1. The Sonics shall not Trade Gary Payton for Garbage.

As all Sonics fans know there have been more GP trade rumors this summer than for any other player in the Sonics history. The rumors were to be expected after the Sonics said GP was available for the right price, but the scary part was that the Sonics price according to the rumors was absurdly low. Although I have never wanted GP traded, I would have been OK if the Sonics had traded him for quality young players, and teams like the Bulls and Blazers made what I consider quality offers, but other teams like the Spurs and Wolves made some absurd offers, that from what I hear got a lot of consideration. Now everyone knows I don’t think much of Wally Walker or Howard Schultz, but if GP is traded for the likes of Terrell Brandon and Wally Szerbs, my dislike may turn to hate. So the first commandment for a good season is ... don’t trade GP unless we get a great offer.

2. Vin Baker shall not be chunky and he shall play with heart and hustle on both ends of the court.

In order for the Sonics to be successful we need a powerful low post presence on offense and defense. On our roster the only person who has a shot in hell at accomplishing both of those things is Vin Baker. Vin Baker has the ability and size to be an all-star and he has been in the past, but the question recently has been, does he still have the heart? Vin Baker has slimmed down, gained perspective, and restored some trust with the fans and his teammates, but in order for all of that to last Vin has to be a 20 and 10 player. No one can make Vin Baker play the way he should be, but if he has any guts he will.

3. Thy Sonics must find a defensive identity (especially in the post).

Last year one of the things that continually killed the Sonics was a lack of a defensive identity. Last season GP would lock down one guard and the rest was sort of left up to chance and flow. What made the Sonics successful in the past was their trapping D, with exact and memorized rotations on defense. Ever since Karl left (good riddance), that has been missing. Westphal was not a defensive coach which is why we never had a good D with him, but Nate is, and Nate must re-institute some sort of ferocious Sonics D that can lock down on opponents and discombobulate. The zone makes designing an aggressive defense easier, but Nate must reinforce that by actually keeping a focus on defense by playing players that may not be offensive dynamos but defensively are play makers. The theory that offense starts with good defense is what the Sonics were initially built on, and until the Sonics believe that once again, times will continue to be rough.

4. Rashard Lewis shall continue to develop into a great player.

Two years ago Rashard Lewis burst onto the scene in the last month of the season, and last year he followed that stellar month up with a fair to good season. Now Rashard needs to show a huge development in his game by having a stellar year. Rashard Lewis is quickly becoming one of the best young threes in the league, but his lack of aggressiveness and post up game are still glaring deficiencies. Rashard is in a contract year, and if he wants the max contract like most people suspect he wants, he needs to prove he is the man this year. Rashard has shown glimpses of being the incredible player many believe he can be, but this season he can’t just show glimpses, he needs to do it all the time.

5. The Sonics shall find an explosive sixth man.

Plain and simple our bench explosion is gone. Ruben Patterson is in Portland, and that means we need a new sixth man to come in and provide a spark every night. Right now I think the spark will probably be Desmond Mason, but Shammond could also serve the purpose. A sixth man is a vital position in the Sonics scheme, and they need someone to come off of the bench and spark the team with incredible D and or easy buckets.

6. Nate shall grow as a coach.

Nate has been destined to be the Sonics head coach ever since his retirement, but he got the call to be the coach before he was ready. Nate is developing into a great coach, and I wouldn’t have it any other way, but he is still relatively inexperienced as a coach and he still has a few things left to learn. Nate must quickly learn how to do the little things that make a person a great coach for the Sonics to get where they need to go this year, luckily Nate is almost there.

7. Desmond shall continue to develop his game.

Good teams try not to rely on youngsters to contribute, but at this point the Sonics must. The Sonics need Desmond to have a super sophomore year. I already have expressed my desire to see Desmond become a great sixth man, but in order to do that Desmond needs to round out the rest of his game. D-Mase is a great slasher and a defensive dynamo, but he needs a jumper. Mason is working with Sonics legend Dale Ellis on his jumper, but time is of the essence for Desmond to become automatic with his 15 footer.

8. The Sonics shall not bicker and feud.

Let’s face it the Sonics have a history of fighting and feuding, and unfortunately GP is normally involved. The Sonics have a history of having knocked down drag outs between various players, coaches, and members of management, which is unacceptable. All of the feuding between any Sonics player, coach or member of management has to stop. We have had coaches fighting with the GM, players that won’t talk off of the court, and coaches that have cussed out coaches, and all of it adds up to dysfunctional behavior and losses. The Sonics have to win, lose, and draw as a team ... without shoveling out blame.

9. The Sonics shall beat the bad teams on a regular basis, and still get the occasional upset.

The Sonics have a history of beating the teams they shouldn’t...(i.e. Lakers), and losing to the ones they should beat. Its nice and fine to beat the Lakers, but the Sonics need to go out and beat the Bulls, the Grizz, the Warriors, and all the other bottom dwellers that they have to play on a regular basis. Upsets are great, but if you can only get up for the big games and can’t get up for the normal ones, you can’t make the playoffs. The Sonics beat a lot of good teams last year, but they lost to the bad ones, and that ultimately cost them the playoffs.

10. Wally Walker shall be kept in check and prevented from meddling.

If you’ve read my column before you know my opinion of Wally Walker and his mettling, and if the Sonics are going to be successful he must be kept in check. Walker is inept as a GM, and worse at mid season trades and or moves. The Sonics can avoid letting Wally out of his box by winning, following the other 9 commandments, and avoiding injury. God help us all if the curse of the Walker is let out of his management box.

Ok its time for my goat of the week, and this week I was hard pressed to find one, so I’ll give the goat title to one of the all time biggest Sonics goats.....Jim Mcllvaine. Hopefully next week I won’t be able to find a goat again, and I can name another ex-Sonic from the past.

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