Gary Payton may not be as sensitive as his teammate Vin Baker, but he's not deaf. Payton had to hear all the whispers about him last summer. He was too old, not a good teammate, and would never lead the Sonics back to contention.

Instead of getting mad, Payton got even. He entered training camp with a new, better-built physique but more importantly a new attitude. Before the season, some fans were making guesses on when Payton would first 'blow up' at a coach or teammate and be suspended, as he had been twice the previous season. It's going on nine months, and we're still waiting. I'm not going to sit here and suggest that Payton will be winning awards for being a good teammate any time in the near future, but the makeover in his off-the-court personality was nothing short of stunning. Earl Watson talked about what Payton had taught him, while Payton spoke publicly about Watson possibly being his successor.

Funny how we never heard that kind of exchange between Payton and Ruben Patterson.

Let me stop for a moment to give some credit to Nate McMillan. At times, I've probably come off as overly critical of the man who guides the organization. And I think he has his faults, but these are more then compensated for by his many strengths. Foremost amongst these, in my opinion, is McMillan's ability to deal with players. As I see it from afar, McMillan has pursued the perfect strategy in dealing with Payton. His predecessor, Paul Westphal, went wrong from the start by deferring to Payton and trying to act like his friend. It was all too evident where the power lay in their relationship in November of 2000 when Payton was suspended for arguing with Westphal in a huddle, but the suspension didn't last the day.

Westphal was pursuing a similar relationship to the one he had with his star player in Phoenix, Charles Barkley, but Payton operates in an entirely different manner. He doesn't need a coach he likes; he needs a coach he respects. When McMillan stepped into the head coach, despite having an interim label over his head for the first four months, he acted like Payton's superior -- which, of course, he was. At no point was this more evident than on January 18 when Payton was suspended again for his conduct during and after a game against the Phoenix Suns during which he fought with Patterson, and one point needing to be separated by the Suns' Jason Kidd. Payton was suspended and though he and McMillan talked out their differences during a meeting that night, the suspension stuck this time.

This past summer, McMillan told Payton that he needed to change his ways. It was both a plea from a friend (from McMillan's playing days) and also a demand from a coach who might well have been Payton's only supporter left behind closed doors, even if there was a vocal bunch left on the internet.

Back to Payton; not only was he a better teammate, he was clearly a better player than he had been the season before. His field-goal percentage was up 11 points, his free-throw percentage a career-high 79.7%, and his two-point percentage recovered after a down season.

More importantly, Payton distributed better than he had at any previous point in his career, recording career-bests of 9.0 assists per game (third in the league) and 3.53 assists for every turnover (bettered by only six regulars). With improved players around him, Payton shot less and did a better job of setting up those other players.

He did it all while playing all 82 games for the seventh straight season, the only Sonic to achieve that feat and one of only 42 in the league. Topping 40 minutes per game for the fourth straight season, Payton's 3,301 minutes were the second-highest total of his career and sixth in the NBA. On a team that was beset with injuries much of the season, Payton's durability and toughness were a welcome change from Rashard Lewis, who wondered if the playoffs were worth playing in with a sprained ankle, and Baker, who seemed to come up with a new injury every week. Payton's 82 games played were not the result of some miraculous luck avoiding injuries; in March, he played with a back injury that would have sidelined any other player on the team.

From the tip-off on opening night to his removal with the Sonics hopelessly behind in the second half of game five against San Antonio, Payton played every minute as if it was his last.

What more can be asked of a basketball player than Payton delivered last season?

And still it's not enough for the Sonics, who have made it fairly clear that they would like to keep their options for next season's free agent bonanza. Howard Schultz seemed more willing to consider an extension when he was quoted in the Seattle Times last month, but no word of any formal negotiations has yet leaked out.

In the past, I've noted why I don't expect the Sonics to be able to sign a big-name free agent next summer, which would leave them in the potentially precarious position of having to return to Payton after leaving him out in the cold in favor of some younger player, not unlike a wife who is asked by her husband to return after an affair.

Here's an entirely different take on next summer. What if the Sonics don't have the money to sign a top-tier free agent? It's not as unlikely as it seems -- depending on what happens in the next few weeks with Jerome James and Lewis. After the Sonics officially pick up their team options on Desmond Mason and Peja Drobnjak, they will have $26 million or so committed to six players -- Brent Barry, Mason, Vladimir Radmanovic, Baker, Drobnjak, and Calvin Booth.

A trickier thing to project is the salary cap. Last year it was $42.5 million, and it is not expected to budge an inch this year. For the sake of following the thought experiment, let's suppose that for the 2003-04 season, the cap increases to $45 million -- a bit pessimistic, perhaps, but certainly not impossible.

That gives the Sonics $19 million to play with, which sure seems like an awful lot -- more than enough to sign Jason Kidd, Tim Duncan, Jermaine O'Neal, or any of a number of other potentially unrestricted free agents. But remember that each free agent the Sonics sign for two or more years this season cuts into that total, none deeper than Lewis. My current estimation is that Lewis signs a contract that starts at about $8 million, meaning it would be about $9 million for the 2003-04 season.

Wham. $10 million. Suddenly, things are getting tighter if you're going to dabble in free agency. What about James? If he returns, he's sure to get about $4 million for his second season.

Bam. $6 million. Uh-oh; that's barely more than the median exception! And what of Earl Watson or Ansu Sesay?

Want to hear something even more frightening if you've been dreaming of Kidd in green and gold? Here goes . . . if the Sonics make the trade that was rumored with New York involving Baker, they'd actually be worse off capwise for the 2003-04 season. Shammond Williams will be off the cap then, but Kurt Thomas, Charlie Ward, and Travis Knight still on it. For the hard math, the Sonics would subtract another $2,324,125 from their summer of '03 cap room if they made that trade. James could leave and still the Sonics would not have enough room for a max free agent!

Re-signing Payton becomes more and more ideal the less cap space the Sonics possess, because they can go over the cap to sign him thanks to their "Bird" rights to him.

Now all of this depends on a $45 million cap, and that's a fairly random guess on my part. (My Accounting professor, who was hilarious, had a great term for these -- scientific wild-ass guess -- which, in my opinion, accurately describes what I've done.) It could be higher . . . but then again, the NBA might try to hold the cap at $42.5 million again. And I don't have to tell you what that would do the Sonics' plan.

Sure, I can hear the retort of those who are gung-ho about getting into free agency. Let James loose. Don't trade Baker. And if it's necessary, sign-and-trade Lewis to Chicago or Washington.

But where does it stop? How many players would we have to sacrifice for Kidd? And exactly how much better is he than Payton? Sure, Payton will be 34 later on this month (remind me to throw a party), but he's aged pretty slowly thus far. Bucking the trend that players peak at approximately 27 years of age, Payton has been better post-30 than he was as a relative youngin'.

The best season of Payton's career, in my humble opinion, was the 1999-2000 season, when he put a weak supporting cast on his back for a playoff berth. (Also, he suddenly became an excellent rebounder for one season, a remarkable statistical fluke.) I wouldn't agree with the pros who have said last year was his best season, but I'd probably put it top three. Considering the off-the-court change in Payton's demeanor (which, incidentally, was not evident on-court; Payton had 14 technicals each year, though Baker cut his from 14 to three last season), I can see last year as the second-best season of Payton's career.

We are talking about a player who keeps himself in top physical shape and is one of the toughest players in his sport. Payton is not about to pull a Ken Griffey, Jr. and suddenly see his performance drop off mid-career. A far better comparison is John Stockton, who literally played against a point guard half his age last season (Stockton is 40; the San Antonio Spurs' Tony Parker is 19) and yet has remained one of the league's most efficient and effective point guards well into his late 30's thanks to reduced minutes.

Such an arrangement is possible in Seattle. We all know that Payton, if he stays around, can't play 40 minutes forever. Getting a backup capable of 20 minutes a night is not that difficult. The real problem lies in convincing McMillan that he can leave Payton on the bench for 20 minutes a night without committing coaching suicide.

But ultimately, the decision on Payton's future is not McMillan's to make. It lies in the hands primarily of Howard Schultz and Wally Walker, the public faces of this organization. Since taking over, the new ownership group has preached about the importance of fan-friendly players.

Who's the most popular Sonic? Mason's soaring jams and Barry's witty quips be damned, it's Payton who receives the loudest applause when he is introduced last -- no coincidence -- at each KeyArena game.

They've preached embracing the past.

Which Sonic player exemplifies that more than Payton? He's the only player left from the 1996 Finals team, let alone the team that lost to Denver in '94 or the one that made the Western Conference Finals in '93. And, historically speaking, Payton has after 11 seasons left his mark all over the record book officially and unofficially as the team's best player.

They've thought about marketability.

What player do you think fans in New York, in Chicago, in Miami, in Houston, in LA know? I don't think any of them connect the Sonics and the virtually-anonymous Lewis. No, it's Payton who serves as the face of the Sonics to the world.

An extension is the right thing to do and the smart thing to do.

Just do it.

Kevin Pelton has served as beat writer, columnist, editor, copy editor, and webmaster for SonicsCentral.com since its inception. He also writes a weekly column for Hoopsworld.com and is a student at the University of Washington in his spare time. The Candid Corner is updated every Monday. Kevin can be reached at kpelton@sonicscentral.com. All opinions expressed in this column are solely the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of other columnists or the SonicsCentral.com staff.

Got an opinion on this column? Discuss it in the SonicsCentral message boards.

Back to the Candid Corner Archive

Read Kevin's Column at Hoopsworld.com