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Sonics General Manager Sam Presti announced today the team has re-signed forward Ronald Dupree for the remainder of the season.
Aside from the question of how long the Sonics will still play in Seattle, before their possible/probable eventual move to Oklahoma City, the team is in a full rebuild around Kevin Durant, with Jeff Green also on board. Almost everyone else may go this summer or in a year or so.
The AP reports: With one of their top scorers out and the other having a mediocre night, the San Antonio Spurs were still able to grab an easy—and important—victory over the Seattle SuperSonics. San Antonio’s 95-74 win Friday night strengthened its chances at getting home-court advantage, at least for the first round of the playoffs. Tony Parker scored 20 points, while Tim Duncan added 12 points and six rebounds on 4-of-12 shooting for the Spurs… Kevin Durant scored 20 points and Earl Watson had 17 for the Sonics, who dropped all three of their games in a swing through Texas… Jeff Green scored 10 points for Seattle and Nick Collison grabbed 14 rebounds.
The AP reports: Rafer Alston scored 18 points as the Rockets, playing without Tracy McGrady, got 48 points from their reserves to easily beat the Sonics 103-80. McGrady sat out with a sore left shoulder that’s bothered him for more than a week, but the Rockets didn’t miss him, handing Seattle its 11th staright road loss. Rookie Luis Scola had 13 points and 12 rebounds, Luther Head started for McGrady and scored 16 and sharp-shooting reserve Steve Novak added a career-high 17 points as Houston kept pace with first-place New Orleans in the tightly packed Western Conference playoff race… Former Texas star Kevin Durant scored 26, Nick Collison grabbed 15 rebounds and Earl Watson added 16 points and eight assists for the Sonics, who’ve lost seven straight meetings with Houston and 18 of their last 20 games overall.
The Tacoma News Tribune (Eric D. Williams) reports: He may be the only NBA owner who votes this way come April 18, but Dallas Mavericks owners Mark Cuban reiterated Tuesday evening before his team’s game against the Seattle SuperSonics that his preference is for the team to stay in Seattle. “My prejudice is against having a Dust Bowl division in this part of the country because I don’t think in the big picture that helps the NBA,” Cuban said. “I think the big market helps the NBA.” Seattle is in the 14th largest TV market in the country, while Oklahoma City is in the 45th largest TV market. If new information shows the Sonics’ move to Oklahoma City serves the league well, he could be swayed, Cuban said.
The AP reports: After a rousing come-from-behind victory in their last game, the Dallas Mavericks avoided a misstep against the struggling Seattle SuperSonics. Jason Terry scored 22 points, Josh Howard added 17, and Dallas crept closer to a playoff berth with a 99-83 victory over Seattle on Tuesday night… Brandon Bass scored 13 off the bench for the Mavericks, and Dirk Nowitzki chipped in with 11 points and 12 rebounds in his fourth game since returning from knee and ankle injuries… Earl Watson had 22 points and eight assists for Seattle. Kevin Durant added 16 points, and Jeff Green and Nick Collison each had 11.
Seattle SuperSonics General Manager Sam Presti announced today second-year center Mouhamed Sene suffered a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee during last Friday’s Idaho Stampede game at Bakersfield of the NBA Development League. The extent of the injury was revealed in an MRI performed yesterday. The team is in the process of scheduling surgery.
Sene appeared in 13 games for the Sonics this season, averaging 2.3 points and 1.2 rebounds in 4.8 minutes per contest. Sene also appeared in 27 games for the Idaho Stampede this season, averaging 12.4 points and 9.0 rebounds in 28.2 minutes per game. The 10th overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, Sene has appeared in 41 regular season games in his two seasons with the Sonics and holds career averages of 2.0 points and 1.2 rebounds.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Gary Washburn) reports: Without question Jeff Green entered the league with an NBA body, lofty résumé from Georgetown University and the tag of the Sonics’ small forward of the future. Just recently has Green lived up to those high expectations, and the pinnacle occurred Sunday night when he dropped 35 points on the defenseless Denver Nuggets in a 151-147 double-overtime win. Green’s numbers have improved exponentially since the All-Star Break. He is averaging 13.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and nearly 39 percent 3-point shooting in the past 26 games compared with 8.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 15 percent shooting from the 3-point line in the first 49.
The AP reports: Kevin Durant scored a season-high 37 points and fellow rookie Jeff Green had a season-high 35 to lead the Seattle SuperSonics to a 151-147 double-overtime victory over Denver on Sunday night, damaging the Nuggets’ playoff hopes. Green, whose previous high was 23 points, scored 24 in the second half and overtime. His five quick points to start the second overtime gave the draft lottery-bound Sonics (18-59) the winning cushion… Carmelo Anthony, who scored 47 points Saturday in a 118-115 loss to Sacramento, led the Nuggets with 38 points. Allen Iverson added 26 points and Kenyon Martin had 22.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Gary Washburn) reports: According to a team source, the Sonics players were supposed to walk out of the tunnel after Friday’s game, where signed shoes were supposed to be waiting for them. Apparently, they weren’t, leading to mass confusion and finger-pointing between the Sonics marketing team, the game operations staff and the front office, who had to scramble to get players onto the floor.
The AP reports: After a relatively mortal first half, Tracy McGrady ignored the pain in his injured left shoulder to score 18 of his 25 points in the third quarter, and the Houston Rockets kept pace in the wild Western Conference playoff race with a 79-66 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics on Friday night… Bobby Jackson added 13 points, playing well in place of injured starter Rafer Alston, who missed his second straight game with a sore hamstring… Nick Collison had 15 points and 11 rebounds, but the Sonics lost for the 20th time in 22 games and assured themselves of at least matching the worst record in franchise history… Kevin Durant missed his first eight attempts, and finished 2-of-17 with a season-low four points.