TUALATIN, Ore. — The Portland Trail Blazers posed for a team picture Monday. A certain 7-foot-3, 300-pound center was missing.
Arvydas Sabonis' apparent decision not to re-sign with Portland will leave a large hole in the Blazers' offense this season. The Blazers will open camp Tuesday without an established center, at a time when they're hoping to rebuild from a miserable 2000-01 season.
"We lost the man in the middle," Rasheed Wallace said. "Some of the power forwards might have to play that center spot, but if so, then hey, that's what I have to do."
The 36-year-old Sabonis hasn't officially told the Blazers he's retiring. But his agent, Herb Rudoy, said he's "98 percent sure" the Lithuanian won't re-sign. And Sabonis is on the roster of his hometown pro team, Kaunas Zalgiris, which he partly owns.
"I just never really had contact with Sabonis, so I just kind of assumed he wasn't coming back," first-year Blazers coach Maurice Cheeks said.
Sabonis was frustrated with the Blazers' late-season collapse, which hit its low point when Wallace threw a towel in his face during a late-season loss to the Lakers. Still, he will be missed.
"This would have been a great season for him to be here," Scottie Pippen said. "You hate to see him leave without winning a championship, but he's the greatest European player that ever played the game, and we will definitely miss him."
"You just don't replace a guy like that," said general manager Bob Whitsitt.
SONICS: Gary Payton plans to take a more active leadership role with the Seattle SuperSonics.
He'll do it by example — and he'll do it his way.
"I'm not going to baby these guys," Payton said Monday during the Seattle SuperSonics' media day. "I'm not going to go over to their house and say, 'Here's some Cream of Wheat."'
The Sonics begin training camp Tuesday with Payton ready to carry the team again.
The All-Star point guard wants to leave behind his flare-ups of last season with coach Nate McMillan and fired coach Paul Westphal. The trade talks are over, and it's time to play basketball.
"He is the most visual guy on the team," McMillan said. "He is the leader, the superstar. He right now is this franchise."
NETS: In his second year of coaching, Byron Scott is starting over with the New Jersey Nets.
All it takes to verify that is to look at the Nets' roster. It's almost a completely new team.
All-Star point guard Stephon Marbury is gone. So are Johnny Newman, Kendall Gill, Evan Eschmeyer, Jim McIlvaine and a couple of others who played parts in last season's dismal 26-56 record.
The new look includes All-Star point guard Jason Kidd, center Todd MacCulloch, the return of Kerry Kittles, who missed last season with a knee injury, and young draft choices Richard Jefferson, Brandon Armstrong, Jason Collins and Brian Scalabrine.
There are a couple of key holdovers.
A stronger-looking Keith Van Horn is back along with fellow forward KenyonMartin, the top pick in the NBA Draft in 2000. There is also Aaron Williams and JamieFeick on the front line and Lucious Harris at guard.
SUNS: After a summer of rigorous basketball in Houston, Los Angeles and Chicago, Penny Hardaway believes he is as healthy as he's been in at least two years and ready to prove he still is among the NBA's best.
"I tested my knee in every way, shape and form this summer and nothing happened," Hardaway said at the Phoenix Suns' media day Monday.
CLIPPERS: The Los Angeles Clippers exercised their contract option for the 2002-03 season on Elton Brand, the power forward obtained in a draft-day trade from Chicago.
SPURS: Gregg Popovich, coach and general manager of the San Antonio Spurs, agreed to a three-year contract extension through the 2005-06 season.
SIXERS: Allen Iverson won't release his rap album, which drew criticism from civil rights groups and earned him a reprimand from NBA commissioner David Stern.
The CD originally was to be released around the All-Star game in February. But Iverson put that off until after the season. Now it won't be in stores, after all.