Should Presti Have Traded Ray Allen & Rashard Lewis? You Betcha.
Ray Allen became a champion nearly one year to the date after general manager Sam Presti traded him from the Seattle Sonics to the Boston Celtics.
Rashard Lewis, nearly two years after Presti agreed to a sign-and-trade that sent him to Orlando, now sits four wins away from helping the Magic hoist that same gold championship ball.
The successes of the former franchise cornerstones has made it easy for folks to waive the “I-told-you-so” finger at Presti and team chairman Clay Bennett, who were accused of gutting the team with the intent to create fan apathy and split for OKC.
Lenny Wilkens, a man who wore many hats with the Sonics franchise but departed as vice chairman, tells the Seattle Times he urged Bennett to not dismantle the team. Wilkens resigned shortly after both All-Stars were traded and cited a difference of opinion with ownership.
“It’s unfortunate Seattle lost Rashard, but he turned out to be a heck of a player for the Magic,” Wilkens said. “I thought Seattle should have kept him. It was a major cause of concern and after [the Lewis trade] I knew they were going in a different direction than what I planned.”
Lewis led the league in 3-pointers made with 220 this season. Allen finished second with 199. Lewis was named to his second All-Star team in February. Allen in February earned his ninth selection and second since his trade from Seattle. Four more Magic wins and both will be NBA champions.
“Well, that just shows what type of talent we had here,” Wilkens said.
But the most important number to remember when analyzing Allen and Lewis and their perceived untimely departure is 1, as in one playoff appearance and one winning season in their 4 1/2 years together.
It becomes easy to second guess decisions while sitting back and watching Lewis in the Finals this year and Allen on the NBA’s grandest stage last year. But keep in mind they are the third best players — at best if you’re not considering Rajon Rondo and Jameer Nelson — on their respective team, not the first and second options on the same squad.
The Sonics weren’t going anywhere with them and it would have been foolish for Presti to give them any longer than the 4 1/2 years they already had together. Add to that, Allen was weeks away from his 32nd birthday when he was traded and coming off ankle injuries that limited him to 55 games. And don’t forget he was owed $52 million over the next three years at the time of the trade. Couple that with Lewis’ second-year salary and the two would have eaten up more than $35 million of the Thunder’s payroll this season and more than $38 million next year.
The Thunder would not be widely considered the next best up-and-coming team had Presti signed off on continuing to carry that burden. OKC is where it is, the envy of every rebuilding-to-mediocre team, because it has an abundance of salary cap space over the next two years, numerous draft picks and one of the most talented young nucleuses around in Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green.
Know that unprotected first-round pick Phoenix owes the Thunder next year? The one that gets sweeter and sweeter as the sun continues to set on the Suns? Or how about mystery man Serge Ibaka, who Presti drafted with the 24th pick last year? Or maybe you like this year’s 25th overall selection that came from San Antonio. All those assets came from shipping Lewis to Orlando. Not directly but indirectly as a result of subsequent transactions. And Green wouldn’t be a member of the Thunder’s current three-headed monster if Allen wasn’t dealt to Boston.
Enjoy Rashard Lewis in this Finals series. Root for him if you like. Just don’t make the mistake of thinking the Thunder would be better off with his services.
-DM-
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Comments
Poor analysis. Seattle had Durant coming on board. A line up of Ridnour, Allen, Durant, Lewis and Collison would have been a lot of fun. They wouldn’t have played much defense, but would have scored a ton of points. It would have been like Phoenix a few years back. The Thunder are in a four year rebuilding process, which is too long, considering Durant and Green can leave in two years. Who wants to live in Oklahoma from October through April?
Ricky Rubio. Off topic, I know.
To my knowledge, he’s the only one in this draft who has actually beat Jason Kidd of the dribble and has thrown an alley-oop to Pau Gasol.
Westbrook is way better than Ridnour, Allen and Lewis are not stars by themselves, and the Thunder realize this year, Collison is inferior playing at center. And there are only two years since Presti traded Allen and Lewis, and the most we will have to wait is one more year before the Thunder will make the playoffs (I think next year will be the year, like Miami a year earlier, and our stars are still young). And both Durant and Mason already said publicly they don’t want to leave OKC.
You idiots in OKC will believe anything won’t you? Seattle got screwed by Bennett. This article is a bunch of crap. It was OBVIOUS that Bennett was gutting the team to move them. Leaving the 11th largest TV market in the nation for the 41st? That makes so much sense. Tearing apart 40 some odd years of history and pissing on it, then lighting it on fire…thanks OKC fans. Thanks a lot. Had Durant been on a team with Ray Allen (future HOF’er), Rashard Lewis (bona fide Allstar talent), and the rest of those guys, SEATTLE would have made the playoffs. Instead the fans in SEATTLE got screwed. Your pathetic Thunder is at least 3 years from cracking the playoffs. I hope Bennett chokes on his cigar.
That larger market resulted in $20 million a-year losses. I think I’d prefer, like the NBA and Bennett, a smaller market with phenomenal support and the ability to make a profit (in a city with a state-of-the art arena) than a larger market with inferior support (without a suitable NBA arena) and continued monetary deficits. What was that NBA BOG vote again?
And about Durant and Mason saying they don’t want to leave OKC, add to that Cleveland Cavalier PF Joe Smith, who played for the Thunder the majority of this year. He said in HoopsWorld he missed OKC as well.
Half the teams in the league are losing money, rob. The point is if you actually field a competitive team there is a lot more money to be made in a larger market. Check out how OKC is near the bottom in TV ratings, and your “phenomenal support” still only equates to middle of the pack in terms of attendance. It will be less when the Ford renovation creates less seats. You want to believe a 100 million upgrade to a 79 million building is “state of the art”? hahaha
Orlando’s arena opening in 2010 cost $500 million. The Ford Center will be outdated as soon as it opens.
Bennett, overpaid for the team ($350 million) lost $30 million in his two lame duck seasons in Seattle and then dropped another $75 – $80 million on the relocation. $45 million went to the City of Seattle and $30 million to the NBA. All of the these expenses don’t just disappear. Amortize these costs over the first 5 years and it will be 2013 before the team will have any hope of even breaking even. Then The Blunder are sure to demand a new arena.
When assessing whether it was wise to blow up the team by getting rid of Ray and Rashard, you have to look at the total cost of that decision. It killed attendance in Seattle exacerbating the losses and ensured the owners had to move or sell. Now the team must absorb the startup costs by restricting their payroll expenses to below league averages. The OKC fans pay the price in a below NBA quality team on the court and higher ticket prices. A playoff caliber team is far off in the future.
You nailed it.