Seattle Perspective: Ainge Enamored Of Barry

[wayray@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Barry isn't going to come cheap, as Seattle apparently turned down
Crawford and Fizer for Radmanovic and him...

Sonics shop Barry as deadline looms 
FRANK HUGHES; The News Tribune 
At the same time the Seattle SuperSonics are believed to be ready to increase an offer for a contract extension to Brent Barry, they are expanding their discussions with other teams about trading the injured guard. 
Sonics general manager Rick Sund spoke with Barry's agent, Arn Tellem, on Tuesday morning, according to sources. It is believed Sund told Tellem the Sonics would be willing to make a contract offer of three years and $15 million. The Sonics previously told Tellem they thought Barry would command a two-year, $10 million deal on the open market.
However, the Sonics also know that Barry is adamant about receiving a four-year contract, something other teams have told Tellem they would offer when Barry becomes a free agent this summer. A four-year deal starting at the mid-level exception of $5 million would be worth approximately $23 million.
Knowing the guard's wishes, the Sonics are beginning to get more serious in discussions about trading Barry because they do not want to see him walk via free agency and get nothing in return.
Some of the more serious talks, according to a league source in the Eastern Conference, have been between the Sonics and the Toronto Raptors.
According to the source, the Sonics are discussing sending Barry and Vladimir Radmanovic to the Raptors for Donyell Marshall and Morris Peterson.
Such a trade would answer the Sonics' need for a legitimate power forward, and would give them an additional outside presence in Morris, a left-handed shooting guard.
The Sonics still have an offer on the table from the Boston Celtics, who have told Seattle they are willing to take Barry for Chris Mills. That deal would be strictly a money-saving move for Seattle because Mills, injured and out for the season, would have 80 percent of the remaining portion of his $6.6 million salary paid by insurance. The bottom line is that the Sonics could save about $1.75 million by making the move.
However, a source had indicated that Boston general manager Danny Ainge is so enamored of Barry that he is considering expanding the discussions to include more players.
Although which players Ainge is willing to discuss could not be ascertained, it is possible he might be willing to take one of Seattle's overpaid, redundant centers as enticement to trade.
Other teams that have expressed interest in Barry are the Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets.
Meanwhile, the Sonics are fielding offers from other teams about Radmanovic, Ronald Murray and Jerome James, all of whom are expendable.
It is known the Sonics and Memphis Grizzlies have had serious discussions in the past week, although a source indicated those talks have broken off.
If the Sonics are able to acquire Marshall, it would be a departure from their build-for-the-future model and a sign they have given up on Radmanovic. Teammate Ray Allen told The News Tribune this week that Radmanovic was not working out at power forward.
Marshall is a soon-to-be 31-year-old power forward from Connecticut who has 10 years in the league. He signed a free-agent contract with Chicago in the offseason, then was traded to Toronto, along with Jalen Rose and Lonny Baxter, on Dec. 1.
At 6-foot-9 and 230 pounds, Marshall is averaging 14.8 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.78 blocked shots in 50 games, although those numbers are somewhat skewed because he played less time in Chicago than in Toronto. With the Raptors, he is averaging 17.7 points and 10.4 rebounds.
When the Sonics defeated the Raptors in the final game before the All-Star break, Marshall had 16 points and 17 rebounds in 42 minutes.
Peterson, 26, was a candidate for rookie of the year three seasons ago, but his career has declined since - in part because the Raptors have been such a bad team in recent years. He is averaging 7.7 points and 2.9 rebounds in 22.5 minutes, although he leads the Raptors in 3-point shooting.