Scout's Take

On the trade-deadline deal in which the Sonics sent Gary Payton and Desmond Mason to the Bucks for Ray Allen:

" Seattle has been playing better than Milwaukee, but that's because Allen is an easygoing guy and Payton isn't. I've heard that Gary was grating on his young teammates in Seattle. So now the Sonics are benefiting from a honeymoon period with Ray, who is a breath of fresh air compared with Gary. But next year the Sonics are going to miss the hard-driving leadership that Gary gave them over a long season. The Bucks are going to be a much stronger team heading into the playoffs with Gary and Desmond than they would have been with Ray. They're going through a training camp on the fly, but I know a lot of teams in the East didn't like the idea of Gary joining Milwaukee."