Sonics Travel Without Stars

When the Seattle SuperSonics head south today for Albuquerque, N.M., the first stop in an eight-game preseason road schedule, they’ll be minus Shawn Kemp and Nate McMillan.

Kemp’s nine-day holdout shows no sign of ending, and McMillan’s left hamstring suddenly is aching again. To McMillan’s dismay, the perplexing pain that flared during the playoffs and didn’t ebb until the start of training camp returned Wednesday morning, following his top-speed play in Tuesday’s intrasquad scrimmage.

“It’s so frustrating to have a problem and not know what to do,” said McMillan, who consulted a half-dozen doctors over the summer.

They have yet to determine why a problem in his back is causing pain in his leg. If the pain is an aberration, rather than a sign of an aggravated condition, McMillan will start at small forward Friday in an exhibition against the Bulls.