Jul
3
SuperSonics’ GM Sam Presti Fleeces Danny Ainge and Turns the Number Five Pick into Jeff Green
While its future may be up in the year, maybe Seattle can one day point to the 2007 NBA Draft as the day which saved the franchise from uprooting. If not, the 2007 NBA Draft still proved to be the starting point to when the SuperSonics turned it around, wherever they may land in the NBA landscape.
General Manager Sam Presti began by taking stud forward Kevin Durant of Texas with the second pick after Portland took big man Greg Oden. Durant will win Rookie-of-the-Year next season and lead the Sonics in scoring next year and perhaps the league someday.
After the Durant selection, Presti then went to work with Celtics’ GM Danny Ainge, who gave up the fifth pick, veteran shooter Wally Szcerbiak and young rotation guard Delonte West for aging veteran Ray Allen and the 35th pick (which turned out to be Glen “Big Baby” Davis of LSU). The Celtics selected all-round stalwart Jeff Green of Georgetown and sent him off to Seattle.
In drafting the spectacular Durant and the spectacularly solid Green, the Sonics have two building blocks for the future. Durant will of course stand as the superstar with Green being the trusted and underappreciated sidekick (just don’t make the MJ-Scottie Pippen comparisons with these two as I’ve heard in the last couple of days).
Seattle Picks: Round One, Second Pick — Kevin Durant, Forward, University of Texas
Durant tore up college basketball last year with his scoring exploits and should score in the high teens next year. Durant would have been the hands-down number one pick not only this year if Oden wasn’t available but also many other years. While allegedly not able to lift 185 pounds, Durant is versatile and smooth enough to carry the Sonics on his shoulders. While Seattle is young and a few years from being a playoff contender, it will be interesting to see if Durant can set the league afire like he did college basketball in the Year of the Freshman.
Seattle Trades Ray Allen and the #35 Pick to the Boston Celtics for the Fifth Pick, Wally Sczerbiak and Delonte West
In getting Green, the Sonics have picked up a guy who can do it all: handle the ball, shoot the jumper, rebound, pass out of the post, guard on the wing and down low, and be active in the passing lanes. Green impressed me as a freshman at Georgetown when he had an outstanding game against eventual National Finalist Illinois. Green is solid all-around and does not have a problem doing all of the little things and sacrificing scoring for the team good.
With that said, I would have liked to see the Sonics go after Corey Brewer, who is a similar all-around type guy. While Brewer is a bit more unorthodox, it would have been fun to see him paired up with Durant, especially considering Brewer’s defensive game.
Yet I fully understand why the Sonics took Green, a quiet and less flashy ballplayer who can be as much of a force. Even though Durant and Green play the same position, Green is crafty and heady enough to have a major influence on the court. After stewing on this a couple of days, I’m liking the Green selection a whole lot more.
In getting Sczerbiak, the Sonics are compensating for some of the scoring loss with Allen gone. West gives the team options if it wants to move Luke Ridnour, and the former St. Joseph’s guard is a tough defender unlike Sczerbiak.
Second Round, Pick 31 — Carl Landry, Forward, Purdue University
Seattle traded Landry to the Rockets. Landry is a solid rebounder who would have stuck with the Sonics (a la Reggie Evans, another former Big Ten player who broke in the league with Seattle). Landry will stick with the Rockets (I mean, he’s got to. The team started Chuck Hayes in the playoffs).
Second Round, Pick 35 — Glen “Big Baby” Davis, Power Forward, LSU
Seattle traded this pick to the Celtics as part of the Allen-Green trade. Davis had a disappointing junior season marred by injuries at LSU, and his size and figure is definitely a question mark in the NBA.
Overall, Seattle is starting anew with the Durant-Green combination. Watching this duo blossom together should be very interesting and exciting, even when this young team loses a lot of games next season.
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