OFF-SEASON NOTES: SADNESS

As the NBA off-season unfolds, I felt extreme sadness on 2 issues which transpired a week ago. I was really shocked when Golden State Warrior superstar Baron Davis opt out of his contract and joined the Los Angeles Clippers as an unrestricted free agent.

I was not really worried when news broke out 2 months ago that Davis is considering a transfer to another team. I suppose that Davis is just feeling the waters of the free agent world. And with his $17.5 million contract for next year, I really did not pay any attention to that news. But lo and behold, the Warriors leader (on and off the court) suddenly annouced that he is opting out of his GS contract and signed a 5-year contract with the Clippers last July1. It caught the Warriors front office and its ton of fans including me, flatfooted with Davis' earthshaking decision. It was a big blow to the Warriors coming campaign wherein Davis was suppose to play a vital role in leading back the Bay Area outfit to prominence after narrowly missing last season's play-offs.

Next on the agenda is the relocation of the Seattle Supersonics to Oklahoma City starting next season. Its really sad to see the Sonics leave the city of Seattle after more than 4 decades. There are lots of good memories of the team while it played in the Emerald City capped by the 1979 NBA crown. That championship team was something special. They beat the then-defending champs Washington Bullets, 4-1 after the losing the prevous year to the same team in 7 gruelling outings. Who can ever forget Jack Sikma, Freddie "downtown" Brown, Gus Williams, Lonnie Shelton, Wally Walker and the late Dennis Johnson. According to NBA reports, the said relocation will also drop the name Supersonics and will be replaced by a new monicker.

Its just a week into the off-season and I expect more shocking news in the days, weeks and months to come leading off to the opening of the 2008-09 season, so sit back and fasten your seatbelts!