Shawn Kemp still studies the Seattle box scores. He's not yet
ready to dismiss the team that drafted him out of junior college
nine years ago and then made him a star before trading him to
the Cavaliers in a three-way deal last September. "They have a
real good chance of winning the championship," Kemp says of the
Sonics. "That's tough to think about. It's like, now it can
happen because I'm gone—like I was the problem."
It's undeniable that the Sonics have had better chemistry since
Vin Baker replaced Kemp at power forward. Kemp must live with
that. He must also live with the wrath of many fans, especially
in Seattle, who see him as the symbol of what's wrong with pro
sports. He began earning that distinction by staying away from
training camp in October 1996, shortly after untested free-agent
center Jim McIlvaine signed a seven-year, $35 million contract
with the Sonics. Though he was earning $3.7 million, Kemp griped
throughout the year, was rumored to have undefined personal
problems and after the season proclaimed that he wouldn't play
for Seattle again.
Kemp, once listless in Seattle, had poured his energy into leading the playoff-bound Cavaliers.
(Glenn James/NBA Photos)
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Only now is the criticism of Kemp waning. Only now, as he leads
Cleveland to the playoffs in what was supposed to be a
rebuilding year, are his basketball skills coming back into
focus. "That black cloud was just stuck there," says Kemp, 28, a
five-time All-Star. "And I felt it, too. When people get booed
or named the villain, like I did, they say it doesn't bother
them. It bothered me."
Shortly after acquiring him, the Cavaliers tore up Kemp's
contract and signed him for $107 million over seven years. (The
Sonics, who were over the salary cap, were limited in how they
could rework his deal.) Since then, he has been the epitome of
professionalism. "He's the first one to say in the huddle, 'That
was my fault. I'll do better,'" says Cleveland coach Mike
Fratello. "When the whole package is going, when he's putting it
on the floor and passing, Shawn's close to unstoppable."
Just as he did in Seattle, though, the immensely talented Kemp
continues to reveal raw edges. While he led Cleveland in scoring
(18.0 points) and rebounding (9.2) through Sunday, he also had a
league-high 15 disqualifications and was turning the ball over a
woeful 3.3 times per game. Still, says Fratello, "The bottom
line is, we wouldn't be in the playoffs without him."
Kemp has assumed the role of elder statesman on the Cavs, who
give significant minutes to four rookies. "I try to talk to the
young guys and relax them," Kemp says, "but I don't try to
separate myself from them because of my age. I want us to all
have the same identity."
That would have been impossible in Seattle, where coach George
Karl and guard Gary Payton grew tired of Kemp's divisive effect
on the team. By the time Kemp left, he and Payton were no longer
on speaking terms. "From the first day I met Gary, I could yell
at him and he could yell at me, and we wouldn't get mad," says
Kemp. "The worst part was how that changed. I saw Gary at the
All-Star Game, and we talked it all out. It was me, Gary and
Vinny. We're cool now, and I'm glad about that."
Kemp's new teammates, most of whom knew him only by his press
clippings, understand they'll go only as far as he can take
them. "After everything you've heard, you expect this selfish
guy, but he's all team," says veteran guard Scott Brooks. "In
fact, he passes a little too much for my taste."
Issue date: April 20, 1998
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