Payton's advice for Durant: Keep level head
To Gary Payton, it all looks so familiar.
He has been where Kevin Durant is now and if he could impart one bit of advice to the 18-year-old forward drafted No. 2 overall by the Sonics, it would be to keep a level head.
"I would tell him don't pay attention to anything and just play basketball," Payton said. "It's going to be good and it's going to be bad nights. But I think you've got to take both of them and put them in the same category. Even when they are praising you, they're going to criticize you as well.
"I'd tell him keep his head on his shoulders. Stay away from all the media hype and all the stuff and what people are saying and just play basketball. I did the same thing. I tuned everybody out. I played hard and I went to work every day, got better and better and people started noticing. Seattle is a good place for him."
In 1990, the Sonics used the second pick in the draft on Payton, a rail-thin guard from Oregon State. It was the team's highest pick in the history of the franchise, but Payton wasn't given a prominent role early in his career.
The Sonics were a veteran group with Xavier McDaniel, Dale Ellis, Derrick McKey, Ricky Pierce and Eddie Johnson. The team already had an established point guard in Nate McMillan and a rising star in Shawn Kemp, who was drafted in 1989.
"It took me about three years," Payton said. "I came into my own in '94 when George Karl came there and then I started playing. But that was in the '90s. They let you play basketball back then and you had more veteran guys in the league.
"Nowadays these kids are playing against kids. They're playing against 19-year-olds who are controlling their teams and it's going to be hard on him [Kevin Durant]. I hope not, but the situation he's going into, Seattle is rebuilding."
Payton, a nine-time All-Star who set franchise records in career scoring, assists and games played, said it wouldn't be fair to compare the success his teams had with what will be expected from Kevin Durant.
"You can't put those comparisons on that kid right now," he said. "I think you always have to let that kid be himself and develop into his own basketball player."
Notes
• Rashard Lewis, his agent and Lewis' mother met with a Sonics contingent led by general manager Sam Presti early Sunday morning in Houston. Lewis' agent Tony Dutt described the meeting as "professional," but the sides did not reach an agreement on a long-term deal and Lewis is expected to visit Orlando. Dutt said as many as 20 teams have inquired about Lewis and he would like to have a deal in place by July 11, when teams can begin signing free agents.
• After meeting with P.J. Carlesimo and Dwane Casey on Saturday, the Sonics are expected to choose one of them and name a new coach within the next two days. A decision could come as early as today.
• Former Sonics assistant Ralph Lewis and Bryan Gates, who coaches Seattle's NBDL affiliate in Idaho, will guide the summer-league team that begins play in Las Vegas on Friday. The team will include rookies Kevin Durant and Jeff Green. Sonics holdovers Mickael Gelabale, Johan Petro and Mouhamed Sene will also play. After Las Vegas, the Sonics will play in the Rocky Mountain Revue in Salt Lake City.
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