NO OFFER SHEET FOR WILKINS FROM TIMBERWOLVES

In today’s Seattle Times it was reported that the Minnesota Timberwolves will sign Damien Wilkins a 5 year $15 million offer sheet.
I just spoke with Timberwolves head coach Dwane Casey and he said that is not accurate. “There is sincere interest from the Minnesota Timberwolves but there is no formal offer sheet extended to Damien Wilkins.” Minnesota doesn’t want to have its money tied up the seven day period of restricted free agency.
In addition, the report in the Times said that the Sonics are unlikely to match. The word around the NBA is very different. The Sonics have told Wilkins agent Mark Bartelstein that they will match offers for Wilkins.
An issue that has not be discussed is that Wilkins may not want to return to Seattle. Bartelstein has told the Sonics that his client would like to go some place where he can start. With the Sonics Wilkins chances are minimal for significant playing time with Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis ahead of him on the depth chart. Whereas in the other cities that are suiting Wilkins he would have a chance to start.
Minnesota is very interested in Wilkins, Flip Murray and Reggie Evans. At the current time Minnesota can’t afford to have their money tied up in an offer sheet. However, it is fair to anticipate that at some point Minnesota will extend an offer sheet to either Wilkins or Murray. Minnesota will try to make the Sonics decided.
Other teams interested are Atlanta and Denver.

HoopsHype - Interviews - Vladimir Radmanovic: "My status on the team improves with Weiss"

HoopsHype - Interviews - Vladimir Radmanovic: "My status on the team improves with Weiss": "Vladimir Radmanovic: 'My status on the team improves with Weiss'
"

FRANKLIN THE MUSCLE MAN

STEROIDS YES OR NO?

Who would you play the game with? Go to the comment zone and nominate names and see what people say?

Locked On Sports: It's time for fans to play 'Steroids, Yes or No?'

Locked On Sports: It's time for fans to play 'Steroids, Yes or No?': "Sadly, baseball's ostrich approach to confronting a decade-long problem has created an environment in which baseball fans' newest, most favorite game is 'Steroids, Yes or No?' The game is simple. Name the player, check his numbers and then speculate steroids, yes or no? Let's play:"

LOCKED ON SPORTS PODCAST

Every night at 8:05 pm Locked on Sports will talk the NFL. The guests will include Seahawks, fantasy experts, national expters and coaches.
Monday night 950, KJR's David Locke talked with Andre Dyson.

BREAKING NEWS -- FRANKLIN FAILS STEROID TEST

950, KJR is reporting and has confirmed that Ryan Franklin has tested positive for a banned substance and will be suspended 10 games by Major League Baseball. HE will talk with the media around 11:00 am this morning in Detroit.
This becomes another example of how outrageous the steroid and banned substance problem is and was inside Major League Baseball. When a player like Franklin is involved it opens up the entire roster of every team as potential users.
Stay tuned to 950, KJR for more on this developing story.

SONICS TO SIGN RICK BRUNSON AS BACK-UP POINT

950, KJR'S Locked on Sports reports that according to sources inside the NBA, the Sonics have come to a one-year agreement with Rick Brunson. Brunson, 32, is a 8 year veteran in the NBA. Brunson will be the back-up to Luke Ridnour.
Last season the Sonics played a three-guard rotation, however in the 2005-06 season the Sonics are anticipating that they will have a 4-guard rotation. Brunson stand at 6 foot 4 inches tall and weighs 190 pounds. His size is a nice compliment to Ridnour.
Last season, Brunson played 80 games, starting 39, with the LA Clippers averaging 24 minutes a game. He scored 5 points per game and averaged 5 assists. In his 39 starts last season he averaged 7 points, 7 assists and 3 rebounds.
His assist to turnover ratio was an impressive 5.1 to 1.56. This is very similar to what Daniels brought to the floor for the Sonics.
His shooting is not a strong point. He is a career 38% from the field. On the positive side he should be able to stretch the defense as a career 36% three point shooter. Over the past two seasons, Brunson has really added the three to his game and has hit 206 of 547 attempts for 38%
This will be the Temple graduates 7th team in the NBA. He started his career as an undrafted free agent with the Portland Trailblazers. Since he has bounced around, but a great sign of what type of player and person Brunson is that three teams have had him back for a second run.
According to sources the contract is a 1 year deal for the minimum contract. That will not count against the Sonics mid-level exception.


LOCKE’S TAKE –
This isn’t going to wow anyone but it makes a lot of sense. The Sonics have decided to play a 4 guard line-up next season with Brunson backing-up of Ridnour. Brunson is the ultimate back-up point guard. He doesn’t turn the ball over. He is just good enough that he can hurt the other team. He has been through so much as a player that you know he isn’t going to rock the boat wanted more time or more shots. His performance this last year with the Clippers was strong enough that if Ridnour gets hurt he could run the team for a short period of time.
The real issue is with Ridnour’s development and the likelihood that he will be playing 34 minutes a night next season the Sonics have moved into a realm where the back-up point guard becomes an interchangeable part every two years or so. Therefore, Brunson is a very good answer at the back-up position.
Interesting comparison to who AD was when the Sonics acquired him. Daniels last year in Portland he average 3.7 points and 1 assist in 13 minutes a night. I doubt Bronson will be able to what AD did last year for the Sonics, but you would have never imagined AD would have done that when he came to Seattle.

THIS WEEK FOR THE SONICS

The singings and real movement in the NBA is finally going to happen. It moratorium is expected to be pulled on Tuesday and then it is down to business.
Here is what to watch for this week from a Sonics standpoint.
Today, Vlady Radmanovic and his agent, Dave Bauman, will be in town and meeting the Sonics brass. The Sonics currently have a 6 year 39 million dollar deal on the table. The two sides will try to reach a common ground to sign a long term deal. If not Radmanovic will be forced to sign the 1 year tender agreement at 3.2 million dollars. Bauman has said if that is what they are forced to do it is a sign that Radmanoivc’s Sonics career will be over at the end of the year. He says it would show a lack of faith in his client from the Sonics.
Also on Tuesday the not so mystery suitor of Damien Wilkins may be revealed. The Sonics are hoping to keep Wilkins by using a portion of their mid-level exception. According to sources Wilkins turned down a $16 million offer from the Portland Trailblazers. I talked with his agent Mark Bartlestein today and he said, “There are a few teams involved, I don’t want to comment on specifics, because there are still a lot of ways this can go.”
On Wednesday, the Sonics will announce the signing that was the key to the off-season. Ray Allen will hold his press conference and the Sonics will have their franchise piece in tack for 5 years at nearly 80 million dollars.
Flip Murray is a bit of a wild card. The Sonics are planning on signing Murray while his camp is desperately attempting to set his market value by receiving an offer sheet. However, no teams are willing to have their money tied up for 7 days on an offer sheet.
I don’t anticipate much on the Reggie Evans front. Everything sounds like that will linger all the way into September. There is a good chance that Evans is left with the one year tender.
The Sonics will continue discussions with Vitaly Potapenko about returning to Seattle. The advantage of Potapenko is the Sonics don’t have to use any of their mid-level exception.
Lastly, the fringe signing will be the keys for the Sonics. The Sonics have spotlighted various players that they anticipate to slip through the market and could become available very much the way Jerome James did 5 years ago and Antonio Daniels did 2 years ago.

MARINERS PURGE CONTINUES

The Mariners purge continued today as they released Aaron Sele from the roster. The Mariners filled his roster spot by recalling Jorge Campillo from Tacoma.
Campillo has been battling injuries over the past month but, made his first start off the injury last week and will now fill the rotation spot of Sele.
This is the beginning of numerous moves to cleanse the roster of pieces that will not be a part of the Mariners re-birth.
Rumors persist that the Mariners are close to calling up Felix Hernandez from Tacoma and placing him the rotation as well. Some reports have Hernandez pitching in Detroit as early as Thursday.
Once again we are experiencing major league tryouts at the big league level. This is what the minor league system is defined to do. Last year, the Mariners struck out completely in finding anyone who was ready for the big leagues in this tryout period.
Julio Mateo seems to have the most consistent stuff on the staff. Why wouldn’t Mateo be moved into the starting rotation.
Other players that may be on the chopping block include Shiggy, Matt Thorton and Joel Pineiro.

MARINERS TRADE WINN AND OLIVO

The Mariners have made two trades tonight ending the Mariner careers of Randy Winn and Miguel Olivo.
Winn was traded to the San Francisco Giants for right handed pitcher Jesse Foppert and defensive minded catcher Yorvit Torrealba. Foppert, 25, has started 23 games in his major league career with the Giants. He missed almost the entire 2004 season after “Tommy John” surgery. Torrealba, 27, has played just 34 games with the Giants this season. He looks to be a light hitting catcher, but his defensive numbers are outstanding. His career fielding percentage is .996 and he has allowed just 3 passed balls in 206 MLB games.
The Mariners gave up on the corner stone piece of the Freddy Garcia trade sending Olivo to the Padres for two low level prospects. The Mariners received Miguel Ojeda who is soft hitting 30 year old catcher. They also got a AA pitcher from the Padres, Nate Mateo.
Leftfield can not be filled by Chris Snelling as he must spend 10 days in Triple A after being sent down last week.
Neither of the catchers acquired seem to be long term answers.
The real story on these deals is that within one year the Mariners have given up on the key piece of the Freddy Garcia trade. Olivo’s stay in Seattle has been a total disaster and showed no signs of turning itself around. You have to wonder how the Mariners could have missed this badly on a player that they presumably scouted before trading Garcia for him. On the day of that trade we were told Olivo was one of the premier young catchers in baseball. Instead the Mariners now only have Jerremy Reed and Mike Morse for the Freddy Garcia deal.
On the Randy Winn side of the deal the Mariners are banking that Foppert will re-gain his arm strength a year removed from Tommy John surgery. At 6 foot 6 inches tall Foppert has an 8-9 record with a 5.00 ERA in his major league career.
Bottom line, there is not a lot of substance coming to the Mariners in these deals. They said if they made a trade they were going to acquire players that could help the team at the big league level next season. I will be surprised if this does that.

MIKE HARMON OF YAHOO SPORTS ON BASEBALL TRADE DEADLINE

We just had Mike Harmon on Yahoo Sports on 950, KJR about the trade deadline.

Here is a quick summation of what he said.
1) That Jamie Moyer has been approached about waiving his 10/5 rights. The Yankees and the Rangers are the suitors.
2) The Carl Pavano for Randy Winn and Joel Pineiro trade has heated up again.
3) He believes the Mariners should get something done and that Winn is the most likely to be moved.
4) The Red Sox have gotten involved in the Randy Winn talks.

MIKE SANDO'S TRAINING CAMP UPDATE

Here is what Mike Sando just placed on his blog. Check out the link to Sando on the left hand side of the page.

TRAINING CAMP -- DAY ONE |
Time is short here so this will be a bit hurried.

Notes from the morning practice:

Top two picks are close to deals, Holmgren said, but neither player was here at practice. Shaun ALexander could be back as early as Sunday. ... Marcus Trufant is working at RIGHT cornerback, which is new for him. This is because the other guys are more comfortable on the left said. They'll see how it goes. ... Ken Hamlin should be back for the third preseason game. That is the plan, anyway. ... Not practicing: Ryan Dutton, Ken Hamlin, Shaun Alexander, Christian Mohr, Cornelius Wortham, Lofa Tatupu, Chris Spencer, Alex Bannister, Cedric Woodard. Players who have returned to practice after missing minicamps: Rashad Moore, Trufant, Steve Hutchinson, Ryan Hannam, Marquand Manuel.

Posted by mikesando Jul 29, 2005 11:00 am

DO THE MARINERS HAVE A PLAN?

Do the Mariners have any plan at all? It sure doesn’t feel that way. Here is what the plan seems to be. Bavasi and his boys are in the office and they are saying “Hey lets bring up all of these shortstops and then we will throw them around the diamond and see which one plays the best.” “Hey let’s bring up three different catchers and then we let each of them play and little but we will let a 42 year play the most.”
Any reasonable decent organization would know which one of these guys is the guy that they believe is going to be the shortstop or catcher of their club. Good organizations don’t have tryouts at the big league level. That is what the minor leagues are for, to evaluate and know your talent. That should know the guy who is going to play SS and who is the catcher.
They are talking about Betancourt that he reminds them of an Omar Vizquel.
If that is true then why is he possibly being moved to second base. Moreover, the idea that he can go play second for one night at Tacoma and then be ready to come to the big leagues and play second sounds like the biggest seat of your pants disorganization miss run garbage. It is laughable. Let me quote Hargrove directly “Jose is a good player and he's going to get better," Hargrove said. "It's just that sometimes the big-league level is not the best place to work on your game." So why then is a SS working himself into a 2B at the big league level Have a plan. Have an idea. Have an intention.

You can’t ask kids to come to the big adjust to a new high-pressure life and oh by the way would you please learn a new position while you are at it. This is absurd. Who is the SS of the future? Which guy do you think can catch? They should know, they should have decided It makes you wonder if there is any plan at all.

WHY VLADY IS PART OF SONICS CORE?

Last week in the Seattle-pi, I wrote about the Sonics keeping their core together. In response their was a lot of discussion of why I included Radmanovic in the core. I think people are forgetting how valuable Vlady Radmanovic is for the Seattle Supersonics. What has been forgotten in Vlady is what makes the Sonics unique.
Vlady does things that no power forward in the NBA does. He runs like a deer. He is dramatically more athletic then anyone realizes. In fact, he may be the best athlete on the team. He stretches the floor with his three point shooting. His post defense is better then he is given credit for.
His floor presence opens up the game for Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis. I would argue that Allen and Lewis’s big years were directly related to their time on the floor with Vlady.
Interestingly enough the player that has to have Vlady around is Reggie Evans. If Evans is on the floor with another big most of his game is negated. His presence clogs the offense when there is another big on the floor and his rebounding dips because the other teams has three or four players around the boards. However, when he is on the floor with Vlady he has one on one rebounding match-ups because the floor is spread.
Numbers tell the dependency on Vlady for Evans. 82games.com charts the +/- rating for playing pairs. (How the team does when two players are on the floor together).
Evans is a negative with every big except when on the floor with Vlady they are the best playing pair on the roster (ignoring the limited time James and Fortson played together only 5 minutes).
Using more of the playing pairs data and Radmanovic’s importance to the Sonics is even clearer. Allen’s best playing pair is Radmanovic. Lewis’s best playing pair is Radmanovic. Ridnour’s best playing pair is Radmanovic. Collison’s best playing pair was Radmanovic. You get the point.
In 59 games when the Sonics had Lewis, Allen and Radmanovic on the floor together they outscored their opponent in 42 of those. That is the triumphant that makes the Sonics a unique team.
Vlady needs to improve on two areas of his game. He needs to be a better rebounder and he needs to get to the free throw line. The rebounding can improve, but I doubt it will ever be a strength. I would envision a Rashard Lewis type rebounder. The increase at the free throw line will come. It is inevitable as he understands the game, improves his ball handling and starts to get a better reputation with officials.
There is no doubt the Vlady is a part of the core of this team. Most importantly he is what makes the team unique.

REACTION TO THE COMMENT ZONE

Thanks to all of you that have been so active on this blog. We have shattered any expectation that I had coming in to the project. One of my hopes was to create a Locked on Sports community outside of the show. That is exactly what has taken place in the comment zone. The comments have been amazingly astute, knowledgeable and on point. I strongly suggest even those that are not making comments to check out the discussion. Great work everyone. I have gone through the comment zones and here are some of my thoughts after reading all of them.

• Two players I would be intrigued with Sonics trying to acquire. Atlanta’s Al Harrington. He is a very good complimentary player and would rebound after an awful year. In Indiana Austin Croshere has been buried. However, I like him and while he earns too much money their might be some way to make it work. He is Vlady but a better rebounder and not as good a shooter.
• Will Conroy is a nice college player and I believe he has enough intagiables that he could make the league. However, he is just another nice college point guard. The idea that he is on par at this moment with guys in the NBA is flat out laughable
• If the Sonics go with a traditional point guard and use Flip as a back-up two guard then Brevin Knight might be ok. Knight is a solid no mistake player. Though he can’t shoot a lick.
• Maurice Evans is going to be available. The Kings don’t plan to re-sign him. However, he may get a fairly decent deal.
• On the mock drafts the Spurs did draft some French power forward. It was not Petro it was the guy they drafted.
• Gadruzic just signed a big deal with Milwaukee. I would love him on the Sonics he is a tall version of Reggie Evans. Equally dysfunctional on the offensive side, but a great rebounder. He is better because of his length.
• At the current time the Sonics don’t have the low level exception to use because they used it last year on Ibo. However, with the new collective bargaining agreement there is a chance that everyone will get to hit the re-set button and the Sonics will get it back. Yes, that hurts.
• I am not sure what the Sonics think of Francisco Elson but that is the player, not Nene, you would get in a sign and trade.
• The Sonics make a lot of decisions based on their computer program that evaluates players. And emphasizes different things for different types of players. Brevin Knight seems like the type of player the Sonics would have valued higher then most via their programs. The concern is Knight’s numbers are skewed from playing in Bernie Bickerstaff’s system which promotes no turnovers and easy point guard assists. Notice both Brevin Knight and Jason Hart had better numbers then they usually do in that system.
• I side with the majority of you on Flip Murray as the replacement to Antonio Daniels. However, AD didn’t move my meter when he arrived.
• Antonie Walker is not a player that usually fits any of my qualifications of what a good player in the NBA stands for. However, I am intrigued that it might work here in Seattle.
• I don’t think Rashard’s upcoming numbers are having much impact on the Valdy negotiations. The Sonics are stricter then most teams at keeping things in line with money to performance and that is why the Sonics are holding ground on Vlady.

WILKINS REBUKED THE BLAZERS

950, KJR'S Locked on Sports has learned that Damien Wilkins turned down a $16 million dollar deal from the Portland Trailblazers. Therefore, there must be another team that is offering Wilkins a big money contract.
The popular opinion around the league is that Atlanta may turn to Wilkins. The Hawks have made inroads to Joe Johnson, but the Suns have altered their roster to make sure they can pay Johnson what offer sheet he receives.
The Sonics are positing themselves to make sure they can match offers to Wilkins.

BREAKING NEWS -- BLAZERS NAB DIXON

950, KJR and Locked on Sports has learned that free agent guard Juan Dixon has accepted a 3 year contract from the Portland Trailblazers. According to Dixon's agent Calvin Andrews the deal is for just under 3 million dollars per year. The Sonics had heavily pursued Dixon in free agency.
The Sonics never made an offer to Dixon. It is believed that the Sonics were a bit hamstrung with the amount of moveable parts they have at the current time. In addition, any offer to Dixon would have allowed the Blazers to offer Wilkins and the Sonics no ability to match Wilkins. It could be said the Sonics choose to keep Murray and Wilkins rather then sign Dixon and Murray.
This still leaves the Blazers with just over 2 million dollars of their mid-level exception available for other players. The Blazers had intended to extend an offer sheet to the Sonics Damien Wilkins. However, Wilkins turned down a $16 million offer .

This increases the likelihood the Sonics will turn to Flip Murray as their back-up guard.

SONICS CAP SITUATION

There seems to be a lot of confusion on the Sonics cap situation let me try to clarify. The Sonics have not fully determined if they are going to be under the cap or over the cap. However, in all likelihood they will re-sign Radmanovic and stay above the cap.
Therefore, they have the $5 million exception to use to acquire talent. The Sonics current players, Radmanovic, Murray, Evans and Potapenko, can re-sign without using any of that $5 million. This is called having Bird rights.
However, if the Sonics re-sign Wilkins his money must come from the $5 million because he doesn’t have Bird rights since he has only been in the league for one season.
A few other notes. Players that are restricted free agents can have their contract matched by their current club. That is why the Sonics feel comfortable they will be able to keep Radmanovic, Evans and Murray. It also means that any thoughts of the Sonics getting Tyson Chandler or any other restricted free agent are pie in the sky.
I hope that makes some sense.

TRUE SHOOTING % and GOOD/BAD%

In the comment zone we were having a discussion about shooting and who is really that good.
These are the numbers I use to evaluate players offensive ability. One is their true shooting %. This accounts for free throws. This is why a player like Vlady comes out very average.
The other number is close to John Hollinger's brick %, but basically it accounts for time on the floor. It tells me in the simpliest form whether or not this player helps his team score. Basically, Chris Weber scores but it takes him so many shots and so many shots considering his minutes on the floor that I believe he hurts his team.

HERE ARE THE SONICS NUMBERS
League Average is TS%- 53% and Good/Bad nummber average is ..01

TS% -- G/B
0.68 -- 2.00 -- fortson,danny
0.57 -- 0.82 -- lewis,rashard
0.58 -- 0.64 -- potapenko,vitaly
0.55 -- 0.59 --- allen,ray
0.57 -- 0.52 --- collison,nick
0.56 -- 0.43 -- daniels,antonio
0.51 -- 0.13 -- evans,reggie
0.53 -- 0.07 -- radmanovic,vlad
0.53 -- 0.05 -- james,jerome
0.53 -- 0.01 == LEAGUE AVERAGE
0.50 -- -0.22 -- swift,robert
0.50 -- -0.31-- ridnour,luke
0.50 -- -0.39 -- wilkins,damien
0.41 -- -1.12 -- cleaves,mateen
0.43 -- -1.71 -- murray,ronald

Just a note Juan Dixon was a .52 -- -.19