Sonics begin rebuilding with Durant
On a day when the NBA draft got off to an anticipated 1-2 punch, the Seattle SuperSonics floored the league with a stunning move.
As expected, Greg Oden went first to the Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle then took Kevin Durant.
But just selecting Durant was too easy. Sam Presti wanted to fully place his imprint on the future of the Seattle SuperSonics. So to send a statement about his vision of a defense-oriented and versatile team, the 30-year-old general manager did what seemed unthinkable: He traded Ray Allen.
Thursday’s NBA draft will long be remembered in Seattle for a stunning set of moves in the early stages of the draft – the arrival of Durant with the No. 2 pick, and the departure of Allen, the face of the franchise and one of the most popular players in team history.
Allen and the rights to the 35th pick – LSU’s Glen Davis – were sent to Boston for Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West and the rights to the No. 5 overall pick – Georgetown forward Jeff Green.
But before all that happened the Trail Blazers were on the clock with the No. 1 pick in the draft, thousands of fans gathered in Portland started chanting “We want Oden!”
They got their wish.
The Blazers took the 7-foot-center out of Ohio State, ending weeks of speculation about whether they’d choose Oden or Durant, the versatile forward out of Texas.
“I think that someday we can win an NBA championship,” Oden said. “That’s what I’m striving for.”
Oden said Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard called him five minutes before he heard his name.
“I could barely hear him – all I could hear was ‘You’re going to be our guy,’ ” Oden said, adding that Pritchard also said: “Act surprised.”
But the Blazers did not stop there. The Blazers sent Zach Randolph, former Gonzaga star Dan Dickau (who has played for five teams in five years) and Fred Jones to the New York Knicks for Channing Frye and Steve Francis. They also acquired Spanish guard Rudy Fernandez, the No. 24 pick, from Phoenix for cash, and then traded with the Philadelphia 76ers for the 30th pick, Finnish point guard Petteri Koponen.
However, the Allen trade was the stunner.
“You’re always listening when you come into a situation like this. You don’t wake up one day and look to move a player like a Ray Allen,” Presti said. “Someone has to come get them and Boston did that here.”
Allen will take his offensive prowess, pure shot and seven All-Star appearances to Boston. But for all his talent scoring the ball, Allen was a defensive liability. Since his arrival on June 7 as the youngest GM in the NBA, Presti has constantly reiterated his desire to build a foundation based on defense.
Seattle took another forward, Purdue’s Carl Landry, with the first pick of the second round, but traded him to Houston for a future second-round pick and cash. The Sonics will also get a future second-round pick from Boston in the Allen trade.
Durant will take on Allen’s role as the face of the franchise. He’ll also need to take on some of Allen’s scoring punch.
Allen averaged a career-high 26.4 points last season, despite being saddled by ankle problems that limited him to five games.
Durant is ready for the challenge. The 18-year-old was celebrating in New York on Thursday night, happy to finally know which Northwest location he would play in.
“Now, I can start shopping for a home,” he said.
Presti indicated that Allen’s departure may increase the Sonics’ pursuit of Rashard Lewis, who becomes a free agent on July 1. Should Lewis re-sign with Seattle, the Sonics could have five players that play essentially the same position.
Green was an early entrant to the draft, after being the Big East player of the year as a junior at Georgetown. Green averaged 14.3 points and 6.3 rebounds in helping the Hoyas reach the NCAA Final Four. The 6-foot-9, 235-pound Green is likely to be a power forward in the NBA. .
Szczerbiak has had ankle problems in recent seasons, and was likely included in the deal to help offset the approximately $51 million remaining on Allen’s salary. Szczerbiak is scheduled to make $25 million over the next two seasons. Szczerbiak played just 32 games last season before undergoing ankle surgery, and averaged 15 points. West improved in his second season, averaging 12.2 points and starting 47 games for the Celtics.
Landry was a first-time all-Big Ten selection after averaging 18.9 points and 7.3 rebounds in his senior season at Purdue.
The Atlanta Hawks used the No. 3 pick, their first of two in the lottery on Al Horford, who saluted the pro-Florida crowd with the Gator chomp. The two-time defending NCAA champions became the first school with three players selected in the top 10 of the same draft. They made it when Corey Brewer went to Minnesota at No. 7 and Joakim Noah – donning a brown bow tie and getting a huge reaction from his hometown crowd – was taken by Chicago two picks later.
The Hawks passed on Michael Conley Jr., even though they still need a point guard after passing on Chris Paul and Deron Williams two years ago. The Memphis Grizzlies then grabbed Conley, Oden’s teammate since their junior high days and the third freshman in the top four picks.
The Milwaukee Bucks took a chance at No. 6 on the draft’s mystery player, Chinese forward Yi Jianlian.
Charlotte took North Carolina’s Brandan Wright at No. 8, but the Bobcats later sent Wright’s draft rights to Golden State for guard Jason Richardson and the rights to Jermareo Davidson, taken by the Warriors at No. 36.
Washington center Spencer Hawes was picked 10th overall by Sacramento, making him the fifth freshman in the top 10. Hawes averaged 14.9 points per game while shooting 53 percent from the floor in his one year at Washington after playing at Seattle Prep High School.
Aaron Brooks of Oregon, from Seattle’s Franklin High School, also went in the first round, to the Houston Rockets at No. 26. Arizona’s Marcus Williams, from Seattle’s Roosevelt High School, went to San Antonio in the second round with the 33rd overall pick.