Sonics May Soon Search For Rebounder

With the Seattle SuperSonics ranking last in the league in rebounding, there is the possibility that they may try to trade for some rebounding help before the Feb. 19 trading deadline.

Neither Sonics general manager Wally Walker nor coach George Karl wanted to comment, but it is clear that both would like to have some help in what amounts to the only negative in a season of virtually all positives.

“I never had any intention of getting outrebounded every game and still winning,” Karl joked last week.

The Sonics likely could compete through the remainder of the regular season without any help, but they would like another body for the postseason, when defensive pressure is increased exponentially.

It certainly will not be easy to do, though. For one, making a trade for a marquee rebounder who could get significant time in the Sonics’ already-deep rotation might be almost impossible.

Also, the Sonics do not have much they are willing to trade. One possible scenario is a non-contending team that wants to dump a big-salary player giving that player up for next to nothing, much the way the Sonics acquired Dale Ellis from Denver for Greg Graham and Steve Scheffler.

However, the Sonics need to ask themselves whether they would want to inherit a big contract, particularly since they will have a great deal of room under the salary cap next summer if nothing changes.

The Sonics are hoping the return of Jerome Kersey next week or the improvement of Aaron Williams will help them in the rebounding department.

Walker and Karl will know more after this trip, because it will let them see how they fare against top-level teams. Ultimately they may have to mortgage part of their future for a run at a championship this season.

Preparing for Boston

Sonics coaches wanted Karl to put in some work on defensive trapping earlier this week to prepare for tonight’s game against fast-paced Boston. Karl declined to focus on Charlotte, but now he must work around that decision.

“I’ll prepare for them on the blackboard in the hotel tomorrow morning,” Karl said before Thursday night’s lambasting of Cleveland. “We’ve done it that way before. We did it that way with Toronto and got a very good result.”

Indeed, but Toronto has only four victories this season and the Celtics, somewhat surprisingly, have 16. And they are a lot more efficient at running their press than the Raptors.

“There are a lot of things that concern me about this road trip,” Karl said. “A lot of our success has been against only three teams that will make the playoffs. Of the next eight teams, probably all eight have a chance to make the playoffs. But that also is a little overrated, too. Playing good basketball is playing good basketball.”

Still, Karl said, he likes the direction Rick Pitino has the Celtics headed.

“I like how they play, with a tremendous amount of energy,” Karl said. “What I like about the way they play, in my opinion guys get better playing that way. Even if you lose, a lot of your players get a lot of experience, opportunities, a lot of decisions. Fast develops your players rather than slow-down basketball.”