 Oklahoma City WiretapTime to trade Booth for BradleyI've got the perfect solution for a situation in which two teams are relatively unhappy with the status quo. I know it's early, but trade Calvin Booth for Shawn Bradley. After all, neither center is playing for their respective teams, neither team is enamored with their long-term signings and the trade is very viable. First, in Seattle. Booth signed this summer for $34 million over six seasons. He was supposed to be the Sonics' answer for their void in the middle, a shot-blocking big man with a little offensive skill. So far, Booth has played a grand total of 279 minutes. He is averaging 6.2 points (4.6 if you take away his one big game of 24 points), 3.6 rebounds and, worst of all, less than a block a game. He is getting almost more fouls a game (3.1) than boards. Granted, Booth has been injured, suffering from a sprained ankle and subsequent tendinitis, but, as Sonics coach Nate McMillan said about him, "I feel like if you are able to go, then you are healthy. I don't try to force guys to play. I talk about playing with pain, but if you feel like it is going to hamper you in any way, then you don't play." There has been an undercurrent of rumblings among the team that Booth is giving them nothing. And they are actually playing well with undersized Art Long in the post. In Dallas, Bradley, who was rewarded with a seven-year, $30 million deal in the summer, has not played in the Mavericks' past six games because he has been so ineffective. In 23 games, he has averaged 5.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.57 blocks, leading to some grumbling from his teammates as well. "If we're going to improve on last year, Shawn's got to be a big part of it," Dallas co-captain Michael Finley said. "You can learn a lot sitting on the bench. If he has any love in his heart for this game and love for the guys on this team, I'm sure what he saw from the bench will help him." Dallas loved Booth when he played there last season, particularly after he hit the big shot that enabled the Mavericks to come back from a 2-0 deficit to Utah in the playoffs and win the five-game series. Mavs owner Mark Cuban said he would do whatever it took to keep Booth, but he could not circumvent salary cap rules and match Seattle's offer of $4.539 million this season. Well, he can have Booth back now. Bradley makes $4.5 million, so the players' salaries are close enough to work under the league's stringent trade rules. At 7 feet 6, Bradley would give Seattle the inside presence they have been looking for, and have still been unable to find. He does not demand the ball, he has stretches of decent play - which is why the Mavs gave him such a big contract - and he can change a game with his height. Granted, it is not like the Sonics are finding a diamond in the rough. Bradley is what he is: big, soft and occasionally intimidating. But so far, Booth has been just big and soft. Making the deal may or may not help, but it certainly couldn't hurt. - - - * Reach staff writer Frank Hughes at 253-597-8742, ext. 6120, or frank.hughes@mail.tribnet.com - - - Around the league: WESTERN CONFERENCE A Rocket on the rise Houston's Eddie Griffin, the fourth-youngest player in the league (after Eddy Curry, Tyson Chandler and Gerald Wallace) had been making 29.7 percent of his shots. But because half the Rockets are injured, Griffin made three starts last week and averaged 19 points, 9.7 rebounds and two blocked shots, and made 22-of-45 shots (48.9 percent). "He was sensational," Houston guard Moochie Norris said of Griffin's breakthrough week. "Eddie is stepping up. Once again, he's a gunslinger. He knows he can take those shots out there. He knows he can block shots. He knows he can play this level. We believe in him. The coaching staff believes in him. And he believes in himself." Miles away, but still there Minnesota's injured point guard, Terrell Brandon, gets bored watching his teammates play on television. So he created an inventive form of support. "I'm always two-waying, paging everybody during timeouts,'' Brandon said. "They don't get the messages until after the game, but I'm always two-waying guys with 'Good play.' Chauncey (Billups) dunks two-hands against New Jersey, I page, 'Good dunk, man!'So I'm always with them. They feel me. They know how much I love them and how much I amÊa part of this organization, so I don't feel detached at all.'' Um, come again? After New Jersey's Kenyon Martin flagrantly fouled Utah's Karl Malone last week, a play for which Martin was suspended, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said: "Our team has been considered a dirty team for a long time, but I don't ever remember us being involved in any situation like that," he said. Somehow, Sloan forgot that Malone has been suspended four times - for hitting Isiah Thomas with an elbow (1991-92), for hitting David Robinson in the head with an elbow (1997-98), for taking a swing at Vancouver's Othella Harrington (1998-99) and for "backhanding" Dallas' Christian Laettner in the face while posting up (2000-2001). Road tests coming for Clippers Yes, the Los Angeles Clippers are off to a great start. But through Jan. 1, they'll have been home for 22-of-30 games. Afterward, they'll be on the road for 16-of-21 through the All-Star break, and 9-of-13 after it for a grand total of 25-of-38 on the road. How the mighty have fallen If the playoffs started today, the Blazers wouldn't qualify for the first time since 1982. Does anyone look in the mirror? After Shawn Marion dunked on the Blazers in a game that the Suns held control of, some Blazers players took offense. Said Ruben Patterson: "We all seen that. We'll all remember that. Next time he tries to dunk against us, somebody will put him on his head." Patterson forgets that he tried to dunk on the Sonics in the closing seconds of Portland's blowout of Seattle earlier this month. Sweet music, sweet friend The Kings' Chris Webber recently played in front of family and friends. Among the "friends" was supermodel Tyra Banks. - - - Around the league: EASTERN CONFERENCE Davis still suffering Former Sonics guard Emanual Davis, who now plays for Atlanta, still is suffering from the accident he had on the Sonics' team plane that caused him to contract Bell's Palsy. Two and a half weeks ago, Davis was elbowed by Allen Iverson of the 76ers.ÊThe effect was instantaneous, what they call post-concussion syndrome. Davis lost his balance and his wits. "Allen grabbed me," Davis said, "and asked me, 'Are you OK?' Well, I wasn't. I could hardly keep my balance."ÊÊ He has not been able to play since. Smooth move, Jerry Apparently, Tim Floyd's breaking point came when the Bulls were activating Ron Artest and Floyd wanted to put little-used Dalibor Bagaric on the injured list. Problem is, Bagaric was drafted by Jerry Krause and is Krause's pet project, so Krause ignored Floyd and placed A.J. Guyton on the injured list instead, even though the Bulls have only one point guard. Grasping at straws, err, dreads Miami's Brian Grant cut his dreadlocks, hoping it would snap him out of his season-long malaise. "Each and every player on the team has to look at his performance and decide if they're giving the team everything that they can give," said Grant, averaging under 10 points and about seven rebounds. "I'm admitting it, putting it out there. I'm telling you right now, you're not getting Brian Grant out there. Like missing layups and everything. It's frustrating stuff." By the way, the Heat is the only team not to reach 100 points in a game this season. Maybe MJ can make a call to help Washington's Richard Hamilton ordered a Microsoft Xbox video game system from a store in San Antonio because he could not find one in any of the other places he looked. After purchasing the Xbox, he had it shipped to his home in Maryland. When his little brother opened the gift box Christmas morning, he dug through the Styrofoam packaging only to find two San Antonio phone. - - - Rim shots books and no Xbox. "I couldn't believe it," Hamilton said. "Tim Floyd was in an impossible situation. He didn't do anything wrong. Maybe taking the job." - Orlando coach Doc Rivers "If someone wants to offer us $700 million, I'm sure I can have my desk cleared out in a few hours." - Celtics CEO Rich Pond, referring to the sale of the Red Sox. The art of almost Zen ... but trying Before the Pistons' game in Seattle last week, Jerry Stackhouse was reading "Anatomy of the Spirit," by Carolyn Myss. "I've got my own little Zen thing," Stackhouse said, referring to the Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who likes to hand out books to his players. Of course, less than an hour later, Stackhouse was getting himself tossed out of the game in the second quarter. The Zen lessons are going slowly. - - - Frank's Five Staff writer Frank Hughes' five best centers in the NBA: 1. Shaquille O'Neal - Most dominant player in the game. 2. Vlade Divac - A big reason for Sacramento's success in Chris Webber's absence. 3. Jermaine O'Neal - Undersized, but a star of the future. 4. Dikembe Mutombo - One of the best shot blockers ever. 5. David Robinson - A shadow of what he once was. Oklahoma City, Dallas Mavericks, General Basketball Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Sonics duck injured stars with uncommon timingThis is not to suggest that the Seattle SuperSonics' record is not deserved, but the Sonics certainly have serendipitously benefited from injuries to others. In their 31 games, the Sonics have played 11 games against teams who were missing their star players. It started in the season opener against Sacramento, when the Sonics played the Kings, who were without Chris Webber. Since, they have played Denver without Antonio McDyess, Houston without Steve Francis, the Los Angeles Lakers without Shaquille O'Neal, Milwaukee without Glenn Robinson, Miami without Alonzo Mourning, Orlando without Tracy McGrady and Grant Hill, the Kings again without Webber, Detroit without Jerry Stackhouse, the Los Angeles Clippers without Lamar Odom and Toronto without Vince Carter on Saturday night. In the games against Houston, Milwaukee, Sacramento the second time and Toronto, the player got hurt the day before playing the Sonics. O'Neal and Stackhouse were ejected in the first half against the Sonics, and McGrady was injured in the first quarter. "That's part of the game," Sonics coach Nate McMillan said. "They have had us without Vin (Baker), and us without (Desmond) Mason. I've said all along that when we had all our injuries, you have to make adjustments. There is nothing you can do about it. I just hope we can take advantage of it." McMillan, however, said he does feel sympathy for the fans who came to KeyArena to see some of the game's best players. "As good as (Carter) is and as much as he does, I want the advantage," McMillan said. "But I am a fan of the game. I like to see the guy play. And I'm sure our fans were looking forward to him playing against us. So there is sort of an empty feeling (because) he won't play." After the Toronto game, the Sonics have five days between games. They play again Jan. 4, when they play host to the Philadelphia 76ers. "I think two days is enough time off between games," McMillan said. "To have five days off, and a holiday in between where you can't practice, it's almost like wasting days. I would rather use those days somewhere else, like earlier in the season." Lip service - When Rashard Lewis got an elbow in the face Thursday night from the Clippers' Corey Maggette, he said he knew it was bad when he felt his lip with his tongue and his tongue went all the way through the hole and out the front. Lewis had to get 10 shots to dull the pain, then got eight stitches from the doctor. Payton falls behind - Even though he is having his best statistical season of his career, Sonics point guard Gary Payton is third in the All-Star balloting of Western Conference guards. Not only that, but while Houston's Francis (second place, behind Kobe Bryant of the Lakers) has been injured for a month, he increased his lead over Payton, who was named the Western Conference's player of the week. "I think it's a great honor," Francis said. "It's one of every players' goals to win a championship and play in an All-Star Game. With me not playing in a month, it shows people were taking notice of my play. I think a lot of the national publicity and the things I did last year are helping me." Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Sonics win sixth straightWith six days before their next game, the Seattle SuperSonics should have everybody back from injuries the next time they play. But the way things are going now, they may not want to fiddle with their chemistry. Using a solid team performance, the Sonics won their sixth consecutive game with a convincing 101-75 victory over the Vince Carter-less Toronto Raptors before a sellout crowd at KeyArena on Saturday night. The Raptors lost Carter, one of the top five players in the league, when he strained his left shoulder in a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night. "They did what they were supposed to do. They played well, they took advantage of us," Raptors coach Lenny Wilkens said. "It was like running in sand." It was the 11th time this season the Sonics have played a team that was missing its star player, and they continued to take advantage of it, stringing together the current second-best winning streak in the league, behind Dallas' nine-gamer. That does not take into account that every team that comes into KeyArena these days seems as if it has played the night before, or is on the end of a long road trip. Perhaps that is the reason that of the six victories, five have come by double digits, two by at least 20 points. "That happened to us early in the year," guard Gary Payton said. "That's just basketball. We can't worry about that. We have to worry about when we go out on the floor, doing what we need to do to get us better. And that is what we have been doing." The schedule continues to favor Seattle when the Sonics return from the New Year's break - Philadelphia comes to town to finish a six-game, 12-day trip. That game concludes a stretch of games in which Seattle played six of seven games at home and with plenty of rest. After the Sixers game, the Sonics play nine of 13 games on the road in 26 days, a string of games that will go a long way in determining their fate in the race for a playoff berth. "We don't want to settle for being mediocre," Sonics guard Brent Barry said. "We know January is going to be tough. We just have to regroup after New Year's, take some aspirin on the 1st and get ready for a tough month." They should do it with the services of centers Calvin Booth and Jerome James, both of whom have been practicing and seem on pace to return. But in improving to 16-15 and moving into a tie with the Utah Jazz for the eighth-best record in the Western Conference, the Sonics had more than enough firepower Saturday night. Vin Baker helped spoil Wilkens' return to the city where he played and coached with 21 points on 10-of-15 shooting and six rebounds. Ever since Baker suffered partially torn ligaments in his right thumb earlier this month, he has played extremely well. He dominated the Raptors' Antonio Davis inside, and held Davis, an All-Star last season, to six points and five rebounds. "He's played well," Sonics coach Nate McMillan said. "I think he has played his best basketball the last two weeks for this team probably since the first year he got here. He is getting low in the paint, and he is finishing." Payton followed up his 43-point outburst Thursday with a solid 18-point, 11-assist, six-rebound effort in a season-low 32 minutes. And Rashard Lewis, whose lip is still fat after catching an elbow Thursday, had 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting. The Raptors kept the game close through one quarter, riding the play of Morris Peterson and Keon Clark, trailing by four points after 12 minutes. But the Sonics exploded thereafter, starting the second quarter with a 21-8 run that helped send Seattle to the locker room with a 57-36 lead, Toronto's largest halftime deficit of the season. By the end of the game, Seattle's bench players were on the floor and its starters were on the bench, leading a throng of cheers for some unconventional showtime. On one play, lumbering forward Predrag Drobnjak executed a reverse layup that brought the crowd to its feet. Then, he grabbed a rebound at the other end, dribbled the length of the floor and dished off a no-look pass to Shammond Williams. Williams then threw a no-looker to Olumide Oyedeji, but the Nigerian had a nightmare, missing a point-blank layup. It was about the only thing that went wrong all game. - - - * Reach staff writer Frank Hughes at 253-597-8742, ext. 6120, or frank.hughes@mail.tribnet.com - - - Sonics 101, Raptors 75 Friday: vs. Philadelphia, 7 p.m., KONG, 950-AM - - - SIDEBAR: Game in review Sonics 101, Raptors 75 KEY STAT - While the Sonics shot 51 percent from the floor, the Raptors missed their first 14 3-point attempts. They finished 4-for-21 from behind the arc. Dell Curry, one of the best shooters in the league, missed all six of his 3s. STAR OF THE GAME - Predrag Drobnjak may never again have the highlight reel stuff of Saturday night, when he made a reverse layup and then dribbled the length of the court and dished a no-look pass. His 11 points and six boards earn him the honor. TURNING POINT - In the second quarter, with Toronto's Eric Montross and Carlos Arroyo on the floor, the Sonics went on a 21-8 run to take control of the game. KEY OBSERVATION - With a free throw at the end of the first quarter, Gary Payton scored his 16,000th career point. He currently is in 70th place on the NBA's all-time scoring list, passing Kiki Vandeweghe. "I never thought about it when I first got to the NBA," Payton said. "When I retire, I'll probably look at it in a different way." QUOTABLE - "I don't know much about what they have done lately. It's obvious they have a little thing going on offensively and little thing defensively." - Toronto's Keon Clark. NEXT - Friday, 7 p.m., vs. Philadelphia 76ers, KeyArena. Oklahoma City, Toronto Raptors Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Dec 2001 Archive
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