Win Nick Collison's Kicks

In a cunning ploy to improve visitor traffic nice gesture to a bunch of sad fans who miss their team, Lexus of Seattle is giving away a pair of signed Nick Collison shoes to whomever contributes the most heartfelt/funny story about how they love the Sonics.

Sadly, as Paul and I are about as technologically savvy as your garden variety 58-year-old, we won't figure out how to upload our story until after the April 15 deadline, so Raf, it's on you, man. I'd go with the story about how you told Jim Farmer you definitely were possibly interested in designing the artwork for his next CD.

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Not This Year for Sonics

The Washington Legislature is nothing if not consistent in their treatment of the stadium tax situation.

For the sixth consecutive year, it appears that a bill enabling the University of Washington and the Seattle Professional Basketball Team Which Does Not Exist to tap into the pool of stadium tax revenues has died (per Ted Brunner of the Seattle Times).

I doubt anyone associated with this whole situation is entirely surprised, inasmuch as the same thing happens every year. In a way, it's a bit similar to the way Sonic fans felt at playoff time in the 1990s.

Initially, you're excited with the possibilities. Then you watch failure. Then you get excited again the next year, and more failure. The third year, you get tempted again, and then more failure. One time, you make it all the way to the Finals/Legislature, but get denied at the last minute.

After awhile? You just kind of don't let yourself get too excited anymore.

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Spencer Haywood & The Hall of Fame

The mangled story of former Sonic Spencer Haywood’s life is cluttered with equal parts anger, disappointment, and persecution.

There is, in that same story, little in the way of recognition.

Frank Hughes now of Sports Illustrated, formerly of the News Tribune, took up the torch on behalf of Haywood in a February 24 column on SI.com. After 1,500 words describing Haywood’s belated and brief notice from the NBA at the just-completed All-Star Game, Hughes writes:

… it's not too late for the game to honor him properly -- with an induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.


Because the Hall is not the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame, all of his contributions to basketball would be recognized somewhere inside those hallowed walls. A sort of lifetime achievement award.

Hughes argues that Haywood’s role in the elimination of the NBA’s antique four years of college rule, the auspicious start to his career, and his status as an Olympic champion and NCAA star combine to elevate him to the Hall of Fame.

As much as I would love to see another former Sonic enshrined in the Hall, and as much respect I have for what Haywood accomplished, I think this argument is debatable at best and ridiculous at worst.

It’s interesting to hear Haywood’s supporters when they detail his career. Actually, “detail” is the wrong word, as they often leave out the juiciest bits of information.

For example, Hughes mentions that Haywood, as a Laker reserve, was suspended for cocaine use during the 1980 NBA Finals, and attempts to elicit sympathy for his subject by way of explaining Haywood was only looking for help, an orphaned kitten merely desiring cup of milk and receiving instead a swift kick onto the sidewalk.

What Hughes neglects to mention is that Haywood reacted to the suspension by planning to murder Coach Paul Westhead (he opted for the messed up brake lining, even going so far as to talk to a “gangster friend” of his (Spencer’s words) to plan it). It was only when Haywood’s mother talked him out of it that the plan was scuttled.

Haywood’s supporters point to his marvelous performance at the 1968 Summer Olympics as an attribute, but leave unsaid the fact that the only reason he was playing was because a number of black athletes were boycotting the Olympics due to racial injustice in the US. Haywood, then, was being rewarded for not caring about some of the same issues that he would point out as immoral less than five years later.

And so it goes. It is undeniable that Haywood was royally screwed by the NBA when he attempted to join it in the early 1970s, just as it is undeniably true that he became the highest paid player in the league in 1975 ($500,000 a year), and then promptly screwed it up by (take your pick) A) playing on a busted knee suffered because of an incident on a wet arena floor while playing for the Sonics or B) doing a crapload of cocaine.

Of course, as Spencer is so quick to claim, “everyone was doing drugs.” Which, of course, makes it okay. And, besides, if it hadn’t been for his supermodel wife, Iman, he never would have taken drugs in the first place. And he wouldn’t have married her if she hadn’t tricked him into impregnating her. And that was only because she wanted a green card when she was on the verge of being kicked out of the US. And after he knocked her up, Haywood had to marry her, because, you know, he’s a gentleman and all.

You see, it’s never Spencer’s fault, none of it.

First he got screwed by the major universities who failed to scout him, then by Adolph Rupp when he kept Spencer out of the University of Tennessee, then the NBA who wouldn’t let him play, then by Seattle because they forced him to play on a wet floor and wouldn’t give him enough cash, then by New York and its crazy nightlife, then by Iman and her seductiveness, then by the Lakers for not appreciating his situation, and then, and then …

Ironically, I’ve spent the past little while wading through Doc: The Rise and Rise of Julius Erving, by Vincent Malozzi (Quick review: This is one lousy book. Long review: Ever read a magazine article and think it would make a great book? It wouldn’t.), and a more disparate comparison between two men could scarcely be made.

Haywood and Erving were born 14 months apart half a century ago. Like Haywood, Erving was not highly recruited out of high school, although his status had more to do with his (lack of) height than anything else.

Like Haywood, Erving wanted to leave school early to earn money for his family. Like Haywood, Erving had to play in the ABA because the NBA wouldn’t let someone with fewer than four years of college in the door.

Unlike Haywood, though, Erving stayed in the ABA – although, to be honest, he tried his best to get into the NBA. But here’s the thing: what people tend to forget about the whole incident is that the NBA was perfectly willing to take on Erving, Haywood, or any other undergrad-turned-pro, so long as they had been four years removed from the start of their college careers.

In other words, if Haywood had waited another year or two, he could have entered the NBA just like Erving did, without any of the legal nonsense. And, that, of course, is how Julius Erving wound up getting a monster (well, 1970s monster, anyways) contract from the New York Nets, because the ABA knew that if they lost Dr. J, they might as well give up, sweet-lookin’ ball and all.

But Spencer Haywood wasn’t interested in all of that – he wanted his money right now, not two years from now. Never mind that he was getting a fair bit of change already, he wanted in the NBA, and he wanted the big, BIG contracts they had to offer.

What portion of Spencer Haywood’s decision to take on the NBA was due to a sense of duty and what portion was due to grabbing some cash is anyone’s guess. I don’t know the answer, and, quite frankly, neither does anyone else, Spencer Haywood included. I’m sure that if you asked him now, he’d tell you it was because of his sense of justice, but I’m guessing if you asked him that question 35 years ago, he’d tell you something completely different. Most likely, considering how desperate he must have been to provide for his family back home, the lure of the NBA’s solid financial footing had to have played a larger role than we hear about.

But, honestly, does it make any difference? Great, he “broke down barriers” for people like Darryl Dawkins and Kwame Brown. Wonderful. Does that make him a Hall of Famer?

Well, is Curt Flood in the Hall? Flood’s decision to essentially give up his career so that baseball players were no longer indentured servants is one hell of a lot less self-serving and more noble than what Haywood did, and Flood has to pay to get into Cooperstown like everyone else.

And, yes, Spencer Haywood has a gold medal. Wonderful. So does Vern Fleming. So does Jon Koncak. So does Tom LaGarde. So does Phil Ford. Are any of them in the Hall? Shawn Kemp won a World Championship, is he knocking on the door at the Hall of Famer? Not exactly.

Kemp’s comparison is perhaps the most apt in this case. In fact, take a quick look at the career NBA numbers of the two (per 36 minutes):

Kemp: 18.9 pts, 10.9 reb, 48.8 FG%,
Haywood: 20.5 pts, 9.9 reb, 46.5 FG%

and their advanced stats:

Kemp: 19.1 PER, 49 eFG%, 17.8 TRB%, 89.5 win shares
Haywood: 17.7 PER, 46.5 eFG%, 13.8 TRB%, 61.4 win shares

Kemp was on the second team of the All-NBA team three times. Haywood was on the first team three times (well, once in the ABA and twice in the NBA) and the second team twice. Kemp made six all-star teams; Haywood made five. Both plummeted from the heights of fame to irrelevancy by their 30th birthdays.

Was Haywood better than Kemp? Arguably. And that’s precisely the point. No one will ever argue that Shawn Kemp deserves to be in the Hall of Fame (well, except for Raf, but that’s another story), but for some reason we’re supposed to come up with outrage over Spencer Haywood’s exclusion, to believe it’s part of some vast conspiracy to thwart him?

Sorry, I’m not buying it. Spencer Haywood had every opportunity to get into the Hall of Fame during his playing career, but whether because of drugs, injuries, or personal reasons it didn’t happen. But those reasons are all his own, and no one else’s. I can't imagine the difficulties he faced as a black man in the 1960s, or growing up in abject poverty, or anything else he dealt with. But as cold as it may sound, the Hall of Fame should not reward people for their hardships, it should reward them for their accomplishments.

In the end, Julius Erving faced many if not all of the same challenges as Haywood, and he managed to overcome them. The fact Haywood couldn’t is not a condemnation of him, but rather a confirmation of Julius’ greatness.

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Charles Garcia heading to the NBA

Seattle U forward Charles Garcia has announced his will skip his senior year and enter the NBA draft this spring, leaving Seattle with even less reason to watch basketball at the Key. Sigh. . .

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Follow the Wheedle on Twitter!

Wondering what the Wheedle's been up to lately? Well now you can follow the Seattle Supersonics' favorite mascot on Twitter.

And while you're at it, be sure to follow Supersonicsoul on Twitter as well. Because we hear that's what the kids do nowadays! Now if you'll excuse me, my Metamucil is getting cold.

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Bring Back the Sonics night at the Key

It's "Bring Back the Sonics" night at Key Arena tomorrow night. Bonus: there's also a basketball game!

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Hockey Schmocky

After winning the gold in hockey, the Canadian fans go wild.

Congrats to our neighbors to the north, as Canada beat the U.S.A. for the gold medal in hockey today. Somewhere in Vancouver, Supersonicsoul writer Pete Nussbaum is overcome with indifference.

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Supersonicsoul Hall of Fame

Ladies and gentlemen, we present the Supersonicsoul Hall of Fame:

(Artwork by Rafael Calonzo, Jr. / Words by Peter Nussbaum)

Jack Sikma
Lenny Wilkens
Gary Payton
Shawn Kemp
Blackburn / Calaboro
Xavier McDaniel
George Karl
Dennis Johnson
Spencer Haywood
Nate McMillan
Gus Williams

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Happy Birthday, Chunkstyle!

Happy birthday to Supersonicsoul co-founder and co-creator of "Danny Fortson: Cyborg Smasher" Rafael Calonzo, Jr. (aka Chunkstyle).

BONUS: For the first time, the entire "Danny Fortson: Cyborg Smasher" mini-series is available in one place online. Read the entire epic here!

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Saddest Ebay listing ever?

From Supersonicsoul reader Todd Frank:

Now for auction on Ebay:

"BLANK Seattle Sonics throwback NBA jersey Durant Zombie"

Don't miss out on this great auction for the incredibly rare blank Seattle Sonics uniform, with the alternative road jersey in deep red, green shorts with Sonics logo, and authentic sewed-on NBA logo on both. This is an awesome NBA throwback jersey and shorts set made by Champion that you could easily customize! Get some one to stitch on DURANT and 35 and you'll have quite the collector's item. Or put KEMP and a "40" to symbolize his number of children. Or put a Starbucks logo on it or perhaps use it to hang Clay Bennett in effigy. Put a 0 on it with ZOMBIES across the front. I don't care what you do with it. Sadly, there wasn't even a "Seattle Sonics" in the eBay drop-down box for NBA apparel.

Make your bid here!

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Vote for Kemp!

The folks at ESPN are voting on the best "in-your-face" dunk of all-time, and of course, Shawn Kemp's infamous "Lister Blister" (see above) is one of the nominees. So go vote already!

UPDATE: Kemp is in the semi-finals . . . but is losing to Pippen (oh the irony!). So go vote NOW!

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Save the Needle!

Thanks to SonicsGate for the tip!

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