Author: Austin Kent

In 2003, Allen is as far removed from winning his first title with the Boston Celtics (2008) as he is from filming He Got Game (1998). This is the Ray Allen that, though technically just entering his prime, history has seemed to have forgotten.

A year and a half removed from playing in Game 7 in the 2001 Eastern Conference Finals, Milwaukee has a considerably less promising forecast in 2003 — the addition of Anthony Mason allegedly impacted team chemistry. Still, Allen – just 27 years old – has made a name for himself as a consistent, All-Star caliber talent, and the Bucks are an annual playoff threat.

Even at the time, the decision to part with Allen was a questionable one, but the most optimistic Bucks supporter might argue that the high-flying Mason’s name carried certain veritable weight. A 23-year-old Michael Redd waiting in the wings to replace Allen presumably helped too⁴.

Alas, the final packages exchanged ended up being Payton and Mason for Allen, Kevin Ollie, Flip Murray, and a conditional first-round pick that ultimately became Luke Ridnour at No. 14. Considering that Payton played just 28 games for the Bucks before signing with Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, and the Los Angeles Lakers the next summer, it’s hard to rate the deal as anything but a disaster for the citizens of Wisconsin.

Hindsight tells us many things, but one detail worth noting is that Payton’s eventual decline arrived quickly and happened swiftly. Though we’ll excuse the Hall-of-Famer for failing to crack the 15-point-per-game plateau alongside Bryant and O’Neal, he was promptly cast aside as a ring chaser, his production diminishing predictably in each subsequent year before he finally won a title off the bench with the Miami Heat in 2006.

The other major parties in the deal would go on to have long – and in Allen’s case illustrious – careers. Mason never did end up being the franchise-leading star the Bucks may have hoped he would become, but his was a respectable career worth remembering in its own right.

Perhaps it was a fear that Allen wouldn’t ultimately re-sign in Milwaukee that worried the Bucks enough to deal the biggest third of the Allen-Glenn Robinson–Sam Cassell Big Three. Perhaps it was overconfidence in Redd’s and/or Mason’s ability to fill his shoes. Nobody can say for sure.

Regardless, the following years yielded little for Milwaukee but early playoff exits until those too fell by the wayside, ushering in the eventual arrival of 2005 No. 1 pick Andrew Bogut and several more years of disappointment.

As for the Sonics, a team that hadn’t finished below .500 since 1987 (15 years before the trade), they immediately petered off. The franchise won just 43% of its games from 2003 to 2008 (which includes an aberrational 52-30 campaign in 2004-05) before relocating to Oklahoma City, just in time to watch Allen win a title in Beantown.

Don’t blame Allen alone for Seattle’s fall from grace — teammates Calvin Booth and Jerome James did little to instill confidence while they started alongside him. Nonetheless, it was an unfortunate end to an era of basketball in the proud city.

While the now-legendary sharpshooter ended up getting the last laugh, playing a vital role with multiple championship contenders in Boston and Miami, there’s nothing quite like the legacy Gary Payton left behind in Seattle. Given what happened next to the franchise, there never will be.

Footnotes:

1. Also, the 999^th time! Which is neat.
2. I refer half-heartedly to Orlando Magic era Shawn Kemp during his Fat Elvis phase.
3. Payton sits just 646 ahead of No. 2 Kevin Durant in all-time points scored for the franchise. Russell Westbrook sits fourth, more than 4,000 behind.
4. By 2003/04, Redd would embark on a six-year streak of averaging 20-plus PPG for Milwaukee.