SEATTLE (AP) - Kevin
Durant couldn't fight
the urge to yawn
anymore.
At least the fatigue
didn't hit him until
after SuperSonics fans
got to meet the new face
of their franchise.
"Long week," Durant
said.
Alongside Durant on
Friday was a former
Washington, D.C.,
companion of his,
Georgetown forward Jeff
Green, acquired when the
Sonics traded seven-time
All-Star Ray Allen to
Boston.
"It's going to be tough,
but it's going to be
easier than I thought,
because someone from
Washington D.C. is going
to be along with me,"
Durant said of his
transition to the pro
game. "I just can't wait
to get started."
The selection of Durant
was long expected by
Sonics' fans and team
officials. Durant was
greeted in Seattle by
ads in both newspapers
and television
commercials proclaiming
Durant's arrival as the
start of the "New Era"
of Sonics' basketball.
Radio spots were being
played on local airwaves
in which Durant hit a
fictitious buzzer
beater. It's a little
much for the soft-spoken
Texas star who grew up
in the nation's capital,
but Durant accepts it's
part of the job.
"There is nothing I can
do about it. It's fun,
but at the same time
it's kind of
overwhelming knowing
where I came from and
now people want to buy
my NBA jersey it's fun,"
Durant said. "I'm loving
this aspect of it, but I
can't wait to get on the
floor."
The surprise for Durant
was that Green would be
joining him in Seattle.
The chance for Seattle
to acquire Green, Wally
Szczerbiak and Delonte
West from Boston for
Allen and the 35th pick
- LSU's Glen Davis - was
too much for new Seattle
general manager Sam
Presti to pass up.
In pulling off the
trade, Presti bid adieu
to the Sonics' leading
scorer since Allen's
arrival in the middle of
the 2002-03 season, the
veteran voice in the
locker room, and the
public face of the
franchise.
In terms of public
persona, that role would
seem to fall now to
Durant.
"We've got to let each
guy who comes into the
program be themselves,"
Presti said. "I think
team philosophy and core
values that we are going
to preach and are going
to live by are going to
dictate the culture of
the organization and the
culture of the team."
