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The Sonics Screwed Up (19 years ago)

Polynicesea.JPG
ESPN's Page Two calls the Sonics' 1987 pick of Scottie Pippen #34 on their list of the 100 worst draft picks of all-time...sort of.

34. Scottie Pippen, Seattle Sonics (No. 5, 1987) Wait ... Scottie Pippen was a great choice! ... except the Sonics (who had acquired the pick from the Knicks for Gerald Henderson) had a deal with the Bulls for the No. 8 pick: They would draft Pippen and trade him to Chicago for Olden Polynice. So that's what happened. To make matters worse, the Sonics drafted Derrick McKey at No. 9 while the Bulls drafted Horace Grant at No. 10.

In the next couple of years, the Sonics would draft Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp ... hmm, you think a lineup of Payton, Pippen, Kemp and Grant couldn't have won three or four titles in the '90s? It does suck being a Seattle sports fan.

Seattlest David S., adjusting his glasses as he speaks, points out that we may never have gotten to draft Payton or Kemp if we'd had Pippen. Also, we'd contend that Derrick McKey was a better player than Horace Grant--Grant had the good fortune to play with Michael Jordan.

But the coda to that draft day debacle came in the 1998-99 offseason. Both Pippen and Polynice were free agents--the Sonics could have had either. But, in a quixotic show of stubborness, they stuck with their original 1987 player evaluation and signed Polynice to the team. Dance with who brung ya, boys.

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By Seth in on April 27, 2006 1:20 PM

Comments [rss]

  • Wally Lama

    Id like two add my two cents. Both Players were smooth and could walk on air. Its hard to watch them go off to other teams and become regular players. I think Kemp would of been better off if he stayed away from the drugs and women. Kemp had the skils but fell off his horse to early. Pippen on the other hand was determined and had really great skills. Getting Better every year. He also had someone who pushed him and showed him the way to win.

  • Dan

    I once saw Bin Laden school Kemp on the greenlake courts 1-on-1 and then watched the two walk off for a night of drinkin beers and fatherin' bastards together. Pippen could have taken them both.

  • Seth

    What's with the Kemp hate? Osama Bin Laden has like 60 kids, and you treat him like a hero!

  • Kemp's got at least 7, all with different baby mamas. Compared to that, Pippen's a rookie.

  • Dan

    Pippen was no slouch in that last category though...

  • A few areas where Kemp was far superior to Pippen: gaining weight, abusing cocaine, fathering bastards.

  • Seth

    "Louis XVI died today when his head fell into a basket. Alright, there are other factors involved there."

  • David

    Did you just refer to Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson as other factors?

  • Dan

    Dude, how many rings did Kemp and the Sonics win? How about Pippen and da Bulls? Alright, there are other factors involved there and actually they are not exactly the same style player anyway. It's like comparing apples and sour grapes. Nevertheless, the Sonics should have jumped all over that trade.

  • David

    Yeah Dan, that's like saying Washburn is better than Burhle.

  • Seth

    I have never disagreed with any comment on this site more than I do Dan's about Pippen being "way better" than Kemp. Go back and watch the '96 finals. Kemp was the best player on the floor. Better than Jordan, not to mention Pippen. Kemp won't make the Hall of Fame...he self-destructed. Which is sad. But at his best HE was way better than PIPPEN.

  • Da Bulls!

  • Dan

    Years later the Bulls tried to work a trade with the Sonics, Pippen for Kemp. Folks, Pippen is way better than Kemp and as a Bulls fan I was pissed off. Our interpretation of things in Chicago was that Seattle was pretty pissed off about it, too, which is why the trade didn't happen. You fucked that one up.

  • David

    It's simple science.

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