Updated: July 25th at 4:30 pm.
According to sources in the NBA the Portland Trailblazers will extend an offer sheet to the Sonics Damien Wilkins. Contract details are not clear, but word on the street is that deal is significant. Translation the Blazers are over paying Wilkins in order to make sure the Sonics don't match the deal. I talked with Wilkins agent on Monday and he said they have not signed anything yet and they are looking at their options.
The Sonics had Juan Dixon in town all weekend and are hoping they can get him signed. The issue is whether or not Flip Murray and Juan Dixon would be redundant. Murray is a restricted free agent.
Last season Wilkins averaged just 6 points per game in only 29 games played. In the playoffs he got extended time due to the injury to Rashard Lewis. In the playoffs he averaged 5.6 points per game in 19 minutes per game. Wilkins shot 44% from the field and 27% from three in both the regular season and the playoffs.
If the deal is substantial the Sonics should let him go.
Seed Newsvine
15 comments:
I totally agree with you, David. Wilkins is a nice player and will only get better, but if Portland is willing to overpay (again) to get him, then let him go. As for the Dixon/Flip question, I think it the Sonics should sign Dixon if they can get him regardless of what they choose to do with Murray.
These types of deals is where teams get themselves into trouble. Overpaying for moderately successful NBA players can ruin a teams chances to be competitive.
While I enjoyed Wilkens play last year, much like Richie Frahm's play the year before, reserve swing players are relatively easy to find.
The Sonics found Wilkens in their summer league last year. The Sonics should call Jawad Williams if he hasn't already been signed by another team. IMO, he would give just as much as Wilkens did last year.
Is it just me or does Portland really have like 75 players all playing the same position at the guard spot? I can't really see this being a big help especially with an inflated price tag. Let him go be with Nate at least they can mire in failure together.
Thanks, Nate.
He is a really good player though, but not obviously not worth a significant amount of money...Great defender, can hit the open shot and can finish around the rim.
Damn.
I agree. You don't match if it's a significant deal. However, Nate's pissing me off stealing one of our bright young players. I'm beginning to really not like Mr. McMillan anymore.
Not that it's a new concept. I've learned to not like Ken Griffey Jr, Alex Rodriguez, Randy Johnson, Shawn Kemp, Gary Payton, Joey Galloway, and the list goes on. Nate's the newest to the Seattle traitor list.
The anonymous poster who mentioned that the Blazers have "75 players at the guard position" is either misinformed or stupid. The Blazers have 2 PG with a total of 1 year NBA experiance, Derek "I can't play becuase my teeth hurt" Anderson and rookie Martel Webster at SG, and that's it. Granted, the Blazers have a shitload of SF's (Miles, Patterson, Outlaw, Khryapa, Monia if he ever gets his VISA) but they are extremely short at both guard positions, which is why they are going to overpay for Wilkins.
Diezel,
WRT James contract vs. Dalembert's contract vs. Kwame's contract etc.
The lesser of 2 evils is still evil.
I'm glad the Sonics didn't get buried in another 5 years of JJ. Look at his numbers, production and work ethic. No reasonably thinking person can possibly justify him making the money he did.
It's well established that teams will overpay for big men, which is why I advocate drafting big men. Not overpaying for short term fixes means that you have more money to spend on pieces that you actually want.
What's up with Paul Allen. Shouldn't there be some kind of loyalty to the well being of the city you own a sports team in?? (EMP doesn't make up for it either) Can you get in trouble for writing a "rude/rustic" banner, stating what you think of Paul Allen, and then hanging it over the bleachers during a hawks game? I'm all for restricting extremely rich bastards to only owning one professional sports team.
"7 wing players?" Here's a link to the Blazers roster http://www.nba.com/blazers/roster/index.html
At most you get 6, though not one of them is a SG, which is what the anonymous poster stated. Having Darius listed as a G-F is about as misleading as a roster can get. Patterson defends against SG, but he doesn't play the postion on offense. That leaves rookie Martell Webster and Derek Anderson, not a situation that any team, even in the rebuilding phase, is going to find acceptable.
If Juan Dixon isn't signed then we should sign Flip and will still need a true point guard. What would Sonic's fans think of picking up Dan Dickau for our back up point guard. Dickau might be willing to come back home and be a backup.
Good point by myk -- players move on. Teams evolve. You hold the core and then build around it. That means players move on.
I would sign Wilkins for the 3.6/yr offer. He's not a great outside shooter, but he hit some clutch shots against one of the best defensive teams during the playoffs. With the loss of Lewis and Radmanovic, Wilkins stepped up his game. In addition, more importantly, he has more tools than the other reserve players. He brings a needed defensive intensity, energy, hustle, plays perimeter defense, and can bring it to the hoop. I would rather sign him than Radmanovic, Evans, Flip, and Potapenko. Trade those players away and bring in some new players to surround the core. If I had to pick one guy to keep it would be Wilkins. Oh by the way, he was a rookie that didn't get playing time in the first half of the season. Yes, he's a risk, but the potential equals the paycheck.
Sergei Monia finally got his visa and the Blazers signed him today, so it looks like they won't be going after Wilkins.
Myk-
I never did write nor imply D.Wilkins is or will be great.
I don't think he had just one or two good games. I saw him progessas as he received more playing time. Like Collison, as the season progressed so did their smart play. I'm not saying they were perfect by any means.
Yes, many players show potential over a year, playoff series, or small period of time. In a perfect world, you could say: "Wilkins improve your game within a range in a period of years and I'll give you X amount of dollars." This luxury doesn't exist.
Hence, I used the word "risk" with Wilkins. Allen by far is a much larger risk. Allen represents 20-25 % of the scoring and 30-35% of the salary. In ratio of scoring to salary, I could argue that Wilkins in the next five years will be a better value than Allen. Of course, we know Allen brings certain intangibles that make his salary a little more tolerable. Like Allen, Wilkins brings many tools(see description in my previous reply) that make him an acceptable risk.
Yes, I agree the 2/3 postions are the easiest to replace. On offense you could probably draft a player to replace his abilities. What I think is underestimated is the combination of his offensive and defensive abilities/potential.
Just IMHO, he's worth it. That's the best I could explain it.
In regards to Wilkins contract last year, why didn't the Sonics sign him for a longer period than one year? Just like AD, when the team decides to sign short term contracts they can get burned on it. Imagine if they signed AD to a four year contract or Wilkins to a three year contract? The team would be in a much better position.
The Sonics want it both ways. Some say it'll be easy to replace AD, Wilkins, Evans... Really? It's that easy? Good luck with that. Anyway, the point is as management, you have to trust yourself and live with the mistakes. Obviously, not McAlvaine or Booth type mistakes, but they're going to be inevitable. If your good at your job of evaluating talent and value then take that risk.
Post a Comment