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Bad karma follows Clay Bennett
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Could it be that the Oklahoma City Thunder (nee Seattle Sonics) is getting all it deserves? There is such a thing as bad karma, you know.
Oily man Clay Bennett came to Seattle and purchased the Sonics with the clear intention of moving the team to Oklahoma. He accomplished that this season with the help of duplicitous NBA Commissioner David Stern. It was a preemptive strike on one of the venerable NBA franchises. It was dirty. It was deceptive. It was unfair. It was wrong.
And almost from the day he bought the team, things have gone wrong for Bennett and the Thunder. Such a shame.
Part of that was built-in failure, as Bennett wanted to make the franchise undesirable and unwatchable. He traded away Ray Allen and allowed Rashard Lewis to leave, even though he could have immeasurably helped rookie Kevin Durant. But that was Bennett's plan to streamline the team, diminish the base interest and allow the team to fit comfortably into a Mayflower van.
The franchise caught one break in moving up the lottery ladder in 2007 to select Durant at No. 2. But they also maneuvered to select Jeff Green with the No. 5 pick. I watched Green all season a year ago and wondered what the Sonics saw in him. He has no real shot. He's an above average player but no All-Star.
Certainly, they could have done better with a few local guys such as Spencer Hawes, Rodney Stuckey or Aaron Brooks. Although, maybe they didn't want local guys because they knew they weren't going to be local.
They also could have had Thaddeus Young, Al Thornton or Wilson Chandler. They went in another direction -- south.
Then just before they officially announced their northwest departure, Sonics general manager Sam Presti had the good fortune of the No. 4 overall pick in the 2008 draft. The problem was there were probably three coveted picks, Derrick Rose, Michael Beasley and O.J. Mayo. They went 1-2-3.
Presti selected smallish guard Russell Westbrook. He could have had Kevin Love, Eric Gordon, Rudy Fernandez or D.J. Augustin. Westbrook is a decent player but no game-breaker. In fact, in a recent ESPN rookie ratings story, Westbrook was listed as the 20th best prospect. And he was the overall fourth selection!
So with three high selections, No. 2, No. 4 and No. 5, Presti got one right. He could have filled three positions with quality guys but has filled one. And remember, just like the free agent fuss over LeBron James, Durant can elect to leave Oklahoma. He said recently that he's not thinking about that but money talks. It is, after all, Oklahoma City. At some point, he's going to want to play for a winner and the Thunder is years and years away from winning.
This season, the Thunder started the season 1-16 and already has fired head coach P.J. Carlesimo. It's almost December and they have yet to win on the road and just once in front of their home fans. They had their second chance Friday night in an exciting finish at home against Minnesota. Durant had hit a basket with two seconds left to tie the game at 103-103. The fans were delirious, expecting a thrilling overtime win. Then Mike Miller hit a jumper with one second left to give Minnesota a 105-103 win, letting the air out of the gym.
It's a shame. Well, maybe it isn't. It's just karma going bad.
