The Sonics began working out draft hopefuls at their practice facility, the Furtado Center, today.

Four guys worked out today and all of them are big guys. They include UCLA big man, 6-10 post Kevin Love, 6-9 forward J.J. Hickson out of N.C. State, 7-footer Kosta Koufos from Ohio State, and 6-10 Australian Nathan Jawai.

The Sonics also plan on working out four more draft hopefuls on Saturday. They include Georgetown center Roy Hibbert, George Hill of IUPUI, Shawn Pruitt out of Illinois, and UCLA product Russell Westbrook.

Of the eight players coming to Seattle this week, six are big men and two are point guards, as the Sonics look for players to help shore up the team's inside woes.

It's an interesting list of players to begin the process. Love seems repetitive because the Sonics already have Nick Collison and Chris Wilcox at power forward, but there have been rumors of Seattle wanting to move down in the draft, and Wilcox is in the final year of a 3-year deal and could command some offers from other teams.

Westbrook, with his athletic ability and willingness to defend, seems like a Sam Presti player. Hibbert and his relationship with fellow Georgetown product Jeff Green might be a good late first-round, early second-round pick.

However, the most interesting prospect is Nathan Jawai. Although a bit unpolished, Jawai moves well at 6-10, 282 pounds and with his size and explosiveness could develop into a decent inside player. He earned the moniker of "Baby Shaq" in the Australian NBL League Down Under. Watch his highlight tape here.

In a filing late Wednesday the Sonics responded to former Sonics owner Howard Schultz's lawsuit in federal court, which seeks to undo the sale of the team because of breech of contract, fraud and negligent misrepresentation.

In the eight-page filing, attorneys for the Sonics deny the ownership group led by Sonics chairman Clay Bennett group lied to Schultz when they bought the franchise in July 2006, and that the group followed through with the contract stipulation to make a "good faith best effort" to get an arena deal done in Seattle for 12 months after the sale in the group's unsuccessful attempt to secure funding for a $500 million new arena in Renton.

Attorney's for the Sonics contend the lawsuit filed by Schultz should be dismissed.

In the filing attorneys for the Sonics also argue it's impossible to unwind the sale because of several transactions that have occurred since the deal, including he sale of the Seattle Storm to a local ownership group, and the pursuit to move the team to Oklahoma City, including a public vote to secure funding to upgrade the city's Ford Center, and a binding lease for the team to begin playing at the Ford Center beginning in the 2010-11 season.

The two sides are scheduled to meet before U.S. District Court Judge Marsha Pechman, the same judge presiding over the trial between the City of Seattle and the Sonics, on June 30.

Read the filing here.