 Oklahoma City WiretapBarry is too valuable for the Sonics to loseSteve Kelley of the Seattle times writes that the Sonics must keep guard Brent Barry in the fold for more than just his basketball skills, but for his personality and attitude also. Kelley tells his viewers about how Barry made a donation to the University of Delaware's athetic department in his father's name just after he had passed - then told no one, not even Kelley, because he didn't do it for the publicity. The point of Kelley's story was to show the fans that Barry is exactly the kind of responsible, mature, community-active player Sonics chairman Howard Schultz says he wants on his team. And he wants to stay a Sonic. "It's easy to say I want to win a championship, but I'd like to stay here," Barry said last week. "I don't know what it is. Maybe I'm just a glutton for torture. Maybe it's the journey of trying to accomplish more with less. Maybe it's the idea of working just a little bit harder to achieve something that was unattainable." "I don't know if that's winning a championship here or bringing this team back into the deeper rounds of the playoffs. It could be something as small as just helping one of these young guys realize their potential a little bit sooner. But there seems to be a challenge in all of that." Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Nuggets covet Sonics' BarryThe Denver Nuggets already have Jon Barry on their roster, but one Barry is rarely enough. The Nuggets are set to make a run at Sonics guard Brent Barry this offseason, believing that he fits the teams up-tempo style. Seattle, however, is not about to let Barry go without a fight, trying unsuccessfully to sign him to a contract extension earlier this season. "My first choice is to have work," Barry said Friday before facing the Nuggets at KeyArena. Brent and Jon Barry have been in the league together since 1995 but have never been on the same team, and with Jon on a one year contract even if Brent did come aboard this still isn't guaranteed. It is, however, a nice theory. "We haven't talked about it, but I don't think either of us would be against something like that," Brent said. "It would be an interesting scenario. "It would be a lot of fun for our wives and our kids. Having a chance to spend time together would be really worthwhile, but obviously nothing like that has happened to this point." If the Sonics have their way, Jon and Brent will have to continue their long-distance relationship. Brent Barry's importance to Seattle has been highlighted during the team's recent late-season surge. The Sonics lost 15 of 20 games while Barry was sidelined because of a broken hand, and they went on a six-game win streak after he returned from a hip injury. "He's a big part of this team. He's equal to Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis," Seattle coach Nate McMillan said. "Our plans are to re-sign him. He's the leader of this team." "Not just me, but I think it's attractive for a lot of free agents in the league to see what (general manager) Kiki Vandeweghe's been able to do with the franchise in a short period of time," Barry said. Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Playoff talk returns to SeattleHow good would the Sonics have been this season without injuries to Brent Barry and Ray Allen? Could they have won 45 games, a number that would give a Western Conference team a solid shot at the playoffs? "It's hard to say, but our chances of getting there would have been better," said Sonics coach Nate McMillan, who lost the two guards for 49 games total. Whatever the answer, McMillan believes his team should focus on what it has been doing right during its current five-game win streak instead of wondering what might have been. "We need to keep doing what we've been doing," he said. "Play together; defensively we've been better containing the rebounds and disrupting while we have solid floor play. It goes back to Brent Barry quarterbacking, running the offense and making big shots when we have droughts." The Sonics' season-high streak has the players chiming in about playoff hopes again. Not that they really gave up, but it was difficult to talk postseason in the midst of a six-game losing streak. "Honestly, I haven't had it on my mind because we've been talking about it the whole season and we've been underachieving," forward Rashard Lewis said. "I don't want to think about it and start losing again. I just want to take it one game at a time and wake up one morning two games out of the playoffs." Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Mar 2004 Archive
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