chicagosports: So the Bulls should forget about Garnett for now and look at a realistic target: Seattle's Ray Allen.
The Sonics are in transition, if not dislocation. They're saying if they do not get the state to build them a new arena or renovate their existing one, they may have to move and have looked at Anaheim, San Jose and Kansas City, Mo. And you can imagine the response this is getting in Washington? Sonics Chairman Howard Schultz runs Starbucks. Yes, the guy who is charging $6 for a cup of coffee wants the state to subsidize him.
Team executives say the Sonics, having a miserable season, losing millions of dollars and almost out of the playoff race already have been active in trade talks for Flip Murray, Reggie Evans, Vitaly Potapenko and Danny Fortson. Executives say they haven't heard mention of Allen, though at least one added a "yet." The belief around the NBA is with Allen turning 31 this summer after just signing a long-term contract, young players like Robert Swift, Johan Petro and Luke Ridnour getting considerable playing time, the team going nowhere and the franchise in fragile financial condition (no one there wants to say that fast five times), it's inevitable they'll examine what they can get for Allen.
Sure, it's a risk for a team like the Bulls to give up Gordon, who'll turn 23 in April. But Allen is a proven, high-scoring veteran shooting guard, the kind of player the Bulls desperately need to play alongside point guard Hinrich. Allen is 6 feet 5 inches, can defend and should be able to play effectively into his mid-30s.
It seems time the Bulls end the unending youth movements. Free agency? Peja Stojakovic seems likely to re-sign with Indiana, Ben Wallace with the Pistons and Jason Terry with Dallas. So who? Al Harrington? Nene? Vladimir Radmanovic? Wait until 2007? The Sonics desperately need financial relief. Trading them Gordon, who did his best playing against Western Conference teams last week, would almost replace Allen's scoring and could be a perimeter option along with Rashard Lewis.
So here's a deal that could make sense for both teams. Gordon, Tim Thomas and Eric Piatkowski (the latter two with expiring contracts) and one of the Bulls' No. 1 picks for Allen, Nick Collison, whom the Bulls always have liked, and Fortson, whose $6.6 million contract next season the Sonics have been trying to dump.
Maybe they'll have to remove Collison from the deal if Seattle balks or throw in Andres Nocioni and juggle some figures. Gordon figures to be an excellent player in the NBA for a long time. But can the Bulls continue to wait and grow with kids? Should they?
