Dear Howard Schultz, Wally Walker, and Rick Sund:

Hey guys. Congrats on a solid off-season. I think you might have overpaid Jerome James a little, but you made up for it by getting a bargain in Rashard Lewis at $60 million. Also, thanks for going ahead and paying the luxury tax this season. It means a lot to us fans. Really.

The one cloud in the bright sky of this summer, of course, has been the problematic relationship with Gary Payton. In private, I suspect, you might say the problem is not with Gary Payton, the problem is Gary Payton. I’m certainly not going to say that.

At this point, you guys have done a good job of taking the upper hand with Payton amongst Sonics fans, at least the vast majority that I’ve talked to. However, that’s not going to last forever. Let’s say Payton takes the advice from my last column; he comes to camp, plays his usual 110% and is typically excellent in leading the Sonics back to the playoffs. Then let’s say that he refuses to re-sign with the team because you didn’t give him an extension this summer. What do you do then?

There would certainly be fans that would take your side and say Payton shouldn’t have held a grudge. However, I think the vast majority would wonder why you had let it get to this point when you could have solved everything this summer. And I don’t think anyone will be happy with the free agent replacement you get for Payton. Let’s face it; SonicsCentral readers aren’t stupid. We know that Jason Kidd and Tim Duncan and Jermaine O’Neal -- they’re all talk. You guys can allow their names to be bandied about by those who aren’t cap savvy and haven’t read SonicsCentral’s FAQ, but we know that this situation is going to end up like two years ago. Instead of going after Chris Webber, that summer the Sonics ended up chasing Todd MacCulloch, Calvin Booth, Nazr Mohammed, and Marc Jackson. Big difference.

Will the situation be much different next summer? Add in a first-round pick’s salary and you’re probably looking at about $7 million to play with -- not a substantial amount more than the median exception you’ll have to give up to get that money. Let’s face it, the player you would get to replace Payton might improve the team in three or four years, but for the time being he would be a huge downgrade on the court. We can talk all we want about the future, but at some point the Sonics are going to have to win and win big to regain the Seattle fanbase. Promises of winning in the future aren’t going to cut it. That doesn’t even begin to consider the intangible problems in losing the best player in team history.

You think if that happens, fans are going to be consoled because extending veterans is ‘not how it’s done in the NBA’? That argument has its merit, but I’m confident I’m not the only fan who has the urge to reply to myself, “And if other NBA teams jumped off a bridge . . . ?” Every situation is unique and it’s unfair to imply that just because other teams handle their negotiations one way, the Sonics must do so the same. The difference that has been ignored between Payton and other veteran free agents (Reggie Miller, David Robinson, and John Stockton, to name a few) is that none of them were quite so insistent on getting an extension. You could take that as a reason to verbally spar with Payton in the papers, or you could take it as part of the situation that has to be dealt with, just like the salary cap or the luxury tax or any other given.

Maybe, in the end, you believe that Payton won’t make good on his threat to go elsewhere if you don’t extend him. Maybe you believe that when it comes time for action instead of talk, Payton will re-sign even if you don’t extend him. In my opinion, that’s an awfully big risk to take -- far greater than the risk of Payton being injured this season.

I’ve made this point before, but I believe it to be worth repeating. What really bugs me is that you apparently won’t even consider an extension, won’t even discuss it with Payton. What harm can come of discussing it? I suppose there can be a misunderstanding like when Payton believed that you, Howard, were promising him an extension when you told him during a Seattle Storm game you wanted him to finish his career in Seattle (and honestly, I think you would do well to lay off that line a little bit. If it happens that he doesn’t finish his career here -- and that’s not entirely in your hands -- you come off looking like a liar at best). That bridge, however, has already been crossed and now there’s almost nothing to lose in your relationship.

I imagine that you have, at some point, traded numbers with the Goodwins. You have to know what they and Payton are thinking about what it would take for him to agree to an extension. You know what? We don’t. All we have to go on are a few numbers quoted in the Portland Tribune that I would say I have something less than complete trust in. If this is really a case where Payton is demanding a six-year deal at max money that we all know wouldn’t make sense for the Sonics, why don’t you come out and say it? If you can make it look like Payton is being greedy and this is all about money, then fan support will be on your side.

Here’s my humble suggestion to you, the management group. Howard, you’ve said that you hope to meet with Payton before the start of training camp. When you do, come with an offer that should be reasonable to both sides. Let’s say . . . a three-year deal starting at $12 million that would pay Payton a total of $40.5 million over three years. That seems fair for what Payton’s contributions over the contract would be, and gives the Sonics enough room under where the luxury tax will probably be next season to add a free agent with their median exception. As well, three years is a period short enough that the worry about significant decline can’t be that great.

If Payton declines it, you’ve maintained the upper hand in negotiations. If Payton refuses to sign with you next summer, you can say you gave it your best shot but Payton simply wouldn’t accept a fair deal and was more concerned with money than staying with the Sonics. If he accepts the deal, you win there too. Sure, there’s risk of injury or a decline in play, but that’s a small risk to take compared to risking not being able to re-sign Payton.

Somewhere along the line, this logic has been compromised, perhaps by the irrelevant track records of other teams, but if you analyze this you have to realize that with Lewis’ new deal a Payton extension is in your best interests as long as the money and length are reasonable. If they’re not, then you will have done exactly what Payton has accused you of doing, making him out to be the bad guy. If nothing else, you will keep yourself open for a beneficial result, as you did by going against your previous hard-line stance against paying the luxury tax because you knew it had to be done this summer.

Sincerely,

Kevin Pelton

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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