Looking Back On the Gary Payton/Ray Allen Trade

It marked the end of an era. And, it changed the dynamic of a franchise.

When the SuperSonics opened the 2002-03 season, they won eight of their first 10 games. Gary Payton was in his 13th season with the franchise. He was THE face of Sonics, and of Seattle itself. 

However, he was also set to become a free agent at the end of the season. So, in a deal at the trade deadline, the Sonics were involved in a five-player swap that sent the Glove and Desmond Mason to Milwaukee for Ray Allen, Kevin Ollie and Ronald Murray.

Here’s the ESPN.com story from that season (also, how far has the internet come since 2003?).

Payton would only play 28 games for the Bucks before signing with the Lakers as a free agent, while Ray Allen finished that year and played four more seasons with the Sonics where he had the best scoring seasons of his career, averaging 23 points per game or more each year. 

Because of the way Allen went on to flourish in Seattle, USA Today would later rank the trade as one of the worst trade deadline deals of all time for the way it worked out for Milwaukee.

For Sonics fans, though, this is a bit of a bittersweet deal even now. 

If you grew up loving the Sonics, you loved GP. You loved his swagger. You loved the way he played defense. You loved the trash talking and the lobs to Shawn Kemp. He set Seattle’s personality during his time with the Sonics. So, when he left, it felt a little bit like having your best friend move away. Ray Allen was the new kid in town. And, while he was exciting to watch…You still missed Payton.

However, the story takes a twist. Allen was pure electricity and brought the Sonics a scoring threat unlike anything Seattle had ever seen. He was an All-Star in each full season he played with the Sonics. He injected as much joy as he could into the games, leading in some fun teams and an outstanding playoff run in 2005.

It’s unfortunate that the end of Allen’s entire tenure in Seattle overlapped with Howard Schultz’s sale of the franchise. New management, determined to suck the life out of Seattle’s team, flipped Ray to Boston after the 2007 season (during which he averaged a career-high 26.4 points per game). It was just an all-around rough time to be a Sonics fan. 

It’s interesting that, even now, there are still Kevin Durant jerseys roaming around Seattle, and the Glove is still as beloved as ever among Sonics fans, but Ray Allen’s tenure doesn’t have the same shine on it. 

And, in many ways, that’s too bad. There have only been a few players who had a three-point stroke as sweet as Allen’s and, during his time with the Sonics, he was a terrific all-around scorer. We’re determined to make sure Ray is remembered for what he is: an all-time Sonics great.

Now, looking back, as Sonics fans, what do you think of that trade years later?