points and 5.5 assists a game.

Among the many NBA coaches and front-office people watching games down here, former Seattle head coach and current head man at Denver George Karl is one of the most popular. He’s sought out by autograph seekers and fans wanting pictures with him, and he never turns them down.

Karl was here to watch his son
Coby Karl, who is playing for the Los Angeles Lakers summer league team.

Karl said it's tough for new coaches to create an identity for a team because the players usually dictate what type of style a team will play. He thought Carlesimo was a good hire, and he hopes the teams stays in seattle.

I also talked to Kentwood High product
Rodney Stuckey, who leads a strong contingent of Puget-Sound area players that are littered among NBA summer league roster in Vegas. Also, ESPN has something on Stuckey.

If you haven’t seen it already, I wrote a piece on Carlesimo trying to define a Seattle identity for this young team, and also talked to him about his search for assistants, which really hasn’t got off the ground.

I also talked to Robert Swift on Friday, and wrote an update on him here. Swift seems in good spirits and ready to play. He said he’s still waiting for final clearance to scrimmage, and is up to 280 pounds. The added weight looks good and proportional to his body, and the team is excited to see how he’ll do once training camp begins.

Seattle practiced on Saturday, and I spent most of the day tracking down sources for the P.J. piece and catching up with some local guys that are down here playing.

There’s not much scuttlebutt being talked about involving Seattle in possible trade scenarios. The only rumor I heard is Seattle may be interested in Phoenix big man Kurt Thomas, but that’s unconfirmed.

I’ll keep digging and I’ll have more information today. Seattle finishes play in Las Vegas tonight against the Portland Trail Blazers, which will be on FSN tonight at 7 p.m.

After that they’ll head to Salt Lake City. It appears Kevin Durant will travel with the team to Salt Lake City to play a couple days there before coming back to Las Vegas to attend the team USA training camp, which begins July 22.

The first thing you notice with Kevin Durant on the floor is he's a mismatch waiting to happen. Durant had Marco Belinelli (6-foot-5) on him most of the night and all the Belinelli could do was foul him.

And this was without Durant making any shots from the perimeter in the first half. Basically Golden State had to double Durant to get the ball out of his hands.

Durant is having no problem getting open looks — he's just missing shots. And I think he's a better shooter than what he's shown. He's just a little impatient and needs to let his shot come to him a little more.

Durant finished 9-for-23 from the field, which isn't great but is respectable. He shot 13-of16 from the free throw line, but that's down here in Las Vegas where they call a foul every 30 seconds.

I do think he'll get to the foul line eight to 10 times a game because his defender is always out of position.

Jeff Green looked even better in person. He's patient on the block, has nice touch and can find the open man when he gets doubled. And he can get points even when the offense isn't ran through him.

Sene looked better today, and Ralph Lewis chose to play him instead of Petro in the second half because Sene was a disruptive force inside. He still makes plays in crucial situations that hurt you. The Sonics had cut the lead to two points I believe and they passed the ball inside to Sene and it bounced off his hands out of bounds. That's the kind of stuff that can't happen in a close game during the regular season.

Seattle played much better defense this game, particulary Durant, who had four steals and got in the passing lanes. (I was wrong, Durant is quick enough to defend the shooting guard).

Kenny Adeleke did a nice job on the boards, finishing with 11 rebounds and nine points.

Overall it was a decent performance — just no win (85-74 final).

Apparently there's a Seattle Sonics alumni event going on. Bill Russell and Gary Payton are in the stands, and sitting next to them is Sonics chairman Clay Bennett.

After only score three points in the first quarter Kevin Durant broke out in the second and finished with 12 points at halftime. The scoring spurt included two dunks and some nice plays defensively against Golden State's top scorer, Marco Belinelli, who is averaging 25 points a game.

Seattle still trails 41-36 at the half.

The Sonics still are struggling from the field and but they're getting to the free-throw line, and lead 22-19 at the end of the first quarter.

Seattle is shooting 5-for-17 for the game, but the Sonics are shooting 12-of-15 from the free throw line.

Mouhamed Sene has been a presence inside, with two blocked shots and three rebounds.

Cleveland's LeBron James just walked in the gym and was swarmed by kids wanting autgraphs. LeBron's entrance caused quite a stir, upstaging the game.

Seattle's working hard defensively and is down 11-9 with four mintues left.

We've got a great match-up with Kevin Durant guarding Golden State's Marco Belinelli. The sweet-shooting rookie from Italy has been posting big numbers at summer league this year, and had a nice jam off of the break.

Durant is again struggling from the field (0-5). But Jeff Green looks like the real deal. Goes hard to the hole, plays good defense and has good shooting touch. He's much better in person.

After a bumpy flight and a bout of dizziness I made it down to scorching hot Vegas. The temperature topped 114 degrees here today.

I'll be blogging throughout the game tonight, which begins at 7:30 p.m.

Mickael Gelabale will sit out again with a sprained ankle. And guard Jermaine Jackson will sit out as well with a hamstring injury.

Jeff Green, who left early in the game against Milwaukee, should play tonight. And Kevin Durant returns after his trip to Los Angeles to tape the ESPY's.

I'll have more after tip-off.

Kevin Durant talked to KJR radio this morning. And Seattle general manager Sam Presti talked to KJR yesterday morning. You can find both podcasts here.

Thanks for all the comments the past couple days, and keep 'em coming.

I thought I would answer some questions piling up.

Tre Simmons in Las Vegas: The former UW product is on the New York Knicks summer league. I imagine Nate Robinson playing for New York helped Simmons find a spot on the summer league squad.

Simmons was invited to Seattle's training camp two years ago and was one of the early cuts. But Simmons has always had a nice shooting touch, and seems to look more comfortable playing against NBA players this season.

On the trade exception: I think Seattle general manager Sam Presti worked hard in negotiations to get the $9 million to $9.5 million trade exception so he could bring in another scorer to help out Kevin Durant this season. I would expect the Sonics to use it sometime this summer, and not wait until later this year. I think Presti will just be patient until the right deal comes along.

PKesling: I'm a man of my word. I'll just leave it at that.

On Carlesimo's hiring: I was a fan of Dwane Casey and thought he would be a good fit because of his ability to work with young players and his emphasis on defense.

That said, I certainly understand why Presti went with Carlesimo. Presti developed a relationship with Carlesimo in San Antonio and has seen him in action. For Presti, Carlesimo is a known commodity. And both already share the same organizational philosophy molded in San Antonio.

Plus, I think the fact that Casey was in Seattle before probably hurt him, because the Sonics seem to be trying to move away from the past regime.

But I don't think it's because they want to create a disconnect with the fans. Like any organization, when you change leadership you try to cut ties with the past in order to make it easier to move in a diferent direction for what they believe is the betterment of the franchise. And that is what Presti and Clay Bennett are doing here.

Carlesimo had run-ins with Latrell Sprewell and Rod Strickland, but who didn't? It's not like Sprewell and Strickland were choir boys.

Carlesimo is a good teacher of the game, and is well-respected in the basketball coaching community. Give him a chance to see what he can do.

Seattle may get lucky and get the best of both worlds should Casey want to stay close to home and perhaps become an assistant in Seattle. We'll see.

On Rashard: It's been fun to watch Rashard Lewis progress since he's been with Seattle. He's probably one of the best shooters in the game, and his overall basketball skills have improved tremendously since he first arrived in the NBA.

I believe Seattle wanted to bring Lewis back, and was surprised when Orlando offered Lewis that much money. There was just no way the Sonics were going to match that deal, and once the offer was out there Presti had to scramble to try and get something in return. Looks like he did a pretty good job.

Summer league games: The games are shorter. They're only 40 minutes instead of 48 minutes. And players get 10 fouls.

That's all for now. I'll have some more stuff later today, and then I probably won't post until I'm in Vegas on Friday.

Unrestricted free agent Darko Milicic has agreed to a three to four-year deal with Memphis, reportedly beginning at $6 to $7 million, according to an NBA league source.

The 7-footer was released by Orlando to make cap room for the Magic to sign Rashard Lewis. Read about the details of the contract here.

In case you missed it, newly hired Seattle Sonics coach P.J. Carlesimo was on ESPN's Pardon The Interruption today.
He had some interesting things to say about his time between head coaching jobs in the NBA after the Sprewell incident.
You can listen to that converstation here.

Without the services of No. 2 lottery pick Kevin Durant, the Seattle Supersonics (0-3) remained winless in the Las Vegas summer league.

Durant missed Seattle’s 92-85 loss to Milwaukee on Wednesday to attend the ESPY awards in Los Angeles.
Julius Hodge led Seattle with 15 points and four rebounds, finishing 11-of-15 from the free throw line.

Former Sonic Noel Felix finished with a game-high 27 points and six rebounds.

Seattle’s other lottery pick Jeff Green scored two points in limited minutes. Green tweaked his ankle early in the game and was held out as a precaution.

Seattle only shot 40 percent from the field, and allowed Milwaukee to shoot 50 percent from the floor.

Mickael Gelabale sat out, nursing a sprained ankle.

Durant will return to Las Vegas for Seattle’s game against Golden State on Friday, 7:30 p.m. A webcast of the game will be available at NBA.com.

Check out the final box score here.

Here's a excerpt from the Bill Simmons’ chat on ESPN.com. He doesn't think too highly of Rashard Lewis. Read the full conversation here.

Chris Maine: Simmons, you got an iPhone yet? I've heard disappointing reviews.

SportsNation Bill Simmons: (12:35 PM ET ) I didn't get one - the device seemed so complicated and ambitious that it scared me off, I wanted to wait until they worked out the kinks. I wish Orlando had done this with their cap space - instead, they spent $126 million on Rashard Lewis. Please send me 500,000 questions on that signing. I want to devote the whole chat to it.

JKL(Boston, MA): If you're Orlando aren't you better off saving that cap room used up on Rashard Lewis to see if you can grab someone better next season?

SportsNation Bill Simmons: (12:36 PM ET ) Wait, you think they would have been better off not paying a $50 million player $126 million? Are you sure?

Kevin (Chicago, IL): Rashard Lewis' deal is awful, but it can't be the worst Max deal ever. Who is the worst player ever to get a max deal? Marbury?

SportsNation Bill Simmons: (1:09 PM ET ) No. it's the worst max deal ever. It's the worst sports contract in history. They gave a max contract to someone who has one skill (scoring), and he's not even that good at that skill. He's like a better Hedu Turkoglu. He plays 40 mins a game, scores 20 points and grabs you 5 boards. Congratulations.

Dan (NY): Worst player to get a max deal? Wrong Knick. It has to be Allan Houston. I'm a Knicks fan, and this huge mess they call a franchise all started with him getting top 2 guard money. They even had to make a rule for his contract.

SportsNation Bill Simmons: (1:11 PM ET ) At least Allan Houston was the best guy on a team that made the Finals. What has Rashard Lewis ever done? Sonics fans thought he was soft and unreliable... even in their one playoff run two years ago, he was hurt half the time.

Tim (DC): Keith Van Horn was a worse max contract, hands down...

SportsNation Bill Simmons: (1:11 PM ET ) I'd rather pay $71 million to KVH than $126 million to Lewis.

Jens (Copenhagen) : Bill can u explain what the Magic were thinking when they gave Rashard "I'm a skinnier Antoine Walker" Lewis a deal worth $125 mill?!? Please take me trough their thought proces, because I have no idea what they were thinking!

SportsNation Bill Simmons: (1:14 PM ET ) It's inexplicable. I can't do it. There's no possible way to explain it or justify it.

Sam (Austin, TX): Basketball Reference shows Rashard Lewis has a .002 Hall of Fame probabilty, plus he scored 2 points in his one all star appearance. Of course he gets max money.

Jacob (Portland, OR): Which principal in "The White Shadow" do you prefer: Jim Willis #1 (played by Jason Bernard) or Jim Willis #2 (played by Ed Bernard)? Or did you not notice this, due to the fact that you think all black people look alike?

SportsNation Bill Simmons: (1:20 PM ET ) Glad you brought this up. Jim Willis No. 1 was a really good actor; Jim Willis No. 2 was one of the worst actors in TV history. I never understood why they didn't stick with Jim Willis No. 1. It's never been explained. It's the Rashard Lewis max contract of TV decisions.

Doug, Toronto: Shouldn't an NBA player have to have a signature sneaker to receive max money? Or at least be the reason why people go to games? Rashard Lewis is a nobody.

SportsNation Bill Simmons: (1:25 PM ET ) You should either be able to A) sell tickets, B) call yourself one of the best 5-6 people at your position, or C) have two first-class NBA skills. You know who's kicking himself right now? Mike Miller. If Rashard is worth $126 million, he's worth at least $110.

Rich (Parsippany, NJ): What is worse... The Rashard Lewis contract or having a 40 year old playing an 18 year old karate champion in movie with a millionaire businessman taking time off from his company to ruin an 18 year old karate champion's life?

SportsNation Bill Simmons: (1:50 PM ET ) The Rashard Lewis contract.

Petey (LA): Your thoughts on what Presti has done in Seattle so far? The guy is looking like a genius.

SportsNation Bill Simmons: (2:03 PM ET ) Very intrigued so far. I loved the Allen trade for them, although I would have taken Brewer instead of Green. We could be headed for a different NBA - there's been 3 GM's over the past year who seem to know what they're doing (Steve Kerr, Presti and Daryl Morey)

Turt (Bellevue WA): What do you think about the proposed deal 100 mill over 5 years for Ichiro?

SportsNation Bill Simmons: (2:22 PM ET ) A ridiculous amount of money for a 33 year old singles hitter. But still, at least he's a really good player - I don't mind when teams overpay for quality players, at the end of the day (as Ric Bucher would say), you'd never regret having Ichiro on your team. Rashard Lewis for $25 million in 2011? You'd regret this.

Brad (NJ): Who do you like in the WNBA All-Star game?

SportsNation Bill Simmons: (2:38 PM ET ) Any other channel.

Several people have asked about the sign-and-trade deal between Orlando and Seattle. Here’s what I know.

The Seattle Supersonics have completed a sign-and-trade deal with Orlando involving Rashard Lewis that will give the Sonics some flexibility to bring in another talented player, according to an NBA source.

Seattle agreed to sign Lewis to an NBA maximum contract nearing $120 million, and then trade him to Orlando for a conditional second-round pick and a trade exception believed to be worth $9 million to $9.5 million.

The deal allows Seattle to get something in return for Lewis, while giving the former Sonic the lucrative sixth year he was seeking. The exception provides Seattle with a chance to take between $9 million and $9.5 million more in salary in a deal without the money counting against the cap.

Seattle could also trade a draft pick for a player making close to the amount of money of the exception without sending a player of equal value in return.

Essentially, Seattle can now go after another veteran who can help the team, which they would not have been able to do if they let Lewis sign a five-year deal with Orlando.

The Sonics have one year to use the exception.

One possible target could be unrestricted free agent Darko Milicic. Orlando tried to free up enough cap space to bring back the versatile 7-footer, but had to let Milicic go in order to sign Lewis.

Now Milicic, the No. 2 pick in the NBA 2003 draft, is on the market, and few teams have enough cap room to sign him to more than the NBA mid-level exception of $5.356 million.

According to a report in Florida Today, Seattle and Orlando will complete a sign-and-trade deal that will send Rashard Lewis to Orlando, where the nine-year veteran will reportedly receive a massive six-year, $127.2 million contract

Seattle will receive a second-round pick in return. Read more about the deal here.

According to a report in the Orlando Sentinel a potential sign-and-trade deal between Orlando and Seattle involving Rashard Lewis is fizzling, and Orlando appears to have given up on signing free agent Darko Milicic and are moving on. Read more about that story here.

With this year's cap expected to come in today at about $56 million, that would leave Seattle with 13 players and at a little over $55 million in players' salaries. It seems the Sonics would have little cap space room to bring players in.

However, Seattle still has the potential to exlpore trades, and could offer potential free-agent suitors the mid-level or the veteran excepton.

Although that would seem unlikely with Seattle building for the future.

I’ve been getting some emails from people concerned about Kevin Durant’s shooting woes the last two games so I just wanted to clear up a few things.

First off, it’s only summer league and Durant will not be playing with a lot of these guys come October. Secondly, the coaches are obviously trying to win games, but they also are putting guys in certain situations to see how they will respond, and playing groups together that they might not normally put together to take a look at how players mesh with each other.

Durant is 9-for-36 from the floor in two games. He's obviously struggled on the block aginst bigger players inside because of his lack of strength. But some of his struggles can be attributed to the less-than-stellar play Seattle has been getting from the point guard spot.

In two games Seattle only has 13 assists on 49 field goals.

Durant has showed flashes of brilliance, displaying his ability to score inside and a nice stroke from 3-point range. And he’s also 15-for-17 from the free-throw line.

However, it’s a little surprising he only has two rebounds in two games.

Durant will hopefully benefit form better guard play during the season. From what I understand Earl Watson travelled from Los Angeles to Las Vegas to watch Durant and the Sonics during the summer league.

Seattle head coach P.J. Carlesimo doesn’t seem worried by Durant’s early struggles, and just wants Durant to play and learn from his mistakes this summer.

Seattle’s other lottery pick, Jeff Green, has played solid so far. He’s averaging 12 points a game, playing solid defense and doing those little things that help teams win.

Jayjaydean brings up a good point. Durant, Greg Oden and other rookies could be hitting a wall with all of the activity they’ve had in the last couple month. Portland is in fact shutting Oden down for the summer.

There were also a couple of people questioning my use of the word disinterested, and I understand that. Everybody that plays in the summer league should be playing hard because basically the players’ jobs are on the line.

But at times Seattle does not seem to play with any urgency. They’re not getting back on defense, not hustling after loose balls and basically got outworked by the Knicks on Monday.

A lot of that probably has to do with the team’s youth, but those are certainly things you can control as a player. It just seemed at times the Sonics were not playing with much concentration and the kind of intensity it takes to win games in the NBA.

Seattle has three more summer league games in Las Vegas. They play Milwaukee on Wednesday (5:30 p.m., no TV), Golden State on Friday (7:30 p.m., no TV) and Portland on Sunday ( 7 p.m. FSN, NBA TV).

Seattle will then travel to Salt Lake city to play three more games in the Rocky Mountain Revue summer League. The Sonics will play Utah on July 17, Chicago on July 19 and Dallas on July 20.

I’ll be in Las Vegas on Friday to get a first-hand look at Durant and the Sonics during Seattle’s last two summer games in Sin City.

Also, here’s the latest on the potential sign-and-trade between Orlando and Seattle. Looks like the Sonics would like a couple draft picks in return.

Seattle looked a step slow and disinterested in the first half against New York in the Sonics second summer league game in Las Vegas, and trails the Knicks 51-35 at halftime.
Sonics’ No. 2 pick Kevin Durant finished with only seven points in the first half, and Jeff Green scored a team-high 13 points.
Durant struggled getting open looks against the New York’s best defender Renaldo Balkman, finishing 2-for-11 in the first half, and grabing one rebound.
Seattle was outhustled by New York and had problems getting back on defense, giving up several easy lay-ins.
Green had a nice jam over New York guard and former University of Washington product Nate Robinson. Robinson had eight points in the first half.
Robinson’s teammate at UW, Tre Simmons, also played for the Knicks.
Seattle allowed New York to shoot 55.6 percent from the field in the first half

Seattle will play New York in the Las Vegas Summer League tonight, 7 p.m. The game will be televised on NBA TV for those who have Comcast (You need to order the Sports Entertainment package to get the NBA TV; it's an extra $6 a month), or you can watch the game on a webcast at nba.com.

I'll have updates throughout the game for those that don't have a chance to watch it on TV.

Sorry for the late post but I've been having trouble with our blog software.

First off, I wanted to give a shout to Frank Hughes, whose huge shoes I’ll be trying to fill covering this beat. For the past decade Frank has done a great job staying ahead of the news while covering the Sonics and providing an inside perspective on what’s happening within the organization, breaking several stories before our competitors.

Like I said earlier, thankfully Frank is still around and I can lean on his experience when I have questions, although I’m sure he’ll be busy in his new role as our Seahawks beat reporter.

As the old adage goes, if defense wins championships then the Seattle Sonics might be years away from hoisting up another NBA championship trophy.

The Sonics have been amongst the bottom 10 in points allowed three of the past five years. And as RJ99 astutely points out, if you look at defensive efficiency numbers over the years, young teams — which Seattle will be next year with a roster that averages 24 years of age — are among the bottom feeders there as well.

Newly hired coach P.J. Carlesimo’s directive is simple, yet will take years to fully implement — change Seattle into a defensive-minded team.

Carlesimo talked about his plans defensively, among other things in a conversation on the day Sam Presti announced Carlesimo as Seattle new head coach. You can listen to that conversation here.

During the conversation he talked about modeling Seattle after San Antonio defensively. The Spurs are noted for not giving up easy buckets and forcing teams to beat them from the perimeter.

Carlesimo also talked about Bobby Knight being one of his role models, and that he still has a Knight defensive pamphlet that Carlesimo has used to help anchor of his defensive philosophy. He also talked about stealing some tricks from San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich.

In an article I wrote for Sunday.

Carlesimo discusses why San Antonio’s defense has been successful for several years. They have Tim Duncan and Bruce Bowen, two of the best defenders in the league. And they have an experienced team that has played together for a long period of time, and understands the important of defense to winning championships.

Seattle doesn’t have any of those things, so success on the defensive end may take some time. But Carlesimo’s goal during his first year in Seattle will be trying to establish a defensive mentality in a team that has relied on its offense to win games that last few years.

Thanks for the comments. The way I’ll handle this now and in the future is when there are more than a few questions I’ll write a blog entry. If there’s only a couple then I’ll jump in the comments section and answer them there. So let’s get started.

Free agent rumblings — I think someone already posted the link in the comments section, but the Florida Today reported in Saturday’s paper that Orlando and Seattle are still talking about a potential sign-and-trade deal.
The Magic agreed to a five-year, $75 million deal to bring in Lewis. But Orlando still would like to sign 7-foot free agent Darko Milicic.
According to the report, the Magic is offering the expiring contracts of Carlos Arroyo ($4 million), Pat Garrity ($ 3.8 million) and Keyon Dooling ($3.5 million) to Seattle, and are willing to tempt Seattle even more by offering future first-round or second-round draft picks, according to the report.
A sign-and-trade deal could help both teams. It would give Lewis a sixth year and raise is contract close to $90 million. Seattle would get some compensation for Lewis, and acquire some expiring contracts so that the Sonics could get well below the salary cap in 2008 and bring in a top-flight, free agent to pair with Durant.
And Orlando would get enough cap room to possibly sign Milicic.

Shooting guard woes — A couple people pointed out the hole at shooting guard with Ray Allen gone. Seattle could bring somebody in, but I think they’re more inclined to let Wally Szcerbiak, Damian Wilkens and Delonte West battle it out. There’s not much out there in terms of free agency. I would think Seattle would want to save the cap space and make a run at the free agent class in 2008, which could include Gilbert Arenas, Allen Iverson, Baron Davis, Elton Brand, Kevin Garnett, Shawn Marion and Jermaine O’Neal.

Durant and Green tandem — I thought Durant and Green played well together. If you watched the game you saw that Durant obviously is a very skilled player that can play small forward, and at times power forward or shooting guard. I think Durant’s true position is small forward, however, and that’s where you will see him the most.

Green looks like a pretty good athlete who can play several different positions. He seems to do the little things well, and I think he can play both small forward or power forward. I’m not sure about the combine results, but Green seems to have a pretty high basketball IQ and seems to be in the right spot most of the time. I also think in time Green will be a good defender once he learns the NBA game.

Williams’ sports bio — I played football, basketball and baseball in high school at Mount Tahoma. My favorite sport has always been basketball, but at 5-9, 200 pounds (a few pounds heavier now) not many colleges were looking for a bowling ball at point guard. I played football (receiver) at the University of Puget Sound for four years.

Favorite Sonics — Being a point guard who likes to shoot, I’ll have to go with The Wizard (Gus Williams) at No. 1, followed by Xavier McDaniel, Gary Payton and Detlef Schrempf. Hersey Hawkins and Fred Brown round out my list.

Green off the bench? I think it’s tough to start two rookies in your starting five, so it might make sense to let Green come off the bench and be an energy guy in the second quarter. With his skill set he eventually projects as a starter, no doubt. But in the NBA it’s tough to start two rookies to open a game and not get buried in the opening quarter.

NBA TV — I have Comcast and just ordered some sports and entertainment package that included NBA TV for $6 more a month. I don’t think you can sign up for NBA pass yet because we’re not in season. I think NBA TV is worth having just to see Durant play in a couple games this summer.

Collison, Petro at center — Collison has gotten better each year and will fit right in with Carlesimo because he plays hard and has a high basketball IQ. It’s tough to start Collison at center because he gives up some size. He’s almost more valuable coming of the bench because of his ability to score against the other team’s second unit, and he plays with a lot of energy. I’m not sure where Collison will fit in, but P.J. will find a place for him somewhere.

At times I think Petro could be the answer in the middle for Seattle, but then at other times he disappears. But he is still pretty young and learning. I think that’s the problem having all of these young centers. They are going to make mistakes and none of them play with any consistency right now, except for Collison, who is undersized.

That’s all for now. I’ll have more on P.J. and his defensive philosophy on Sunday.

Thanks for the warm welcome. I’m excited to get started and will be posting regularly with so much happening with the Sonics.

I'm a Tacoma native and have been following the Sonics all my life. But for the past five years I’ve covered them on and off as a reporter, and I am looking forward to being on the beat full time.

I just want to thank The News Tribune for providing the opportunity. And Frank is still here, so I will be leaning on his expertise at times.

So let’s get into it. I was really impressed with Kevin Durant’s skill set offensively watching him on TV last night. I don’t know how many of you have Comcast and
can get NBA TV, but you might want to pick it up for this month to watch the games.

I don’t think you can take much from the game teamwise because this is not the team you’re going to see in October. But it was interesting to see how many people were there to watch Durant’s debut.

Watching the game you start to understand what all the hype is about. Even though he’s only 18, Durant will instantly create match-up problems because of length, his ability to handle the ball on the open floor and shoot the 3.

And just watching his footwork on the block was amazing. He’s very polished on the block for how young he is, and he looks just as comfortable facing up and taking players off the dribble.

Defensively I believe he has a lot to learn, but with his length he has the potential to become a solid defender.

I’ve heard people say Durant will average more than 20 points a game his rookie season. And while that’s possible, I think he’ll probably be around 16 to 18 points a contest, and maybe six to seven rebounds a game.

There will be nights where he faces a good NBA defender and goes 2-for-14 from the field. But he has the potential to score 20 a game because he can score in so many different ways.

Jeff Green did a lot of little things well last night. He seems to have the athleticism to guard different positions and could be a decent defender. But it will take time to learn the NBA game, and he will be a six or seventh man coming off the bench come October, not a starter.

Sene looks like someone who hasn’t played a lot of basketball — which he is.

Sene is still a project at this point and won't help the team this year. Johan Petro looked OK but I’ve seen him play a lot better. And with Robert Swift still sitting out after season-ending knee surgery last year, there’s still a question mark as to who is going to anchor the middle.

The point guard play was awful, which makes Durant’s 18 points look even better because he basically created all of his scoring opportunities.

I’ll have another update today on how new Seattle coach P.J. Carlesimo wants to improve the team defensively, and later I’ll get into some of the free agent questions that have been asked.

As you have already read in the post from my editor, Dale Phelps, I am leaving the Sonics beat to move to the Seahawks beat. As much as anything, this was a personal decision based on the difficulty of the NBA travel schedule while trying to raise two young children. My wife has been an absolute saint to watch after two boys while I am on the road for more than 100 days a year. So when Dale asked me if I had an interest in replacing Mike Sando on the Seahawks beat, I felt it was the perfect time and opportunity to undertake a new and exciting challenge at the paper while curtailing my time away from home and my family.

While I am extremely enthusiastic to get started on the Hawks, a part of me will miss the rhythms of a job I have done for almost a decade. I want to thank everybody in the Sonics organization with whom I have dealt over the past 10 years and wish them well in whatever the coming year brings. I truly hope the team stays in the Puget Sound; I can’t imagine the area without a professional basketball team, and as many of you fans already know, the region deserves a team, regardless of the whims of Clay Bennett. I also want to thank the readers of my space in the paper and this blog; I have thoroughly enjoyed the interaction with you over the years. I only hope you treat my replacement, Eric Williams, as well as you have treated me.

Frank

Sonics Insider readers:

We're announcing today that Frank Hughes, who has covered the Seattle SuperSonics for The News Tribune since 1997, is taking over the Seattle Seahawks beat. Replacing Frank on the Sonics beat will be Eric Williams. Eric has covered high school sports for us in the last year.

Eric previously did some Sonics coverage for the Kitsap Sun and the King County Journal and has done some backup work on the team for us. He has been working with Frank for the last couple of weeks covering the draft and the Carlesimo announcement. He’ll take over the beat and the Sonics Insider blog beginning immediately with the Sonics’ participation in the summer leagues.

Thanks,

Dale Phelps
Deputy Managing Editor

The Sonics held a press conference today announcing P.J. Carlesimo as the team's new coach.

Eric Williams filed this from the press conference:

As anticipated, Seattle Supersonics general manager Sam Presti announced the hiring of P.J. Carlesimo as the new head coach of the Sonics this afternoon at Furtado Center in Seattle.

Carlesimo, 58, becomes the 14th head coach of the franchise and will get an opportunity to serve as a head coach in the NBA for the third time, after stints at Portland and Golden State.

Carlesimo replaces Bob Hill, who was fired at the end of the regular season after finishing 31-51.

Presti, who served as the assistant general manager for San Antonio when Carlesimo worked as the Spurs’ top assistant, said that he chose Carlesimo over the other finalist for the position, former Seattle assistant Dwane Casey, because of his wealth of experience teaching basketball, his emphasis on defense, and his ability to cultivate a culture of success for the rebuilding franchise.

“I personally believe what we need for our program right now is a teacher,” Presti said. “Somebody that can teach the game at a high level and someone that can communicate the game at a high level. I have witnessed first hand his ability to teach the game.”

Carlesimo said he was honored to have another opportunity to serve as a head coach, and will join Seattle lottery picks Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and others as they begin summer league play in Las Vegas on Friday.

“It’s a privilege,” Carlesimo said. “I look forward very much to helping Sam, sharing his vision and building a team that’s going to be successful in the long term. A team that is going to play very hard. A team that’s going to defend. A team that’s going to play together. A team that’s going to make the people of Seattle very proud.”

This was written by Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel for their Web site:

Rashard Lewis in town to visit with Magic

Brian Schmitz | Sentinel Staff Writer
8:29 PM EDT, July 1, 2007

Free-agent small forward Rashard Lewis arrived in Orlando Sunday for his visit with the Orlando Magic, who are trying to sign him away from the Seattle SuperSonics.

Lewis had dinner with Magic General Manager Otis Smith and will be in Orlando for a couple of days to talk about the parameters of a contract and tour the Magic facilities.

Even though about a dozen teams called the agent for Orlando Magic free agent Darko Milicic, the Magic were apparently not one of them. What does that mean? To be honest, not quite sure. It could mean they are pursuing Rashard hard and throwing all their cash at him. But it still doesn't make much sense. Even if they are going after Rashard, you would think they would open dialogue with Milicic just as a fallback position. Keep an eye on this one.

I got a call from a friend in Detroit who said a radio station there -- 1270 AM -- is saying that Richard Hamilton may be heading to the Sonics. This has not been confirmed by anybody I know but just thought I'd throw out the scuttlebutt. Keep in mind, though, that assistant GM Scott Perry was hired from Detroit, and the Pistons just drafted Rodney Stuckey and Arron Afflalo.

Dwane Casey may be the next coach. I could be wrong, but if you look at the way things have transpired, and you are going with a youth movement, do you want to take any chance at all that P.J.'s issues with relationships in his last few jobs as a head coach are going to aversely affect the development of Durant or Jeff Green? Now, I have spoken to a number of people on this issue, and most say that P.J. has changed, that he has learned his lessons from the Sprewell incident and that he has a better idea of how to manage egos, including his own. But there is always the question: What if he hasn't changed enough? Or, what if he thinks he has changed but can't when once he feels the pressure of the head coaching spot? It's one thing if you have a guy like Ray Allen to buffer the head coach, it's another if it's a bunch of younger guys trying to learn the league. Dwane obviously has good relationship skills, and is tight with Rashard, who the Sonics seem to want to bring back. I can't see Sam Presti taking a flight all the way to Houston to meet with him if they didn't want him back. And I have to think that the coaching discussion was raised somewhere in that meeting.

The Sonics are going to try to keep Luke Ridnour. Even though he was on the trading block around draft day, I think that now they have Delonte West, they are feeling like Luke and Delonte may be a nice pairing. That would mean that Earl would be placed on the trade block. Earl actually has a slightly better contract than Luke's, making $5.8 million next season and $18.6 million over the final three years of his deal, and I don't think he is base-year player so that doesn't come into account. The question of course is whether the new coach will start Luke or Delonte if this turns out the way I suspect it will turn out. Because Luke obviously was not receptive to coming off the bench last year, so he would have to have an attitude adjustment. Speaking of the new coach ...