Kevin Durant will likely replace Rashard Lewis in the starting lineup for the Sonics from Day #1.  Durant was fantastic as a freshman at Texas and the Sonics hope he can be the go to man as a rookie.  Durant was the #2 pick in the entire draft.  He is a 6′9″, 225 pound small forward who played his college ball at Texas.  He played in 35 games at Texas and he averaged 25.8 points, 11.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.9 blocked shots per game.  He also can shoot from anywhere on the basketball court as he hit 47.3% from the floor, 40.4% from three point range and 81.6% from the free throw line.

Well, the Sonics traded Ray Allen to the Boston Celtics along with rookie Glen Davis for Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak and rookie forward Jeff Green.  This move will ensure that the Sonics have one of the worst teams in the entire NBA in 2007.  Delonte West will likely either start at point guard or shooting guard for the Sonics and he’s nothing special.  He played in 69 games (47 starts) for the Celtics last season and he averaged 32.2 minutes, 12.2 points, 3.0 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game.  He is a good shooter though as he hit 42.7% from the floor, 36.5% from three point range and 85.3% from the free throw line.  West’s career numbers have been pretty steady over his NBA career to this point so the Sonics will probably know what to expect from him.  He has played in 179 career games (125 starts) and he’s averaged 28.7 minutes, 10.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game.  He has hit 45.3% from the floor, 37.4% from the three point line and 84% from the free throw line in his NBA career.

Wally Szczerbiak was banged up all last season for the Celtics but he’s a decent player when healthy.  Szczerbiak played in 32 games (19 starts) last season for the Celtics and he averaged 28.1 minutes, 15.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.  He shot a tad below normal from the floor as he only hit 41.5% of his shots, but he hit 41.5% from three point range and 89.7% from the free throw line.  Szczerbiak has had a good NBA career and the Sonics hope he has a little more gas in the tank.  He has played in 502 NBA games (386 starts) and he’s averaged 33.4 minutes, 15.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.  He has shot well over his NBA career as he’s hit 49.3% from the floor, 40.4% from three point range and 86.2% from the free throw line.

Jeff Green was the number 5 pick in the NBA Draft.  The 6′9″, 235 pound forward from Georgetown will likely pair with Kevin Durant at forward to give the Sonics a talented tandem.  Green played in 102 games at Georgetown and he averaged 13.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.2 blocks per game. 

Rashard Lewis has opted out of his last two seasons of his contract with the Seattle Supersonics thus making himself a unrestricted free agent.  This move by Lewis will likely end his career as a Sonic with the Sonics likely to draft small forward Kevin Durant in next week’s NBA Draft.  Lewis had a injury marred season last year like a lot of key Sonics did.  He played in 60 games and he averaged 39.1 minutes, 22.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game.  Lewis also shot well last season as he hit 46.1% of his shots from the floor, 39% from three point range and 84.1% from the free throw line.

Lewis likely ends his career with the Sonics having played in 617 games (528 starts) and he averaged 33.9 minutes, 16.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game.  He shot 46.1% from the floor, 38.6% from three point range and 80.1% from the free throw line in his career as a Sonic.  Lewis did a great job in his time in Seattle as their #2 man behind Ray Allen.  He should have no problem signing a contract for big bucks on the open market.

The Sonics have decided to go in a different direction after firing Bob Hill.  Hill coached in part of two seasons for the Sonics and he compiled a 53-81 (39.6%) record for them.  Over his career, Hill has a record of 310-293 (51.4%) during the regular season and he has a post season record of 17-20 (45.9%).  In Hill’s defense the Sonics had a lot of major injuries to deal with and it looked like he did the best job he possibly could.

The Seattle Supersonics finished in last place in the Northwest Division with a 31-51 record, 20 games behind the Utah Jazz.  The Sonics were 20-21 at home and a pathetic 11-30 on the road.  The Sonics were 18-34 against the Western Conference and a decent 8-8 against the Division.  The Sonics averaged 99.1 points per game and allowed 102.0 points per game.  They lost their last 5 games and 9 of their last 10 of the season.