Sonics boast many possibilities

SEATTLE – Rick Sund can control just how busy his draft night may be.

The Seattle SuperSonics general manager could make it simple: Hold on to the No. 10 pick in Wednesday’s NBA draft and then discuss how his team took the best player available.

Sund could also attempt to trade Seattle’s highest pick since 1990 and move down in the first round to draft a more long-term and less expensive “project.” A trade could bring Seattle a proven veteran from a team looking to move up in the draft.

“We’ve got a lot of depth on our club, so we’ve got a lot of ways to go,” Sund said.

The Sonics have the 40th and 53rd selections in the second round as other potential bargaining chips for a trade.

This year will be the fourth time since 2000 the Sonics have held a lottery pick. They hold their highest choice since they selected Gary Payton second overall 16 years ago.

“This draft doesn’t have that type of buzz with star status, but it has pretty good depth,” Sund said.

Seattle officials still believe their team was at playoff caliber at the end of last season, when it missed the postseason for the third time in four years. Over the final 25 games, the Sonics went 14-11 to finish 35-47. The improvement came after Seattle traded away disgruntled players Reggie Evans, Ronald Murray and Vladimir Radmanovic and acquired Chris Wilcox and Earl Watson.

Those moves left Seattle with what executives see as an almost impenetrable roster.

Eight of its top nine players from the end of last season are under contract for next season. The ninth, Wilcox, is a restricted free agent.

Seattle intends to make Wilcox a qualifying offer once it is permitted to in July and most likely will match any offer he receives from another team.

There’s also athletic wing Mickael Gelebale, 2005’s second-round pick from France who played last season for Real Madrid in Spain. Sund said Gelebale has expressed interest in playing in the NBA this season. Seattle is in discussions with Real Madrid about buying out Gelebale’s contract.

So even if the Sonics keep the No. 10 selection, their choice may not play.

“We can maybe move the pick and we’re looking at those possibilities,” Sund said. “We can keep the pick. We can move backward and get multiple picks.”

Believing they have no pressing needs, the Sonics brought in a variety of players for predraft workouts. They looked at guards J.J. Redick of Duke, Randy Foye of Villanova, Ronnie Brewer of Arkansas and Rodney Carney of Memphis, and power forwards Shelden Williams of Duke and Cedric Simmons of North Carolina State.

Some mock drafts have Seattle selecting center Patrick O’Bryant of Bradley. Others say Williams or Redick.

Many Sonics fans are hoping Washington guard Brandon Roy goes to his hometown team. But Roy, touted by some as perhaps the best overall player in the draft, figures to have been selected long before Seattle’s turn comes up.

The wide-ranging auditions were a change for Sund and his scouting staff, who in recent years have focused on specific needs. In each of the previous two first rounds, Seattle took 7-foot centers Robert Swift and Johan Petro. In 2003, they took Nick Collison and Luke Ridnour, at 12th and 14th overall.