Everyone wants to know whether he's staying or going. You'd think that Gary Payton was all of a sudden a bad player or something. Is he a good teammate? Well, we're not in the locker room or bench with him, but rumors say he's not. Statistically, Payton's getting it done. But when you miss the playoffs for the first time in a full season since 1989-90, and new ownership wants to make its mark, someone must take the blame.

	The Sonics don't want Baker around, but nobody else wants him either.

So as we continue our 2001 Summer Spotlight Series, here's the deal with the Sonics.

The good: Payton didn't quite match the numbers he put up in 1999-2000, but he was still among the top two or three at the position. Who can complain about averages of 23.1 points, 8.1 assists and 1.6 steals? Well, apparently the Sonics can complain, because they are eagerly trying to ship the heart of the team out of town. In fairness, it has more to do with his behavior and attitude than anything else.

Maybe if the Sonics had more help around The Glove, they wouldn't have missed the playoffs. Other than potential rising star Rashard Lewis, who opted to remain a Sonic before last season, there's not a whole lot to depend on.

Fact is new owner and Starbucks genius Howard Schultz wants a team with a good image, and Payton, while beloved in Seattle, has a bad attitude. That's why Ruben Patterson had no chance to come back to Seattle.

Lewis, meanwhile, continues to improve. A high schooler entering his fourth year, he made a big jump in all areas, and if the curve continues he should be nearing 18 or so points and eight boards a game this season. Plus he has 3-point range and can play either swing position. Schultz would prefer to build around Lewis, make him the focus and get a big-time big man back for Payton. Good luck.

	THE FACTS
	2000-01 record: 44-38, 5th in Pacific, 10th in West Playoffs: none Team leaders: Payton 23.1 ppg; 8.1 apg; Ewing 7.4 rpg Team stats (NBA rank): Points, 97.3 (8th); Rebs, 41.7 (20th); FG %, .456 (8th) Current rotation: Booth C; Baker PF; Lewis SF; Barry/Mason SG; Payton PG; Williams/Radmanovic 6th man Spot in Summer Power Rankings: No. 17

The bad: When you make the playoffs every year but never win it all, like the Payton Sonics for the last decade have done, you have two choices: Go after that elusive title with abandon and get the missing pieces, or rebuild and try a different way. Seattle is caught in between. And really, the failed Patrick Ewing experiment gave you the answer to that question. Patrick was a shell of even what he showed walking out the Knicks' door, and the Sonics couldn't wait for him to leave. He wasn't better than Horace Grant and he's not exactly Mr. Happy. Plus, there's this Gold Club scandal... goodbye, Patrick.

But that pales in comparison to Vin Baker, who arguably has the league's worst contract. Remember Jon Koncak? That was nothing. Baker, a star back in his Milwaukee days, has five years and $67.5 million left on his whopper, making him impossible to trade, even to Mark Cuban. The Sonics consider Payton/Baker a trade package, and other than a nibble from Portland, which thinks the more you spend the more you win, it's not happening. Baker went from his 20-10 numbers to 12 and 5 awfully fast. He's forgotten how to shoot (.422 FG pct.) and pass (career-low 1.2 assists, career average was 2.4). Of course, take one look at his midsection and you can see why.

And that's really not all. Ewing's spot in the middle will be manned by career backup Calvin Booth, a hardly gifted player who should at least pile up some blocks making up for the mistakes of the other starters. (The Sonics were the only team in the top 10 in scoring to allow as many points as they gave up.) Booth gets essentially the money Patterson got from Portland: $34 million. But Booth doesn't have a rape charge hanging over his head. And at 6-11 he is mostly a legitimate center, something you can argue Seattle hasn't seen since Jack Sikma.

The ugly: The worst thing with the Sonics is the attitude. Coach Nate McMillan played with a number of these players, but that was easier. How do you make Payton more of a teammate? How do you get anything out of Baker? Two of the Sonics starters are clearly on the trading block, and that can't be good for anyone's image.

Payton, though, is still a great player. Baker isn't. He lobbied openly for a change of scenery in April, even told local reporters he would not be back next year. Guess what, Vin: You're coming back. Can you blame other teams for not taking a chance on Baker? People lose jobs over acquisitions like that. Schultz criticized his work ethic, McMillan removed him from the lineup. Baker has to play better if he wants to head back East. At this point there's little reason to expect that. Plus, he had arthroscopic knee surgery on Aug. 8. What was he doing the first three months of the summer?

The future: If McMillan could get former backcourt mate Payton to do things the team's way, and the Sonics can get big contributions from Booth and young shooting guard Desmond Mason, this could easily be a playoff team. Remember, this wasn't the Grizzlies last year: Seattle did win 44 games and threaten to be the No. 8 seed for awhile before falling just a few games short.

The development of Lewis and Mason is critical. Both are exceptional athletes who can create their own shots, get to the hoop, pull up from the outside, and not to be forgotten, defend. Shammond Williams and Brent Barry are backup guards and each could start if things change. But after Booth and Baker, neither a lock to perform, the Sonics are relying on Olumide Oyedeji, Vladimir Radmanovic and that's about it. Um, Gary, can you also rebound?

The Sonics aren't deep and still lack that second big gun to go with Payton. Maybe Lewis becomes that guy. We're assuming at this point that Payton and Baker stick around, so Schultz is going to have to work on that new image and chemistry issue with what he's got. Things aren't as bad here as in, say, Portland, and that team won 50 games. It's not impossible to see that happen here.

So we asked you this question about the Sonics: Is this the year Payton lets someone like Lewis share the glory, thus making the team more dangerous?

Check the file to the right for selected comments.

Eric Karabell is ESPN.com's NBA editor.