Sonics Update

Opponent: Sacramento Kings

When: 7 p.m., Thursday

Where: KeyArena, Seattle

TV: KONG (Ch. 6/16)

Radio: KJR (950 AM)

NOTES

Reign Man memories: A decade ago they were teammates on one of the most entertaining teams in basketball.

Today Nate McMillan is head coach of the Sonics and Shawn Kemp is a reserve forward for the Blazers. McMillan has embarked on an exciting new career and Kemp’s once-dynamic career, hampered by drug rehabilitation and weight problems, is winding down to a pitiful conclusion.

Kemp, a three-time All-NBA second-team pick for the Sonics in the mid-1990s, is averaging just 5.7 points and 3.2 rebounds.

“It’s sad to see,” McMillan said. “He’s still young (Kemp is 32) and he’s been this way for the last three or four years. I think that’s the part that’s disappointing, seeing him end up playing like this.”

Some of the best highlights of those Seattle seasons were McMillan-to-Kemp lob passes for eye-popping dunk shots.

“He played hard every night,” McMillan said. “It made it easier to play with him, especially for a point guard like myself who loved to push the ball (on the fast break). To have a big man like Shawn and to know he’s chasing you because he loves to dunk, it was just a matter of getting the ball to him at the right time.”

Today, he said, Kemp “is not playing above the rim. He’s playing below it. … I always said that once Shawn lost his legs he would have a tough time simply because he didn’t work on post moves. Everything was about power and jumping over people. But I didn’t think he’d lose his legs due to weight.”

Stick to coaching: McMillan was taking some good-natured teasing about his missed layin during Monday’s team practice. He had played in the workout-ending scrimmage because the Sonics were short-handed, and had bounced an uncontested breakaway layin off the rim.

“I was thinking about (dunking) it,” he said ruefully. “But I was afraid I’d miss it. And it did (anyway).”

Rich Myhre