This year, the NBA trade deadline marked the end of an era for both the Milwaukee Bucks and the Seattle Supersonics. The Bucks slammed the door on the \Big Three"" years by trading shooting guard Ray Allen to the Sonics along with guards Kevin Ollie and Ronald Murray and a conditional first round draft choice. The Sonics in return sent fan favorite Gary Payton and forward Desmond Mason.
To fully comprehend Gary Payton's longevity in Seattle, note that Murray was 11 years old when Payton joined the Sonics in 1990.
If it is hard to understand why either team would want to trade its cornerstone, some insight may be found in each team's record. Despite Gary Payton's status as a likely future Hall of Famer, he was only able to drag the Sonics to a 22-30 record, a position near the bottom of the Pacific Division standings.
Two time zones away, despite one of the most potent offensive attacks in the NBA, Milwaukee's weak defense had the team stuck in fourth place in the Central Division, with a record of 27-26. Payton had been fighting with Sonics management for years, and Milwaukee Head Coach George Karl had been rubbing Allen the wrong way with his unorthodox motivational techniques. Fortunately, this trade is just what each team needed.
A couple of years ago, Milwaukee was an up-and-coming team; it was ""a team with potential."" However, when the team stormed to the conference championship two years ago, expectations grew. After the team's collapse last spring, the Bucks were once again ""a team with potential."" With the trade for Payton, the Bucks immediately find themselves back in the championship hunt; the acquisition of a nine-time All Star does that for a team.
In spite of his age, Payton will fit in perfectly with the Bucks' offensive game plan, and should provide some much-needed intensity on the defensive side of
the ball.
Although it seems like Milwaukee is perpetually without a dominant post player, its offensive game is built on exploiting mismatches and finding a hot shooter. With Payton and Mason joining the team, the Bucks have an incredible arsenal of scorers and lineup schemes. Payton and Sam Cassell can alternate at the point while Michael Redd and Desmond Mason play the two and the three, leaving Tim Thomas available to play power forward. Against teams with more powerful frontcourts, Milwaukee can shift Thomas to small forward and use its bigger players at power forward
and center.
The most exciting scenario, however, is Milwaukee's small lineup. Payton and Cassell will form one of the league's best backcourts, and on daring nights Thomas can take the floor at center, with Mason and Redd at the forward positions.
Although the trade has led some Seattle fans to disown their team, the trade is just as beneficial for the Sonics. Payton's retirement is only a few years away, and his frequent tirades against team management quickly became unacceptable.
Seattle, meanwhile, finds itself in the middle of one of the easiest rebuilding phases in history; it's not often that a team is able to replace an aging, unhappy star with a young All Star with leadership abilities. Allen will team with young forward Rashard Lewis to provide plenty of scoring while the team attempts to put the remaining pieces in place. It can now be said that the Seattle Supersonics are ""a team with potential."" After a few less than stellar campaigns, the Sonics will be happy to close the door on a losing era. Meanwhile, the Bucks have left their failed potential in the dust and are moving on to bigger and better things.
