Baker’s Style, Game Already Fit In Seattle Sonics Players Seem To Like Kemp’s Replacement

One by one, players hurried from the court and disappeared into what is considered a safe haven - the weight room. No reporters allowed.

The majority were trying to avoid the scores of writers, television crews and radio producers that were casing another practice at the Sonics’ training camp. However, there were a few players who were unaffected by the hectic scene, as they had figured things out.

That’s because, at this point, a floor besieged by intruding media is harmless as long as Vin Baker is in view. As teammate Gary Payton so readily put it recently, “Now you guys won’t need to talk to me all the time.”

Perhaps there is some sense to the fact that Baker is almost always the last Sonic to exit after accommodating countless interviewers and promotional requests.

He is the guy who replaced the popular Shawn Kemp. He is “Vin Baker the Championship Maker” - a label already bestowed by fans. And the Sonics are finding out what they anticipated all along: Baker fits like “The Glove” who wanted him here.

“I had dinner at Gary’s house (Tuesday),” said Baker, who continues to try to connect with his new point guard as well as those who await the on-court results of a trade that sent Kemp to Cleveland and planted Baker in Seattle.

“But you know, it’s not exciting because I’m getting attention,” Baker said. “It’s exciting because I’m in a situation where this team has been successful and it adds me. And I’m part of the big picture. That’s what it is all about.”

Baker’s era in Seattle began to take shape Friday night when the Sonics opened the preseason at Chicago. Although practices have been closed to curious eyes, all accounts are that Baker’s first week as a Sonic has gone without a snag.

He picked up on the Sonics’ defensive switches more quickly than anyone anticipated. And Baker operated on offense with the same skill that forced the Sonics to doubleteam him as soon as he touched the ball with the Bucks.

“I’m surprised Milwaukee traded him,” Hersey Hawkins said. “He can do everything.”

Said Nate McMillan: “Vin makes very good decisions on the floor. He can shoot it. He can handle the ball. Shawn is the kind of player who can motivate everyone in the building with his plays. Vin is going to be a little more subtle than that. But he’s going to be more consistent.”

The tendency to contrast what Kemp did for the Sonics with Baker’s role will persist. The Sonics tended to pound the ball inside to allow Kemp to perform power moves in the paint. With Baker, that philosophy immediately changed. He is more of a complete player whose passing skills from the post will create more of a free-flowing offense.

“I remember Gary saying last year, ‘We’re not good enough,”’ coach George Karl recalled. “I told him a week after the season, ‘Gary, we were good enough.’ Now, we have gotten better, and that’s difficult to do when you’re already very good.”

Baker knows he can put up numbers. He posted 20-plus points and double-digit rebounding efforts daily on a slow-paced Milwaukee team. The chore should be easier with the Sonics, says Baker, because “here, it’s 48 minutes of running.

“I always felt like my game fits this style of basketball. The biggest adjustment isn’t anything physical. It’s mental.”

Hawkins says it won’t be long before Baker wins over Sonics fans.

“Vin - in due time - will make people forget about Shawn Kemp,” Hawkins said.

Baker dismisses the notion of overwriting Kemp’s career in Seattle. “If this team wins, it’s going to be easier for people to forget about that,” Baker said.

“If I come out and average 23 points and 11 rebounds and the team doesn’t win, then comparisons will come. The only way those comparison will go away is if the Sonics are successful, not Vin Baker.”