New York giveth, New York taketh away.

It is only a coincidence, of course, that while the New York papers took a day off from considering the New York Knicks' efforts to woo Sonics free agent center Jerome James, they reported that the team had agreed to a contract with New York high school star guard Lenny Cooke, who went undrafted two and a half weeks ago in the NBA Draft despite being one of the top high schoolers in the country.

Though the geography is a coincidence, that the Sonics would be losing a young free agent and signing another one surely is not. In the post-George Karl era, the Seattle Supersonics have begun the pattern of repeatedly finding young talent in obscure places ranging from the Draft's second round to Europe to the benches of NBA competitors. And while those talents have paid off handsomely for the Sonics, many of them have quickly fled as free agents for more money, more playing time, or both. What gives? Have the Sonics become the NBA's equivalent of the early-90's Montreal Expos, developing young talent for the benefit of other teams who swooped in when those players were ready to reach their primes?

That, of course, would be an overdramatization -- well, maybe not such a stretch if Rashard Lewis were to leave the team and sign with another, but that is a highly unlikely scenario. After all, it's not as if any of the players the Sonics have found is All-Star caliber. The top two players on the team remain guards Gary Payton and Brent Barry, acquired through the draft and through trade respectively. Neither was plucked from obscurity. And young up-and-comers Lewis, Vladimir Radmanovic, and Desmond Mason should be Sonics for the foreseeable future.

Instead, the players that have been signed to bargain-basement contracts as free agents or second-round picks have filled out the roster. From Jelani McCoy to Ruben Patterson to Shammond Williams to Emanual Davis to Olumide Oyedeji to Art Long to Jerome James to Earl Watson to Randy Livingston to Ansu Sesay, each has given the Sonics quality low-cost minutes. Isn't that exactly what a team should be doing in the NBA nowadays? In my book and those of many experts, NBA basketball is a game of stars. Players of a lesser caliber should not be paid millions of dollars when equivalent alternatives can be found for nothing. Barring injury, how much better would Calvin Booth and his $42 million contract played last season in the middle than James or Long? Certainly not enough to justify his cost.

But at the same time, when these young bargains reach the end of their contracts, they may well to become valuable commodities in the free agent market. Patterson signed for Portland's median exception a year ago, and James will surely receive a similar deal from some big man-starved franchise this summer. And while the others may not command a similar bidding war, Williams and Davis both received not-insignificant raises; Oyedeji and Watson may well join them in that category.

Is James worth upwards of $30 million in guaranteed money? To the extent that the market was set last summer by the deals given to Booth, Nazr Mohammed, and Todd MacCulloch -- all of whom had started less career games than James -- he most certainly is. To the extent that every dollar counts for the Sonics when considering the luxury tax and next year's cap figure? Not a chance. To the extent that the team can hardly afford another costly mistake on a big man? No way in hell.

So then the Sonics should gladly let him walk -- if they can find a replacement. Will the supply of players be unending? James and Long replaced McCoy while Watson replaced Davis this season, leading one to believe that conclusion. Certainly the Sonics are operating under it, as evidenced by their move to secure Cooke, who could prove to be a bargain if the Sonics can retain him until he is ready to play significant minutes.

Continually re-shuffling one's rotation players around a core of stars is not an unprecedented thing in the NBA. Two other teams stand out to me as examples of this type of strategy succeeding. These teams do it in seemingly different manners, however, which begs the question of how the Sonics have been able to succeed with no-name players around Payton et. al. Is it because the coaching staff has put a system in place that allows less-talented players to succeed more than they would elsewhere? Or is it because the front office and scouting staff has successfully scoured not only the country but the entire planet for the best low-cost talent available?

In the past, I have come down on the side of the front office, most notably in a mid-season column commending the efforts of CEO Wally Walker (and, by extension, the rest of the front office such as general manager Rick Sund, assistant GM Rich Cho, director of player personnel Dave Pendergraft, Vice President of Sonics and Storm Billy McKinney, and anyone else involved in scouting). Evidence I would cite to support this conclusion includes the fact that Patterson and Davis experienced no drop-off in play last season after leaving the Sonics and the apparent ability of players like James prior to them officially becoming Sonics. I think the ultimate arbiter is how these players perform following the conclusion of their Sonic careers. If they fail to continue their strong play, than the system is likely the catalyst of their success. If, however, they not only continue but improve upon their play, then the front office is finding diamonds in the rough. It may take years to determine which of these two things is happening to players. (Not to mention the very real possibility that the ultimate answer is some combination of both, such as the front office finding players who perfectly fit the system.) Incidentally, most other experts have credited Nate McMillan with the success of lesser-known role players, with their success one of the main arguments used in favor of McMillan's candidacy for Coach of the Year.

Enough theory; let's see how things have played out in reality around the NBA.

The ultimate example I can think of where a system has allowed players to come in and succeed, then leave as free agents and fall on their face is the Utah Jazz, who have been surrounding stars Karl Malone and John Stockton with no-name talent for years. With Jeff Hornacek capably manning the shooting guard position for most of that time and a series of first-round picks (Felton Spencer (who was actually drafted by Minnesota), Luther Wright, and Greg Ostertag) filling center to varying degrees of success, the position filled by free agent finds in Utah for most of the '90's was small forward. The first of these small forwards was David Benoit, undrafted in 1990 out of Alabama. After a year in Spain, the Jazz signed Benoit and he contributed over 1,000 minutes during his rookie season. Over the next two seasons, Benoit started off-and-on before laying claim to the starting role during the 1995-96 season. But during that year's Western Conference Finals -- against the Sonics, no less -- Benoit was supplanted by Bryon Russell. Also undrafted out of Long Beach State, Russell started for Utah at small forward for the next four seasons as well as most of last year. Included in the span are two NBA Finals appearances, where Russell had the honor of defending Michael Jordan. Benoit, meanwhile, did little after leaving Utah.

Backing up Russell for part of that time was Shandon Anderson, Utah's 54th pick out of Georgia in 1996. Players selected that low rarely amount to much of anything, but Anderson contributed better than 1000 minutes off the bench for the Jazz three straight seasons before bolting for Houston as a free agent. With the Rockets, Anderson started all 164 games over two seasons but was generally considered a disappointment. Last summer, he was traded in a sign-and-trade deal to New York, where he flopped horribly, averaging a career-low five points per game. A similar story to Anderson's can be told about Howard Eisley. A second-round pick by Minnesota in 1994, Eisley was released by the Wolves and ended up in Utah, where he would back up Stockton until the 1999-2000 season. Afterwards, Eisley went to Dallas, where he was expected to challenge Steve Nash for playing time at the point. Instead, he struggled horribly and was dispatched after the season to New York in the same deal that sent Anderson to the Knicks, joining him as a largely useless reserve.

This season brought yet another Utah success story, with late second-round pick Jarron Collins ending up as the Jazz' starting center and doing a capable job. Considered a lesser prospect than James, Collins is likely to return to Utah next season and battle newly acquired first-round pick Curtis Borchardt for the team's starting center position.

The NBA's top team at finding obscure talent which leaves and has continued success is the Charlotte Hornets. One of the NBA's most notably cheap teams, the Hornets have re-signed few of their own free agents in the past decade, but continue churning out new talent. Three Hornets in particular stand out as recent examples of cheaply found talent.

Purdue center Brad Miller was lightly regarded after completing his college career, signing with the Hornets as an undrafted free agent. During two seasons in Charlotte, he emerged as the team's top reserve big man before becoming a restricted free agent. One of the top centers on the market, Miller still found offers hard to come by as he looked to go anywhere but Charlotte. Eventually, the Chicago Bulls ponied up a deal and made Miller their starting center. After a slow start to his Chicago career, Miller became one of the NBA's top centers last season and was traded to Indiana mid-season.

Briefly, Miller was joined in Chicago by former Hornet teammate Eddie Robinson. Undrafted out of tiny Central Oklahoma in 1999, the ultra-athletic Robinson nevertheless managed to become one of the Hornets' top reserves during both of his seasons in Charlotte. Like Miller, Robinson yearned to depart as a restricted free agent, but he quickly found a new home, signing a tender with the Bulls. Because it was more than the Hornets could (or would) match, Robinson found himself Chicago's starting small forward. Though he suffered through injuries last year, playing in just 29 games, Robinson is an excellent long-term prospect.

Replacing Robinson as the Hornets' reserve small forward this year was Lee Nailon, a second-year player out of TCU. After a stellar career with the Horned Frogs, Nailon was the 43rd pick by Charlotte and went overseas for the 1999-2000 season. Upon returning to the States last year, Nailon saw little action. But this year, he stepped in when Charlotte's Jamal Mashburn was injured, starting 41 games and averaging 11 points per game on good shooting. This summer, Nailon is a much sought-after restricted free agent, just as Miller and Robinson before him.

Long before this trio, the Hornets had a second-round find in Malik Rose, who has gone on to much success with the San Antonio Spurs, particularly in the first round of this year's playoffs.

Continuing to churn the end of the rotation is a fiscally-sound strategy that allows a team to keep together its core without breaking the bank. The examples of the Jazz and the Hornets indicate that it's possible to find numerous cheap contributors, but a team must always be looking for the next player. That the Sonics have signed up Cooke before James is even officially gone is an excellent sign.

Kevin Pelton has served as beat writer, columnist, editor, copy editor, and webmaster for SonicsCentral.com since its inception. He also writes a weekly column for Hoopsworld.com and is a student at the University of Washington in his spare time. The Candid Corner is updated every Monday. Kevin can be reached at kpelton@sonicscentral.com. All opinions expressed in this column are solely the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of other columnists or the SonicsCentral.com staff.

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