New Sonics radio play-by-play broadcaster 
David Locke is Locked on the Sonics. He'll follow all the news, rumors and more throughout the summer and into the 2006-07 season. Locked on Sonics will be updated regularly, break stories and have audio interviews on the biggest stories. E-mail David your questions at AskLocke@sonics-storm.com
Win Lunch With Blackburn and Locke
Posted on September 30 | permalink
One of the great things about the Sonics 40th Anniversary celebration is getting to remember all the different eras and generations of Sonics basketball. Today at the Sonics & Storm Legends Tour event featuring Tom Chambers, Chambers joked that none of the kids getting his autograph knew him except being told by their parents. It has been great to see the kids out at these Legends Tour stops as well as some of their parents who were there when the legends were building their legacies.
I want to celebrate these generations as well. I'm the third radio play-by-play announcer in Sonics history, following in the footsteps of Bob Blackburn, who called Sonics games from the franchise's inaugural 1967-68 season through 1991-92. Bob and I would like to take a father and son (or father and daughter or mother and son; gender doesn't matter) to lunch at The Furtado Center next Thursday, where you'll get an exclusive look at one of the Sonics first practices of the season.
E-mail me at AskLocke@Sonics-Storm.com by Tuesday at 6 p.m. and tell me why I should choose you and your child or parent.
Click here for complete rules.
Another Hometown Hero in Charlotte
Posted on September 30 | permalink
Good news for another local product. After going head-to-head in the great inter-state battle of Washington and Gonzaga, Will Conroy will be joining Adam Morrison in Charlotte for training camp.
Conroy’s contract is non-guaranteed. Conroy played well in the D-League last season, despite some injury problems. Conroy’s size and tenacity are to his advantage. Whether he can shoot well enough and if he is quick enough on the defensive end will be the issues.
A story that was relayed to me sums up Conroy. This summer he was working out at the Furtado Center. His team was trailing and his competitiveness kicked in. He ignited his group and brought them on a stirring comeback. However, on the key play of the comeback he was left open from 18 feet and missed the shot badly.
That is a perfect example of all of Will’s strengths and weaknesses. Anyone who has ever been around Will is rooting for him. He is a perfect example of what basketball can do for someone in terms of personal development, not just financial rewards. Basketball has given Will opportunities and exposed him to different worlds than he could have had otherwise. Because of all those things he has grown into a wonderful young man who will prosper in whatever he does on the floor or off the floor.
Once again we see another way that basketball has amazing value for our region.
Let’s all root that the 6-Game Hometown Heroes Package also includes Will Conroy this season when Charlotte comes to town.
A Day at NBA Referee Camp
Posted on September 27 | permalink
I have just completed a remarkable day at the NBA Referee Camp. Each season the NBA refs meet for a five-day session where they refine their skills. The officials have been together since Sunday and will be working together through Thursday.
In a large conference room with all the of the NBA referees, the NBA broadcasters were brought into the referee camp. Long-time official Danny Crawford was to my left and Joey Crawford one row ahead as we ran through play after play on the big video screen discussing what the correct call is and why it is made.
After the session, I talked with long-time official Bennett Salvatore about what the rules are around the screener on a pick-and-roll. It was unreal access and an amazing insight on the world of the officials.
The detail of their work is remarkable. The intensity of their training would blow you away. Moreover, how often they are correct has always floored me. These are unquestionably the best in the world.
They put all of us through both a written and a video test. I must admit I failed badly and when I did get something right it was often for the wrong reason. In the upcoming days I will give you guys the test with a nice reward of tickets for the best entries.
Ronnie Nunn, the director of officials, took us through the principals of officiating and goals of each official. He broke every game into four goals:
allowing freedom of movement.
distinguishing between marginal contact and illegal contact
adapting to the points of interest each year (this year traveling and palming)
maintaining game decorum, managing each other and managing the people on the floor
Nunn said that training camp for an official is very much about the eyes and the mind.
"We are about our eyes," he said. "Our eyes have to get back into shape and we have to get our minds focused again on where to focus our eyes."
The refs' training camp is similar in some ways to those of NBA teams. They have sessions where they focus on specific skills and in others that focus on specific types of calls. For example, one session was on traveling and another was on official placement on the floor.
One question I asked the officials I spoke with was how many calls they miss a night when they review the game. All of them said that, as a team, they only miss three to four calls a game and that they are usually mistakes of omission rather than when they blow the whistle. That is amazing when you consider the amount of decisions they make in a game.
The review system for the officials is remarkable. Every game there is an on-site observer who also reviews the film and completes a complete review of every game within 48 hours. The officials have a secure Web site where the director of officials places video for them to review before each game. These can be league-wide issues or specific to that group from previous work.
When you consider how detailed all of the review is for each official, it begins to eliminate the idea that officials differentiate their calls based on the quality of the player. These officials are micromanaged to a point where the penalties for missing calls take away the ability to favor superstar players.
The area of focus for the upcoming season is palming and traveling. This means changing a referee fundamental where the official now will focus their eyes on the offensive player and the initiation of his move and then switch to the defender. In the past, the focus was on the defender to start.
Ronnie Nunn talked about three areas where traveling takes place - from the triple-threat position, in the post and on the hop.
They showed us video of the hop and it is a new move in the NBA that is a tribute to how great the athletes have become. One of the videos we saw showed Sebastian Telfair pulling up his dribble and then taking off on his right foot. Insanely, he lands on his right foot again about six to seven feet forward through a defender before he steps through to the left foot. In the old days it was a hop to a jump stop with both feet, but the athletes have become so strong they can hop from the same foot to the same foot.
Lastly, the NBA is doing a study on flopping, how often it is taking place and whether it is hurting the game.
Can't Crack the List
Posted on September 27 | permalink
Today debuts one of my favorite exercises around the NBA, the
SUPERSONICS.COM Top 100. The top 100 NBA players as they stand today. Not how they will be at the end of the year or where you project them in five years, but instead where they stand at this moment.
Over the next week, we will release 20 players a day on our Top 100 list.
Five names you might have anticipated reading will not be present on my list. They are Eddy Curry, Jamal Crawford, Stephen Jackson, Steve Francis and Chris Webber.
To make this list I took the following approach. I went by gut first. Look at a player's name and put him in a grouping of 10 - 1-10, 11-20, etc - by instinct. Then I evaluate what his offensive statistics really mean and finally and most importantly, how did his team play when he was on the floor compared to off the floor?
Eddy Curry may shoot a high percentage and put up decent numbers, but the Knicks were much better when Channing Frye was on the floor. Chris Webber has great numbers, but at what cost? The volume of scoring attempts he uses to get his numbers leads me to believe he is a detriment to the team rather than a valuable player.
Stephen Jackson made his career living off Tim Duncan in San Antonio and then putting big numbers up on a bad Atlanta team. Last year, Indiana needed him to perform with consistency and he didn’t deliver.
Stevie Franchise has become Stevie Franchise Killer. Both Orlando and the Knicks were a far better team when he was on the bench last year. This is a dramatic fall for a player that was in all likelihood top 20 just a few seasons ago in Houston.
Finally, local product Jamal Crawford finished last year so strongly that I thought he was going to make the list. However, he didn’t wow me in any area. Under Isiah Thomas he may blossom and by the time we do this again at the All-Star break he could be Top 100.
That is who you won’t see. Now for 81-100 and beyond the next five days. Let me know what you think. Where do you disagree? Who do I have too high or too low?
Off to New Jersey
Posted on September 26 | permalink
I am off this morning to New Jersey for two days. Wanted to give you a heads up on a few exciting things that are coming on the blog and SUPERSONICS.COM.
On Wednesday, I will be going to the NBA referee camp.
Kevin Pelton and I are in the midst of finalizing our Top 100 players in the NBA as they stand today. It is a fun exercise. Try it and see how you compare. We will want to see your lists and your comments on ours.
Finally, I am in New Jersey for the NBA broadcaster meetings, so I will get some good scuttlebutt on what is happening around the NBA.
Talk to you from New Jersey.
The Power of Sports
Posted on September 26 | permalink
I just finished watching the Monday Night Football game that returned football to New Orleans. The pictures of New Orleans were a shocking reminder of the devastation. At the same time this was another example of how incredibly powerful sports can be in our communities.
How do you put a price tag on what New Orleans received today because they have professional sports? I agree that sports are overvalued in our society. However, sports have a uniqueness that nothing else in our communities equals.
What did that game do for the spirits of people? What did the game do for the economy of the area? How will it impact future tourism? Sports are an amazing vehicle.
Sports power is both in the subtle message that if we are playing games we must be ok and in the great work of Saints players Reggie Bush and Joe Horn in the New Orleans community.
While the severity of the tragedy was far different, we saw this power last week in Seattle. When Ray and Rashard went to Cleveland High School, as detailed on SUPERSONICS.COM, they didn’t just give uniforms and money, they gave hope. They reminded a group of predominately underprivileged children that people do care and that people do hope they succeed.
"Other than my children being born, this is the greatest day of my life," said Cleveland coach Calvin Johnson. "It's just great for the whole school, for the morale of the school. Today reminded these young men that people care about them.”
That comment gives us a glimpse into what Ray and Rashard meant to Cleveland High School.
It isn’t just Ray and Rashard. It isn’t just when there is tragedy. Kevin Pelton told us about Earl Watson and his giving back in Off the Record.
It is happening all around the NBA. Chris Broussard wrote an amazing story about Amaré Stoudamire. Amaré flew a 16 year old boy from Senegal to Houston for a special foot surgery. Interestingly, this 16-year-old played basketball in the academy where Mouhamed Sene played in Senegal.
Where this story becomes remarkable is that Amaré doesn’t have any connection to the boy other than an ESPN magazine article which talked about the boy’s foot problem and how the doctors in Senegal were unable to diagnosis the injury.
All of this goes to the power of sports, the power of philanthropy and how the athletes in our cities are able to give hope and opportunity in fantastic ways.
Is ESPN Paying Attention?
Posted on September 25 | permalink
With training camp now just a week away I thought I would put in my final thoughts about the Sonics off-season.
According to ESPN and the all-knowing scribe Marc Stein (yes, that's sarcasm) the Sonics ranked 14th out of 15 teams in off-season moves in the Western Conference.
This is laughable, both in regards to the premise and the end result. The premise excludes all the moves the Sonics made at the trade deadline last year. Those were their major off-season moves.
Even so, if you were to prioritize the Sonics goals in the off-season they would have looked like this:
- Re-sign Chris Wilcox
- Prevent Mickaël Gelabale from signing a long-term deal in Europe
- They would have liked to add some veteran experience to the front court
Two out of three is a pretty good ratio. Moreover, it is very difficult to find the veteran experience when they are going to be the fifth option at the center behind Robert Swift, Johan Petro, Nick Collison and Wilcox. There aren’t a lot of guys lining up for those jobs unless the team is a certain title contender.
If I had done the rankings, I would place the Sonics ahead of Memphis. The Grizzlies lost Shane Battier to trade and Pau Gasol to injury. They would be ahead of Portland, which has not been able to move either Zach Randolph or Darius Miles. Ahead of Utah who was inactive expect for re-signing the injury-prone Matt Harpring. And ahead of the Kings, who are on the verge of losing Bonzi Wells and only adding John Salmons.
Moreover, nothing the Lakers, the T-Wolves, the Suns or Warriors did overwhelms me.
Most of all, thank goodness the Sonics didn’t sign Nenê to a massive contract and Reggie Evans to a five-year deal.
In other words, I find a ranking of 14th out of 15 for the off-season laughable.
40 Days to Opening Night
Posted on September 22 | permalink
40 days until Opening Night and I can feel the vibe.
As I walked in the Sonics offices today there was a pictoral chronology of this great organization. The pictures ranged from Walt Hazzard to Lenny Wilkens. A picture of Big Jack jumped out as you entered the door and, of course, the great shots of the championship season.
A shot of Spencer Haywood getting ready for some game against the Cincinnati Wicks. You got me on who that is.
Then the pictures became a little less grainy and GP, Shawn and Det were in my focus. Finally a sleek Ray Allen and a flying Rashard Lewis signified the new era of the Sonics.
Let me not forget the shots of the old Sonics Dance Team and some of the dated hairdos they were sporting.
The 40th season may very well be the most important in this franchise history. It is our time to stand up and remind people what the longest standing professional sports franchise in the Pacific Northwest means to you and I.
Our screams will be a little more passionate, our nerves will be a little more tense and our dedication will be at an all-time high. That will make this 40th season all the more special. It is a chance for us to leave our mark, make our statement and have a greater connection than ever before when it is all done.
For me personally, the 40th season is a fulfillment of a personal dream to be behind the mic for an NBA season. In addition, I am excited to give unprecedented access to the team through SUPERSONICS.COM via the daily blog, podcasts and more.
Most importantly, I am excited to be on the ride with you in this 40th season. The Sonics are an incredibly underrated team. Last year was the convergence of numerous terrible circumstances. Now we flush that away and start anew.
Maybe the most important thing left from last season is that the players were miserable. They hated the losing. They were embarrassed. The renewed dedication is obvious with each player already in town working at The Furtado Center for the last two weeks.
We are 40 nights away from the opener against Portland. I can’t wait to bring it to you on the new Sonics flagship station, KTTH in Seattle, and all our great affiliates around the Pacific Northwest.
In the meantime, I will be right here at SUPERSONICS.COM with reports from training camp and preparing all of us for the 40th anniversary season of the Seattle SuperSonics.
Halperin Signs New Maccabi Deal
Posted on September 20 | permalink
The
Jerusalem Post and other Israeli media outlets are reporting that Yotam Halperin
has signed a new three-deal with Maccabi Tel Aviv. There had been some speculation by the Israeli press that Halperin, one of the team's two second-round picks this June, would be joining the Sonics for training camp.
Halperin
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Halperin came to Seattle for the summer league. He is still very young, just 22. While he is still an intriguing prospect, Halperin is not ready for the NBA. In the opening days of summer-league practice his quick hands and good instincts on the floor shined. However, at the Rocky Mountain Revue he really struggled with the quickness of smaller point guards. Halperin did average 3.0 assists per game for the Sonics squad.
"The NBA remains a dream, at least for this season, and now I'm only thinking of achieving success with Maccabi," Halperin told reporters.
This deal is good for the Sonics because they retain his rights and Halperin gave himself the ability to come to the NBA as soon as next summer if the Sonics feel he is ready.
