"Hey, what are you doing here?" asks the first.

"Me? What about you?" responds the second.

"You've got to be kidding me," begins the first. "You were finished, done, kaput. The GM and owner came out in the paper and said you were gone. The owner ripped you in the P-I. You sold your house, for goodness' sakes."

"That's nothing," the second calmly answers. "You were rumored to be going to half the teams in the NBA if they would have given up anything of value in return. Heck, there was a website devoted to keeping you from getting traded."

"Hey," responded the first, "At least people want me here. I'm half surprised there wasn't a website devoted to trading your sorry self."

If you haven't figured it out by now, the first player is of course Sonic superstar Gary Payton, and the second down and out forward Vin Baker. Raise your hand out there if you would have believed on April 18, following the final game of the Sonics' 2000-2001 campaign against San Antonio, that both Payton and Baker would be here today. That's one bet that would have made a great deal of money.

At the time, of course, the Sonics were hoping to trade Baker as far away from Seattle as possible for basically anything. But, as they are apt to do, things changed rapidly over the summer. The market for power forwards who struggle in the post at both ends, demand to start, and have long term contracts at the max apparently isn't what the Sonics hoped it would be. As well, the club failed in its attempts to land a scoring big man in either the draft (small forward Vladimir Radmanovic instead) or free agency (defensive specialist Calvin Booth), and forward Ruben Patterson became even more than a headache than Baker after being charged with rape. All that meant that Baker was the Sonics' only viable post scoring option. And that meant that the reconciliation between Baker and the Sonics began, as he met with owner Howard Schultz on several occasions over the summer. By all accounts, Baker is in good shape after the summer, and should be healthy after August surgery on a troublesome right knee. Baker is the key to the Sonics' 2001-02 success.

It's partially the Sonics' fault that Payton, for better or worse, has developed a reputation around the NBA as a malcontent who is unwilling to work with young players. Many Sonics fans would debate the assertion, but its effect on the market for Payton is undeniable. There were three additional complications to any Payton deal. First off, Payton insisted that he would retire if traded to any Eastern conference team besides (alternatively) Miami, Milwaukee, and New York. Of course, the Sonics wanted Payton as far away as possible. Secondly, Payton, wanting to stay, refused to waive the trade kicker in his contract which increased his trade value by about 15%, making it more difficult to match salaries. Thirdly, only veteran teams were interested in Payton, and these clubs mostly did not have the young talent that the Sonics desired in return. These signs were all obvious in May, yet the Sonics insisted on leaving Payton in limbo, meaning his mindset for this season is a question mark. On the one hand, he could be motivated to prove the naysayers wrong. On the other, he could be a ticking time bomb.

Despite the fact that the Sonics are a rather youthful ballclub (with only Payton having more than 8 years experience), there appear to be few jobs up for grabs. Joining Payton, Baker, and Booth in the starting lineup will be forward Rashard Lewis and guard Desmond Mason -- both labeled (correctly or incorrectly) by fans as future stars. Off the bench, key guards will be Brent Barry and Shammond Williams, whenever Williams, a restricted free agent, actually comes to terms with the Sonics. Radmanovic and second year man Olumide Oyedeji will be the primary forwards off the bench, with Predrag Drobnjak and free agent signee Jerome James fighting for minutes behind Booth. Second round pick Earl Watson also seems assured of a spot on the roster.

With Wally Walker's insistence on keeping only 13 players, that means a stiff fight amongst the non-roster invitees to camp. These include former UCLA star JaRon Rush, who played on the Sonics' Summer League team, guard Tyson Wheeler, a near miss last season, guard Eddie Gill, who played briefly with New Jersey last season, forward Antonio Harvey, a Sonic for a couple of weeks during the 96-97 season and with Portland last year, veteran forward Art Long, who has spent time with Sacramento, and little-known forward Jamal Kendrick, who spent last season in the CBA with Grand Rapids. Rush, Gill, and Harvey appear to be the favorites to win the job.