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From: wab@reed.UUCP (William Baker)
Newsgroups: net.sport.hoops
Subject: Sonics win draft slot!
Message-ID: <1329@reed.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 14-Apr-85 18:07:23 EST
Article-I.D.: reed.1329
Posted: Sun Apr 14 18:07:23 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 16-Apr-85 00:38:39 EST
Organization: Reed College, Portland, Oregon
Lines: 45



	Yahoo!  The Sonics made it!  For a while there I was afraid
that they would do something dumb like start to win.  Now they have
a one in seven chance of getting the mondo pick, no. 1.
	Why should Seattle trade the pick if they get it?  So far,
all the comments have been to the effect that it would be extremely
stupid to pass on Patrick Ewing because he may become one of those
once in a lifetime players, like Kareem.  Maybe he will, but it
will be at least a couple of years before he plays at that kind 
of level.  At the moment, Ewing is a great defensive player.  In
time he may be a great offensive player.  However, Seattle doesn't
need defense, it needs offense.  Sure, you could draft Ewing and
start a frontline of Ewing, Sikma, and Tom Chambers.  That would be
one of the best defensive frontlines in the league, but it wouldn't
score any points.
	Seattle seems to be in desperate need of some offensive
players.  Henderson is a good playmaker, Sikma rebounds well and
puts in his 15-20 points a game, but there is a dearth of pure
shooters on the team.  Seattle needs a shooting guard and a forward
who rebounds, hustles, and gets his shots in.  Who better than
Danny Ainge and Kevin McHale?  This is just one suggestion.  The
idea is that it would be stupid to draft a center when you have one
of the best centers in the league.  Look at Portland.  They could
have drafted Michael Jordan, but they took Bowie instead.  Everyone
said that they were making a mistake.  No mistake.  Portland needs
another guard like it needs a hole in the head.  Yes, Jordan has
had a great rookie season, but Bowie has done well and the 
Trailblazers are looking strong for the playoffs.
	Same situation for Seattle.  The Sonics don't need another
center.  If Sikma is looking a little worn around the edges, 
it's because he must carry the team too much of the time.  
He has a lot of good years of b-ball left; no need to replace him yet.
If they get the number one pick, they should trade it.  They could
trade down and pick up a high draft number and a premier player in
return.  Or they can go looking for veterans.  My only concern is
that the Sonic front office has an absolutely horrendous record
when it comes to trading.  They're so stupid they would probably
trade a no. 1 pick for Dan Issel.




					Bill Baker
					tektronix!reed!wab