Kemp Tardy Again, But He Has Note Sonics Star Misses Friday Practice, But Team Says This Time His Absence Was Approved
The Shawn Kemp saga took a bizarre and still unresolved turn on Friday.
Kemp skipped the Seattle SuperSonics’ 11 a.m. practice - the third time in seven days he has either missed or been late for a practice or meeting - and the team initially described it as an unexcused absence.
But after Kemp showed up at about 12:45 p.m. and met with Sonics coach George Karl, the team termed it an excused absence.
Where that leaves Kemp for today’s 12:30 p.m. game at KeyArena against the Dallas Mavericks is uncertain. The team had promised a statement from general manager and president Wally Walker or Karl, but then said that any statement or possible punishment would not be made until today.
Karl, Walker and Kemp were all unavailable for comment. Kemp’s agents, Tony Dutt and Jeff Neal, didn’t return phone calls.
Most players also didn’t want to talk to reporters, and those who did skirted the Kemp issue.
Nate McMillan, however, told KJR-AM radio on Friday night that he expected Kemp to play today and that he expected the team to meet with Kemp today to discuss the latest incident.
“Shawn is going to be OK,” McMillan said. “Right now he is keeping everything to himself. He’s not talking to us as a team. But we are behind him 100 percent… .
“We will sit down possibly (today) and talk to him as a team and hopefully he can open up and if there is a problem we can sit down and talk about it.”
Kemp hasn’t started the past three games after missing a team flight to Phoenix, a practice last Saturday and being late to a meeting on Wednesday.
The Sonics beat Milwaukee, 103-80, on Thursday and were hoping to put the distractions of the past week behind them when they met for practice Friday morning at the team’s facility in downtown Seattle.
But assembled reporters were told at 12:30 p.m. that Kemp had missed what was a light practice, with the Sonics terming it an unexcused absence.
About 15 minutes later, however, Kemp arrived in street clothes, meeting briefly in the parking lot with McMillan, who was on his way home.
McMillan, however, came back a while later for what apparently was a brief team meeting, details of which are sketchy since players wouldn’t talk specifically about it.
“We are seeking solutions and talking about it and that’s the first good sign,” said reserve guard Craig Ehlo. “No one really has a solution to it yet, that’s why we are just talking.”
Ehlo, however, hinted that what the team was told about Kemp’s absence was a suitable explanation.