Maybe it was jet lag due to the 8Z\x-hour flight back from Japan. Or maybe it was a hangover from two season-opening wins over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Whatever the cause, Sonics coach Nate McMillan has not been happy with his team’s lethargic practices this week.
“We don’t look like the same team (that beat the Clippers),” he said Wednesday following Seattle’s midday workout. “I would say it was jet lag (on Monday and Tuesday), but I don’t have an excuse for (Wednesday).”
Meeting with the team afterward, “I told them, ‘We’ve played two games and we won both games, but this is not the time to get happy. Those games are over.’ Now we have one day to get back to where we want with that same intensity and focus that we had before going to Japan.”
The Sonics flew back to Seattle early Sunday morning and had an easy practice Monday. The sessions Tuesday and Wednesday were more energetic, and the team will probably get another vigorous workout today in preparation for Friday night’s home opener against the Portland Trail Blazers.
McMillan has added some new defensive looks this week, but said the offense will stay largely unchanged. Otherwise, he said, he wants the team “to just get a feel for an identity. In Japan, we kind of established the style of play we want. Now we’re making sure we continue to approach practicing and games the way we did with that fast-paced, aggressive defense, and making that our identity.”
Daniels update: New guard Antonio Daniels did not play in either of the two Japan games, but McMillan said his absence was due more to rotations – and perhaps the outstanding play of guard Ronald Murray – and not the nagging back spasms that bothered Daniels in the days before the trip.
“He’s feeling better,” McMillan said. “He’s practiced the last two days, but he still looks a little tight. … But he was available for those two games. I just felt we should go another way.”
Chasing the (top) dollar: Before last season, Seattle’s Rashard Lewis signed a seven-year contract worth around $60 million, with incentives that could push the deal upwards of $70 million. He waited most of the summer before signing, however, all at the request of his agent.
“Agents are going to be agents and try to get the highest (offer) possible,” Lewis said. “But with the situation I’m in, having come in (to the NBA) out of high school, $20 million would have been more than enough. But my agent wanted to negotiate as much as possible and try to get as much money as possible.
“But I’m not complaining at all. I’m satisfied with the contract I’ve got. I’m most definitely happy. I was happy when they first made the proposal. I just couldn’t show that.”
After an earlier contract, Lewis bought his mother a new home in the Houston area. After this last contract, he bought himself a new house on Mercer Island.
Familiar face: Point guard Jason Hart, the last player cut from Seattle’s roster in the preseason, was picked up by the San Antonio Spurs in recent days after injuries to starter Tony Parker and backup Anthony Carter. Hart started Tuesday night’s game against Miami, an 80-73 Spurs win.
“Maybe things happen for a reason,” McMillan said Wednesday with a smile.
Hart played 34 minutes against the Heat and had six points, three assists, two rebounds, one blocked shot, one steal and no turnovers.
“We thought he played well enough to make our team,” McMillan said. “We just didn’t have a spot for him. I kept him as long as I could, and if one of our guards got hurt he would have known our system and been able to come in and play.
“We felt Jason would get picked up (by another NBA team),” he added, “because he played well enough (in the preseason) for other teams to see that.”
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