Presti's Plan

It' still early in the season, but the Sonics still don't have a victory and all signs point to being in the lottery once again after the season. But that shouldn't stop Sonics fans from believing in new general manager Sam Presti and his plan to return the Sonics to being a perennial contender. With all the uncertainty surrounding where the team will be playing next year, it would have been real easy for Presti to take lottery pick Kevin Durant, team him with existing stars Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis and hope the three dynamic offensive players could lead the Sonics back to the playoffs. Who knows, it may have worked. But the reality is the Sonics may have been good enough to make the playoffs, but probably not good enough to do much more than that. Even more likely would be the possibility that the same old Sonics plus Durant would have been the same old Sonics they were before Durant; an exciting team with plenty of offensive firepower, but one who's lack of D had them stuck in mediocrity. Instead Preti chose a different path, a path that most pro general managers don't like to go down. The term rebuilding is not one that will excite a fan base that you are hoping is going to fork over big bucks to build a new arena. But Presti clearly isn't as short sighted as your average GM. So Presti shipped Allen to the Boston Celtics and Lewis went to the Orlando in a sign and trade deal. Seemingly overnight the Sonics became one of the youngest teams in the NBA. But for all the talk of what the Sonics lost, what they gained is a future. After next season the Sonics will likely have one or two more lottery picks to team with Durant and Jeff Green and the most cap room in the league thanks to the expiring contracts of Wally Szczerbiak and Kurt Thomas. Throw in another first round pick obtained in the Lewis trade and young combo guard Delonte West obtained in the Allen deal and you have a team that is built to be a competitive team for the long haul. The only type of team more frustrating to watch as a fan than a losing team is an aging, losing team. Seattle sports fans should know this well thanks to those 2004 Seattle Mariners, who saw basically the entire core of the team show it's age at the exact same time. On the other hand, watching a young team develop has a certain satisfaction to it. Although success may be limited at the start, you know that the future will be better and when it finally comes it is that much more satisfying. Although no one knows where the Sonics will be playing in the future, everyone should be able to take comfort in the fact that Presti has his own plans for the future of the team.