Sonics suspend Payton over outburst

By JIM COUR

Associated Press

SEATTLE – All-Star point guard Gary Payton was suspended for at least one game by the Seattle SuperSonics today for an argument with coach Paul Westphal during a game.

Team president Wally Walker issued a statement that said Payton’s suspension was “for conduct detrimental to the team.”

Payton had to be restrained after confronting Westphal during a timeout in the fourth quarter of Tuesday night’s game in Dallas.

Newspaper reports said Payton told Westphal in the huddle that he didn’t care “about this game anymore. You all can suspend me for the rest of my career.”

Walker said he was hopeful the Payton-Westphal problems could be smoothed over.

“While this was an act that was not taken lightly, we believe that both Gary and the team will move forward positively upon Gary’s return,” Walker said.

Sonics spokesman Mark Moquin said he could not confirm that Payton was returning to Seattle from the team’s road trip in Texas.

The Sonics are to play tonight in San Antonio. Their next home game is Friday night against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Westphal offered to resign four games into the Sonics’ disappointing season. He refused to discuss Payton’s blowup.

“It’s a blip on the radar screen,” Westphal said after Seattle’s 116-110 victory.

The confrontation with Westphal came with 8:31 left after Westphal said something that set Payton off. Teammate Pervis Ellison and others held Payton back.

After the game, Payton said Westphal showed him a lack of respect by what was said. If Westphal does it again, Payton said, he no longer would play for him.

Payton would not disclose what Westphal said to him.

“He is going to respect me or I am not going to play for him,” Payton told The News Tribune. “That’s just (it) period. If he is going to say something bad to me and I think it is bad, he is going to have to respect me before that. Or he won’t have me playing for him.

“I am not going to say anything else about it. I am going to be a professional about it, but that’s the way it is going to be on the bench. It is going to be respect. If I respect him, he is going to respect me.”

Payton had 28 points on 10-of-25 shooting and nine assists as the Sonics improved their record to 5-7 in Dallas.

After the confrontation with Westphal, the coach wanted to take Payton out of the game, but Payton at first refused. Eventually, Ellison got Payton to leave the floor and come to the bench.

Payton returned to the game with 5:45 remaining.

After a Sonics loss Nov. 6 in Orlando, Westphal, frustrated by his team’s bickering and insubordination, offered to quit if his players thought he was the problem, but they wouldn’t let him.

The offer went unreported until Westphal told the media in Seattle about it after a practice last Thursday.

In the locker room after the Orlando game, Payton, Vin Baker and Patrick Ewing shouted at their teammates about their poor effort, newspapers reported.

Some players questioned Westphal’s ability. Westphal, who was in an office within earshot, came into the locker room and said he would step down if that was what they wanted, the newspapers said.

Payton said last week he didn’t want to be blamed for Westphal’s departure.

“I just said we don’t need to be talking about this,” Payton said. “We need to be focused on the team, not whether he should be out or whether he should be here. I wasn’t going to have this come out in the media like we voted out a coach.”