| Quite easily the worst managed
team in the National Basketball Association, which is usually
overlooked, is Seattle. Ever since the club appointed Rick
Sund as general manager, the squad has been going in a downward
spiral.
When former owner Howard Schultz piloted an investor group
to procure the Sonics in 2001, fans would never have thought
that the team would be in a bigger hole than when they were
before the Schultz era.
A colossal reason to this is the ownership of the team's
stadium, the Key Arena. The Sonics stadium is owned by the
city, which leads to the team receiving little of the already
modest attendance revenue. Seattle ended the 2004-05 season
with an $8 million operating loss from basketball operations,
the fifth largest loss in the NBA. What makes this stat significant
is that they were the only one of five teams that did not
rank in the top seven in player payroll. The Sonics ranked
21st in the association. I think this needs to be addressed
as soon as possible.
Mainly due to the ownership dilemmas becoming more and more
evident, the team puts out a lineup, which looks great on
paper but hasn't really worked out the past few seasons. Last
year, Seattle led the division with a great record of 52-30
but lost in the semi-finals. I believe this is because they
didn't have the vital experience needed to make it deep into
the playoffs and possibly win a championship. Currently, the
Sonics possibly have one of the best back courts consisting
of Oregon's Luke Ridnour, all-star Ray Allen and a front three
led by versatile small-forward Rashard Lewis.
Regardless of the star studded starting lineup, the team
is putting up an underachieving record of 8-11 and 7 games
behind first place Utah Jazz. I myself believe this is due
to a lack of players that can provide a spark off the bench
and an insufficient amount of depth in the locker room. After
the starting five, there aren't many weapons that the Sonics
possess. Wise acquisitions and smart drafting can only fix
this problem. In my opinion, if the Sonics are serious about
winning, they would draft a legit power forward which will
immediately help the team in the frontcourt and rebounding.
This should be given a try instead of investing in a player
who might become a star but also has a large bust factor.
With all the problems currently going on off the court,
the future on the court doesn't look bright either. In last
years draft, the Sonics selected Saer Sene 10th overall from
Senegal. The Sonics have selected three centres in the past
three years and not one of them has made a name for themselves
in the big leagues. Sene has only been playing basketball
since 2003. This means that he will be in need of a lot of
practice before stepping on to an NBA court on a daily basis.
The team should invest their draft picks in players that will
do well in the NBA rather than selecting players who have
a lot of potential but need to do a lot of work to improve
there ability to play.
With nothing going as desired, the team also faces coaching
struggles. 3 different coaches have led the squad in the past
5 years. Currently, the coach for the team is Bob Hill. He
previously coached 3 different NBA teams before landing the
job in Seattle in his career. In his time in Seattle, he hasn't
had a great record thus far. However, not all blame can go
on Hills part, as the leaders of the team haven't done enough
to fulfill their duties to the team.
On July 17th, 2006, owner Howard Schultz sold the Sonics
to a group of businessmen residing from Oklahoma City. It
has been clear that the new owners plan on moving this franchise
to their hometown. Moving the franchise would help the team
that ranked third last in attendance with an average of 15,449
become more profitable. Numbers like these are unacceptable
and unreasonable for an above average team like the Sonics.
When New Orleans Hornets temporarily moved to Oklahoma City
because of Hurricane Katrina, the city showed that they deserve
a basketball team. The average attendance for the Hornets
last year was 18,168 per game. I believe that the moving of
the franchise will help the team with a better home crowd
and will help the team financially.
Will the Sonics ever become a respectably managed team?
Will the Sonics ever gain depth for the bench? Will the Sonics
ever win a championship? Can they get their act together?
All of these questions will be answered with one solution.
This answer is no secret. The answer is time. I feel that
this franchise can go places if they made wise decisions and
acquire people who have good basketball IQ in charge rather
than coffee shop owners. Now that the team was sold to a group
of owners who know a thing or two about the sport, anyhow
the team can?t do any worse than how poor they're currently
doing.
By Sumeet
Mohan (Mr Perfect)
Sports
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