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Vladimir Radmanovic

Chris Wilcox

"I think this will be a good opportunity for Vlade to get a fresh start," said Sund. "I think this will be a good opportunity for Chris Wilcox to maybe get some more playing time. The Clippers are having a terrific year; they're looking for a shooter, kind of a pick-and-pop guy. We've been looking for an athletic four, somebody who can play above the rim, the last couple of years."

"We've been looking for an athletic four, somebody who can play above the rim, the last couple of years." Lisa Blumenfeld/NBAE/Getty

With the Clippers, who selected him with the eighth overall pick of the 2002 Draft, Wilcox was stuck for three-plus seasons behind All-Star power forward Elton Brand. In 2003, the Clippers drafted center Chris Kaman in the lottery, adding to the logjam. Wilcox started 46 games during his career in Los Angeles, the majority of them last season when Kaman started the year on the injured list with a sprained left ankle. Wilcox began the year on fire, averaging 16.8 points and 7.8 rebounds over the first nine games, but at a listed 6-10, 235, he proved too small to man the middle on a regular basis.

In Seattle, Wilcox is expected to play his natural power forward position, splitting time with current starter Nick Collison.

"I think he's pretty much a four," said Sund. "We like our fives, the young players."

Sund is enthusiastic about the potential that made Wilcox a lottery pick after two seasons at Maryland.

"He's just 23; he's very young," Sund explained. "In some ways, that's good. In some ways, maybe we could use a little more experienced player. He's a lively kid, he's a runner. We play an up-tempo game; we're second in the league in scoring. We're last in the league in defense; hopefully he can help us defensively. He's a very good defensive rebounder. He's a finisher; he's kind of a catch-and-dunk type of player."

With Wilcox, the Sonics are taking advantage of "the second draft," an invention of ESPN Insider's John Hollinger with an assist from "an NBA talent evaluator." Hollinger explains that the NBA's run of early NBA Draft entrants in recent years has produced an opportunity for teams to give these players a second chance when they are still young enough to make good on their potential.

DeSagana Diop, Larry Hughes and Joel Przybilla are all examples of successful second draft finds in recent seasons, breaking out with their second or third teams. Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal, meanwhile, remains the quintessential second draft star, becoming an All-Star after being acquired by the Pacers for an aging Dale Davis.

Hollinger even tabbed Wilcox as a potential second draftee in his Pro Basketball Forecast: 2005-06 Edition, writing later in the New York Sun, "The high-flying forward is stuck behind Elton Brand and doesn’t have the trust of his coach, but his proportional stats show he could do some serious damage in the right environment."

Sund agrees with the second draft line of thinking.

"This is a case where he's so young, probably came out of school too early," he said. "(The question is) when is he going to grab that opportunistic time and say, 'This is for me'?"

Because Wilcox was averaging just 13.7 minutes per game this season, the Sonics had to be thorough in doing research to figure out his potential, including talking to people who had worked with Wilcox in the past. Per-minute statistics also were part of the process, with Wilcox posting solid per-40 minute averages of 13.3 points, 10.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks. Over the same playing time, Radmanovic averaged 16.0 points but considerably fewer rebounds (6.9).

Wilcox's ability to create and convert high-percentage shots has also produced a 53.6% field-goal percentage this year. Wilcox shot better than 50% each of his first three seasons as well; only three other players have been able to top 50% (minimum 100 shots) each of those four campaigns.

The trade came as something of a surprise because Radmanovic, as a restricted free agent who accepted the Sonics one-year qualifying offer, had the right to veto any trade. Earlier this season, he told The News Tribune he would do just that because accepting a trade would mean forfeiting the "Bird Rights" that would allow the Sonics to re-sign him without regard to the salary cap. With Radmanovic's role diminishing recently, he and agent David Bauman changed their minds about a possible trade.

"Vlade had to sign off on the trade; we wouldn't be able to consummate the deal if he didn't," said Sund. "We had to get him involved yesterday, basically. It wasn't until recently that Vlade and his agent said under the right circumstances they would okay a trade."

With Radmanovic on board, a trade made sense for the Sonics because of the expectation that Radmanovic would sign elsewhere this summer as an unrestricted free agent. Radmanovic had also slumped recently after being given an opportunity to start at power forward when Bob Hill took over as Sonics head coach. During five February games, Radmanovic averaged 6.6 points on 32.6% shooting.

"If we were in a situation where we were competing for the division title and the playoffs, we wouldn't trade anybody," said Sund. "But we're in a situation where it looks like he wasn't going to be with us next year. He wanted to look elsewhere."

Wilcox's contract is also up after the season, but he will be a restricted free agent if the Sonics tender him a qualifying offer, giving them the opportunity to watch Wilcox up close over the remaining two months of the season and see how he fits in their system before making a decision about his future.

It's an opportunity for Wilcox and an opportunity for the Sonics as part of a win-win deal.