[1] The SuperSonics received the seventeenth overall pick in the 2000 NBA draft, and selected Desmond Mason out of Oklahoma State University.
[2][3][4][5][6] With the hopes of improving the team in the middle, the Sonics acquired All-Star center Patrick Ewing from the New York Knicks in a four-team trade,[7][8][9][10][11] and signed free agent Pervis Ellison.
Head coach Paul Westphal was fired after a 6–9 start, and was replaced with former Sonics guard Nate McMillan.
[16] Gary Payton averaged 23.1 points, 8.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team, and the NBA All-Defensive First Team, while Rashard Lewis showed improvement stepping into the lineup averaging 14.8 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.
[25][26][27][28][29] Also following the season, Patterson signed with the Portland Trail Blazers,[30][31][32] and Ellison retired.