Jet City juxtaposition: what were the Sonics thinking?

Although I spent a brief time of my life (about 10 days) in Seattle and loved it - the food, the music, the people, the atmosphere, the culture, and yes, even the rain, there are some things I'll never truly understand about the Emerald City, especially in sports. The Sonics today drafted Texas frosh phenom Kevin Durant, but also traded 7-time all-star Ray Allen. Huh?

Jesus Shuttlesworth's certainly not the player he once was, but he's in the top 3 pure shooters the NBA's got. The logic in this deal I fail to see. Boston really got a the long end of the stick.

Granted, Allen's been offensively prolific since he got into the league and after being traded from Milwaukee was a force - but to already be Seattle's all-time leading scorer in less than 5 full seasons? That speaks volumes about how pathetic player retention is up there.

Keep in mind that this is the very same franchise that let go Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton in the prime of their careers. And the same city that for whatever reason allowed Ken Griffey, Jr. and Alex Rodriguez - both guaranteed to get into Cooperstown on the first ballot - to slip away from the Great Northwest.

But lest we forget the pinnacle of front office buffoonery: the Golden State Warriors. Maybe it's the pressure from nearby Silicon Valley that forces management to force out top-quality ballers, but consider that several all-stars who never stayed in Warrior unies: Chris Webber, Tim Hardaway, Chris Mullin, Latrell Sprewell, Mitch Richmond, Billy Owens, Gilbert Arenas, Sarunas Marciulionis, Antawn Jamison, Larry Hughes, and now Jason Richardson.

But getting back to the Sonics: wow. They're about to lose Rashard Lewis, and Ray Ray's now out the door. A real downer for the Seattle sports fan.