SEATTLE – The day after he dropped 26 points on the United States national team in a pre-Olympic basketball game, Ibrahim Kutluay of Turkey decided to take a shot at the NBA.
“Always I have confidence and believe in myself,” said Kutluay, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard who signed a two-year contract with the Seattle SuperSonics on Wednesday. “But when we played against the U.S. team, and after I played a good game, maybe I believed in myself even more.
“I think, ‘Why not?’ Everybody dreams of playing in the NBA. I knew I would have to work harder and harder, but I decided right after that game to come,” he said.
All Kutluay needed was a place to play, and that opportunity arose because the Sonics had an opening in their backcourt and a need for an offensive-minded player who would fit their up-tempo style of play. The two parties got together, sketched out the framework of a deal, and on Wednesday Kutluay put his signature to a pact that will pay him roughly $3.3 million for the next two seasons.
That is pretty much what he would have made had he stayed in Turkey, where he played for Ulkerspor of the Turkish League’s first division.
“First of all, the reason I am coming here is not money,” said Kutluay, whose nickname is Ibo (pronounced EE-bo). “I was making the same money in Turkey. Money is not the first reason. Of course we do this as a job to make money. But to come to the NBA, I am coming here first of all for my career. It is a new motivation, a new atmosphere.
“After I won many things in Turkey, many championships, the reason I wanted to come here is to prove myself in the NBA. I believe in myself and I know I can play here,” he said.
Coming to the NBA is actually going to cost Kutluay money in the short term. He had to buy out the remaining year of his Ulkerspor deal for a fee believed to be in excess of $1 million. In addition, Seattle is thought to have chipped in $350,000, the maximum team contribution allowed under NBA rules.
For their part, the Sonics figure Kutluay will help plug the vacancy caused by the departures of guards Brent Barry (free agency) and Richie Frahm (expansion draft). Though Kutluay is an average defender at best, he is a terrific perimeter shooter.
“With his outstanding outside shot, Ibrahim made his way onto our radar screen back when he was 18 years old,” said Dave Pendergraft, Seattle’s director of player personnel. “He is one of the top perimeter shooters in the world.”
“He’s a shooter,” said Sonics coach Nate McMillan. “The strength of his game is shooting the ball, and after losing Brent Barry and Richie Frahm I felt like we needed to add another shooter to our lineup.
“I’m not expecting him to fill Brent’s shoes. That will have to be something I see once we get into training camp. We already have four guards in Ray Allen, Luke Ridnour, Antonio Daniels and Ronald Murray, and (Kutluay) is going to have to earn his minutes out on the floor. But I like the fact we have a fifth guard with his potential to shoot the ball sitting over there on the bench.”
Defensively, McMillan went on, Kutluay will “have to pick up the concepts. But if the effort is there, I think there’s a chance he can be all right (as a defender).”
With the Sonics, Kutluay will team with Allen, a longtime idol.
“Ray Allen is one of the best players in the league,” Kutluay said. “I watch him play many times (on TV). He is a great shooter. For sure I will learn something from Ray Allen. It is going to be good for me to play on the same team.”
Another familiar teammate will be forward Vlade Radmanovic of Serbia-Montenegro, a rival in recent years during European competitions.
The Sonics, Kutluay said, “like to play fast and more outside. We have a lot of shooters. Basically we are playing to shoot and that is my style. I am a shooter. I like to run on the court up and down, and shoot the ball.”
Kutluay, who turned 30 in July (on the day he signed, he become the team’s oldest player), was scheduled to return to Turkey today, where he will get a visa and gather his belongings before returning to Seattle. He expects to be back for the start of training camp on Oct. 4.
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