2000-01 In Review: After making progress towards regaining his all-star form during the 1999- 2000 season, Vin Baker regressed again last season, leading to the collapse of a team picked by most experts to finish fourth or fifth in the Western Conference but missed the playoffs. Baker came out of the blocks in slow motion and was a key part of the poor start which lead to the dismissal of coach Paul Westphal. Westphal later blamed Baker -- not Gary Payton, who most had fingered -- for his firing. New coach Nate McMillan sent Baker to the bench, hoping that he would be sparked by anger and would fit in better playing behind new center Patrick Ewing as opposed to alongside with him. The move did not pay off. Baker continued to play terribly, and the team's fortune did not change dramatically. By the end of the season, it appeared that Vin was already packing his bags to leave town. In early April, Baker was thrown out of practice after yelling at McMillan. Later in the month, Sonic owner Howard Schultz said what all fans were thinking by questioning Baker's willingness to play through injuries and hustle in an article in the Seattle P-I. Baker's numbers were down across the board, capped by an absolutely atrocious 42% mark from the field. Whereas he once averaged 20 plus points per game, Baker's high last season was but 24 points against Toronto.

Previous NBA Career: Vin Baker was drafted 8th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks out of Hartford University. He was an instant success in Milwaukee, scoring 13.5 points per game and grabbing 7.7 boards per game in his rookie season. In his second season, Baker improved to marks of 17.7 and 10.3. His next two years, he was fairly consistent, remaining in the 21 and 10 range to rank as one of the NBA's top young forwards. After the 1996-97 season, Milwaukee decided that they needed a top-tier point guard and having two top forwards in Baker and Glenn Robinson was unneccessary. At the same time, the Sonics were forced by his trade request to deal all-star forward Shawn Kemp. After passing on Antonio McDyess, the Sonics worked a deal that sent Kemp and Sherman Douglas to Cleveland, Tyrone Hill and Terrell Brandon to Milwaukee, and brought Baker to Seattle. In Baker's first season in Seattle, he slipped slightly, scoring 19 points and grabbing 8 rebounds while leading the Sonics to a Pacific Division Championship. Come the playoffs, however, Baker's play slipped. In the first round, he had a good first game as the Sonics blew out Minnesota in his first career playoff game, but he struggled the rest of the series, and the Sonics just barely escaped the Timberwolves. In the second round, Vin was completely dominated by Shaquille O'Neal. The Sonics lost the series in 5 games, and Vin's poor play was largely at fault. That summer, of course, was the NBA's lockout. During the lockout, Baker did not keep himself in the shape he had been throughout the course of his career. By the time play resumed in 1999, Baker struggled. At the beginning of the season, Baker missed 30 consecutive free throws. Baker's numbers fell across the board, to 13.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 45% from both the field and the free throw line. Baker missed 1/3 of his team's game after playing all 82 the year before. The Sonics' performance also fell, as they finished at 25-25 and missed the playoffs for the first time since Gary Payton joined the team in 1990. After that down season, Sonic management faced a difficult decision. Baker became an unrestricted free agent. Although he indicated a desire to return to the team, club officials were uncertain as to whether he was worth the maximum deal (7 years, 86.7 million). Eventually, they decided that Baker's poor post lockout season was an abberation and signed him to the deal he desired. Baker came back the next season and fans expected him to reattain all-star status. Although Baker's free throw shooting actually improved from prior to the lockout season, and the rest of his numbers improved, it was not far enough. Baker ended up averaging 16.6 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, still far below his pre-slump numbers. Towards the end of the season, Baker lost his starting job to Cuban refugee Lazaro Borrell, though he regained it in the playoffs against Utah. Against Utah, Baker played rather well, even hitting a clutch shot with under a minute remaining in Game 5 that gave the Sonics a chance to eventually tie the game. Nevertheless, the Sonics attempted to unload Baker's bloated contract during the off-season, nearly dealing him to New York before the deal fell apart.

Shooting/Scoring: Offensively, Baker is a shell of his former self. His game now is predicated on 15-18 foot jumpers, on which he is inconsistent, and facing up to set up a drive to the lane, punctuated more often by a foul than a score. Baker was once a fine post scorer, but is now simply unable to play through contact down low, meaning far too many missed shots inside of five feet. On the other hand, this does have the positive effect of allowing Baker to visit the line far too frequently for someone who plays as soft as he does. In stark contrast to the 30 straight misses of 1999, Baker is now a fine free throw shooter for a big man, hitting at a 72.3% clip last season. If there's one thing that would vastly improve Baker's game, it would be dunking it down low, avoiding many costly misses and turning trips to the lane into potential three point plays. With Ruben Patterson and Ewing departed, Baker is now essentially the Sonics' only post option, meaning he must improve -- dramatically -- down low. Grade: C-

Floor Game: Baker is a pretty good ball handler for a big man, but too often tries to do too much with the ball. He often overdribbles and eats shot clock when holding the ball. Baker is also a fairly good passer for a forward, though he does not have to worry about beating the double team much anymore. He also turns the ball over far too much. The next good pick Vin sets will be his first. Grade: C+

Rebounding: Baker was never a particularly great rebounder during his peak years in Milwaukee -- racking up big numbers more because of the heavy minutes than by phenomenal skill -- and has deteriorated rapidly in Seattle. Rebounding simply takes too much banging and effort for Baker to consistently succeed at it. He does remain a good offensive rebounder, but is almost useless for a center or power forward on the defensive glass. Grade: C

Defense: At the end of the 1999-2000 season, there were Sonic observers who felt that Baker got an undeserved bad rap defensively and was actually a better post defender than center Horace Grant. No such argument could be made last year. Again, Vin was unwilling to use his body to his advantage and play the game of positioning and angles that is critical to effective post defense. The opposition could also take Baker out on the perimeter and blow by him now that added weight has robbed him of much of his old quickness. Then, too frequently, Baker was not on defense at all on fast break situations, instead loitering in the front court. While this is excusable from the ancient 39 year old Ewing, it was unacceptable for Baker. The one defensive area Baker did improve last season was in blocking shots, but even this was a mixed bag. In his late-season agressiveness defensively, Baker often overextended himself, leaving his man open for a dunk on the interior. As well, Baker too frequently spikes the ball out of bounds as opposed to tapping the ball to a teammate to start a fast break. Grade: D

Intangibles: Yikes, not a pretty sight. Obviously, Baker's work ethic has been severly questioned by most Sonic fans and experts, in addition to his desire to be a great player. Payton's actions can be excused -- at least in the eyes of many fans -- because they are committed in the name of intense desire to win. Vin, on the other hand, just doesn't seem to care nearly as much. Then, Baker's relationships with his coaches have been extremely strained. He did initially express willingness to come off the bench, after his blowup with McMillan, he all but demanded a starting job for next season. As well, Baker let his anger get the best of him on-court last season, as he managed to amazingly wrest the team lead in technical fouls away from Payton. On the good side, Baker is a good guy in the community, though unlike Payton, Baker's charity assists children in his home state of Connecticut as opposed to Seattle. Grade: D-

Overall: The conclusion reached by Sonic brass and Baker at the end of the season was obviously apparent to all fans from early in the season -- a change of scenery would be best for all parties. Unfortunately, one small -- okay, big -- problem precluded such a change of scenery, Baker's contract which by now is considered arguably the worst contract in the NBA and runs for five more seasons. About the only chance for Baker to be dealt, it was soon clear, would be in a package deal with Payton. However, when the Sonics found no suitable offers for the duo, serious repair needed to be made to the relationship between Baker and Schultz. After a series of meetings, it seems that Baker is aboard the Sonics' ship again. Unfortunately, he's far too crucial a piece to that ship as the only offensive-minded big man the Sonics have after they signed defensive specialist Calvin Booth in free agency to start at center. Clearly, Baker will get an opportunity through minutes and attempts to revive his career next season. Not to be too melodramatic, but the Sonics' fate -- long-term -- probably rides on the shoulders of Baker, which have been all too narrow in recent seasons. Grade: D

December 1 Update: Is Vin back? It's a little too early to start making reservations for the All-Star game or conclude that Baker is the same player he was four years ago, when he first came to Seattle. However, it's clear that the Vin we saw last season is gone. Perhaps more important than any aspect of this transformation is Baker's increased effort. No longer can he be caught standing around on the wrong end of the court. On offense, Baker has gone back to the post, and is doing a good job of scoring inside. His rebounding, however, has still been iffy, retaining the odd 1:1 ratio of offensive rebounds to defensive boards. One definite concern -- Vin's turnovers have gone back up after an excellent start. He also missed two weeks with a knee contusion.

January 1 Update: With two months in the books, it can be safely concluded that Baker circa 2000-01 and the 2001-02 model bear little, if any, resemblance. In the month of December, Baker has established himself as a consistent scoring threat who has given the Sonics a post presence. Now, there are two main challenges: Improving his still mediocre rebounding, and avoiding injury.

February 1 Update: Baker had an up-and-down month of January, going from a game where he was in double figures to 20 plus points the next. On the whole, however, his play was a bit of a disappointment. For the third straight month, his rebounding average declined, from 7.5 to 6.6 to finally a paltry 6.1 in January. His shooting stayed more or less strong.

March 1 Update: The injury bug struck Baker again in the month of February, as he played only four games, missing one with a strained neck and then dislocating three toes on Valentine's Day. When he did play, Baker's numbers -- 16 points and eight boards -- were solid, but his value was called into question by the team's excellent performance after his injury. Without Baker, the team reinvented itself offensively and finished out the month at 7-2.

April 1 Update: Baker finally made his return to the Seattle lineup on the 19th, but as a different player in a different role. Post-injury, he has come off the bench, but has also played a different game, focusing more on rebounding and defense while being increasingly willing to share the ball on offense.