Only two months after negotiating a new lease agreement with the state of Louisiana, Hornets owner George Shinn is at it again, seeking a 10-year commitment that would lock his team in the market for the next decade.

Shinn said a long-term commitment to the market would help his franchise sell season tickets.

And if you’re thinking about the Memphis Grizzlies replacing the Sonics if they leave city, think again. The Grizzlies appear to have a pretty tight lease that locks them into the FedExForum for another 10 years.

Looks like Johan Petro will remain in the starting lineup, which means the Sonics will go with Earl Watson, Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Chris Wilcox and Petro.

Starters for Toronto are Jose Calderon, Anthony Parker, Jamario Moon, Andrea Bargnani and Rasho Nesterovic.

Watson has been playing well of late, as noted in my story today. He also talked about the adjustment period he had to make early this season in this conversation I had with him.

Toronto All-Star Chris Bosh is out with a sore right knee he injured against Indiana on Feb. 29. The Raptors are 1-3 without Bosh in the lineup. Bosh is the team's leading scorer (22.6 ppg.) and rebounder (8.9 rpg.).

This could be a good matchup for Nick Collison, who finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds in Seattle’s 123-115 win over the Raptors in Seattle. The Sonics shot 58.8 percent against Toronto in that game, making 10-of-17 shots from beyond the arc.

After Friday’s stinker against Philadelphia Friday Collison said it’s important for the Sonics to play better against the Raptors.

“I think everybody is kind of upset by yesterday, and embarrassed a little bit, Collison said. “I expect us to play much better tomorrow, and with more energy, and compete harder. And that’s all we can ask of our team, is to compete and give us a chance to hopefully get a win.”

“For our day-to-day lives, we don’t want to be miserable these 20 games. You feel a lot better when you’re playing well and winning. A game like last night, you know if you get into a habit of playing like that, 20 games can seem like two years. So hopefully we’ll turn it around and be competitive the rest of the way.”

Listen to the full conversation with Collison here.

In each city we’ve been to on this trip, Seattle rookie Kevin Durant has been asked about the critics that have said he hasn’t lived up to the expectations heaped upon him this season. In particular, folks in the media have asked Durant about former NBA All-Star and current TNT broadcaster Charles Barkley’s comments that Durant is one dimensional, and that he favors Atlanta’s Al Horford for Rookie of the Year honors.

I think it’s safe to say Durant has had enough of the Charles Barkley questions, after this response to that question after practice in Toronto on Saturday afternoon by Tony Ambrogio, a reporter with the The Score Television Network here in Toronto.

“To be honest with you I really don’t care about Charles Barkley, you know,” Durant said. “He has nothing to do with me. He’s not a player, I mean a person I got to look up to or anything like that.

“You know, I’m not playing for him. I’m playing for the guys on my team. I just got to play my game and don’t worry about what guys like him say, and just play through it. I know myself I’m not one dimensional, so you know I just play through it and get better as time goes on.

“I don’t worry about the Charles Barkley’s, you know, the critics or the media. I just play my game and listen to the guys that are in this organization and get better.”