To the theme from “Welcome Back, Kotter” (“Welcome back, welcome back …”), Rashard Lewis and Ray Allen greeted teammate Mateen Cleaves in the locker room before Friday’s game.
Cleaves went through training camp with the Sonics, but was cut with guard Galen Young in Seattle’s last roster-reducing transaction. He was re-signed on Friday after the Sonics placed guard Flip Murray on the injured list with a strained quadriceps muscle. Murray must miss at least five games, as per league rules, meaning he cannot be activated before a Nov. 14 game against Memphis.
After being cut, Cleaves had continued to stay at the Seattle Center-area hotel where the team houses new players who have yet to find apartments or homes. He was there, pursuing leads on other possible NBA jobs – Denver and Utah were possibilities – and getting ready to move on, when the Sonics called on Friday morning.
“I was very excited,” Cleaves said. “I had a good time when I was here. I think I bonded well with the guys on the team, and to get that call was a blessing. I’m very excited about that and very appreciative.”
Getting cut “is always hard,” he said. “I didn’t come here not to make the team. So it was tough. But I’m a veteran and I know you have to prepare yourself for stuff like that. You just have to take the good with the bad, and roll with it.”
Cleaves was a first-round pick by Detroit in 2000 and played 78 games that season for the Pistons before being traded to Sacramento. With the Kings, Cleaves played sparingly for two seasons before moving on to Cleveland, where he played in just four games a year ago. He signed a non-guaranteed free-agent deal with the Sonics over the summer.
“It’s tough, just not knowing where you’re going to be,” he said. “That’s the toughest part of it. But I just let God handle everything. Sometimes you have to go through some ups and downs. When you go through tough times and when things do work out, it makes you appreciate it a lot more.”
Seattle had a short list from which to choose, including some who had been recently cut by other NBA teams, but “Mateen was in camp and, to me, he made more sense,” said Sonics coach Nate McMillan.
Murray update: Murray played eight first-half minutes against the Clippers on Wednesday, but sat out the second half because of pain in his injured leg. He had an MRI exam on Thursday and the diagnosis – a strained quadriceps – was the same as it was after he was initially hurt on the first day of training camp.
On Thursday, Murray said he wanted to sit out until his injury was completely healed, though McMillan questioned that statement.
“That’s an injury where you might have to play with some pain,” he said. “That injury can take a month (to heal) and it has.”
As coaches and trainers, he added, “we have to go on his call and how he feels, but in this league you’re going to have to play with some pain.”
With Murray out, free-agent rookie Damien Wilkins moves into the regular rotation. Wilkins will get most of the backup minutes at shooting guard, though “Ray and Rashard are probably going to log some big minutes,” McMillan said.
Wilkins, meanwhile, is raw, but “his level of play seems to go up during the game,” McMillan said.
First night fanfare: Friday’s game started about 15 minutes late because of the usual opening-night festivities. After a wonderful rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner” and the introduction of the visiting Hawks, the Sonics players were introduced and entered the arena down aisles from the upper concourse, slapping hands with fans as they descended to the court.
There were also acrobats, break dancers, drummers, and Squatch, the team’s mascot, dropping from the rafters on a long rope.
Allen closed the pregame ceremonies with welcoming remarks to the crowd.
Maybe in a pinch: Given the injury problems in Seattle’s backcourt, McMillan was asked before Friday’s game if he might consider coming out of retirement.
Initially, McMillan scoffed at the idea. “I’m through,” he said with a wry smile.
Then, after giving the matter more thought, he added, “Yeah, I could go 10 minutes, though I might need two timeouts.”
He thought some more, then grinned. “For $5 million (a year)? Hell, yes, I’ll give you a good 10 minutes,” he said.
Rich Myhre
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