Fortson fracas

Published 9:00 pm Thursday, March 10, 2005

SEATTLE – For the Seattle SuperSonics, home losses to the Phoenix Suns and Houston Rockets in recent days could be likened to bumps in the road.

On Thursday, the Sonics encountered something more akin to a chuckhole.

Danny Fortson, Seattle’s sometimes moody and sometimes volatile forward, was told to leave the team’s midday practice after an apparent verbal exchange with coach Nate McMillan. Though the incident occurred before the media was allowed into the workout and everyone was fairly tight-lipped later on, it evidently began with sharp words between Fortson and one of the team’s practice referees over a disputed call.

When Fortson evidently prolonged the argument, McMillan interjected some harsh words of his own. Moments later, Fortson was excused for the day.

Noticeably solemn when he met with reporters after practice, McMillan would say little about the incident. The gist of what he did say was that Fortson “should be at the game” tonight against Chicago.

But will Fortson play against the Bulls?

“We’ll see,” McMillan said, using words he repeated in response to subsequent questions.

In the past, McMillan has penalized players by keeping them on the bench a game or two for missing practice and other such sins, so that could happen to Fortson tonight. It is also possible, perhaps likely, that Fortson will be fined.

The irony of Thursday’s episode is that McMillan, in the aftermath of the Phoenix and Houston losses, addressed his squad at practice about the need for concentration, commitment and, above all, execution. In other words, on the same day the coach was giving a sermon intended to get all his players back on track, one of them was sent home for unruly behavior.

Still, none of this is altogether surprising, given Fortson’s checkered NBA history.

Though he has played well since coming to the Sonics in an offseason deal with Dallas, he has still been traded five times (a sixth trade was voided by the league because another of the players failed a physical) in his eight NBA seasons. At each stop, Fortson wore out his welcome with some of the same misdeeds that have already occurred in Seattle.

In his career, he has been suspended four times by the league – one game in 2001-02 for exceeding five flagrant foul points (an automatic suspension); three games in 2003-04 for pushing Phoenix’s Zarko Cabarkapa, causing him to fall and suffer a broken wrist; one game on Nov. 14 of this season for elbowing Toronto’s Chris Bosh; and two games on Feb. 11 and Feb. 13 for throwing a chair after being ejected from a previous game against Sacramento.

In addition, Fortson was suspended for the final four games of the season with Golden State in 2002-03 by then-coach Eric Musselman for conduct detrimental to the team.

Over the last several weeks, Fortson’s playing time and production have dipped considerably from the season’s first few months. He played in 33 of Seattle’s first 35 games this season (missing one for his suspension and one with injury), and averaged 9.6 points and 6.6 rebounds. While playing in 18 of the team’s last 24 games (missing two due to his suspension and four to tend to his ailing grandmother in Pennsylvania), Fortson has averaged 5.1 points and 4.9 rebounds a game.

Asked specifically on Thursday if something was going on with Fortson, McMillan said only, “No.”

Fortson wasn’t available for comment. His teammates, meanwhile, tended to shrug off the incident.

“Throughout the course of the year,” guard Antonio Daniels said, “you’ll have differences of opinion. You’ll have ego problems. You’ll have blowups. That’s part of (being on a team). It’s like being in a family. Everyone doesn’t always get along with others in the family, whether it’s your wife, your brother, your sister or whoever it may be.

“I consider it to be a small disagreement that we just need to put to the side and move forward and worry about Chicago,” he said.