SEATTLE, Feb. 20 (UPI) -- Gary Payton, Seattle's all-time leader in virtually every category, was traded Thursday to the Milwaukee Bucks in a five-player deal.
The SuperSonics dealt Payton and swingman Desmond Mason to the Bucks for star guard Ray Allen, point guard Kevin Ollie and rookie guard Ron Murray. The deal is contingent upon the players passing physical examinations.
"Seldom do you have the opportunity to add a Hall of Fame player to your lineup," Bucks General Manager Ernie Grunfeld said. "Gary is one of the league's best players at both ends of the floor and he has a competitive nature matched by very few players in this league."
A perennial All-Star and one of the best point guards in the NBA, Payton is in the final year of a seven-year, $85 million contract. The 34-year-old superstar will be a free agent July 1 and will have plenty of suitors, despite the NBA's economic climate.
Payton skipped media day in October to express his displeasure with the Sonics, who were unwilling to offer him a contract extension. The relationship between Payton and owner Howard Schultz has been tenuous since last summer.
The trade reunites Payton with Milwaukee coach George Karl, who coached him for six-plus years in Seattle. It also expedites a rebuilding project for the Sonics, who have been retooling around Payton for two years.
In return, the Sonics get the 6-5 Allen, a durable shooting guard who last week became one of the first four players chosen for the United States Olympic basketball team. He had not missed a game in his career until last season.
A three-time All-Star and a member of the 2000 Olympic team that won a gold medal in Sydney, Allen had spent his first six-plus seasons with the Bucks. He is averaging 21.3 points on 44 percent shooting this season. For his career, he has 19.6 points on 45 percent shooting in 494 games.
"You don't make a trade of this magnitude without giving up a great player," Grunfeld said. "Ray Allen is probably the best long-range shooter in the NBA, a three-time All-Star who has had a great deal to do with the success we've enjoyed."
The Bucks also received Mason, a 6-5 high-flying swingman who won the 2001 Slam Dunk Contest. One of the top reserves in the league, he is averaging 14.1 points and 6.4 rebounds this season, his third in the NBA.
"We're also adding a very good young player in Desmond Mason, who improves our athleticism and makes us an even more versatile ballclub," Grunfeld said.
The 6-2 Ollie joins his ninth team. He is averaging 5.7 points and 3.4 assists this season, his sixth.
The 6-4 Murray was the NCAA Division II Player of the Year last season and was tabbed by the Bucks in the second round. He has scored 23 points in just 12 games.
Ollie may find himself starting at point guard for Seattle, which also traded guard Kenny Anderson to the New Orleans Hornets for center Elden Campbell.
But the key player in this deal is Payton, who makes the Bucks much more dangerous in the muddled Eastern Conference. He and Sam Cassell likely will share the backcourt spots.
Payton's 1,000th career game -- and first as a Buck -- could be against the Sonics in Seattle on Friday.
Selected second overall in the 1990 draft, Payton had spent his entire career in Seattle He is the franchise's all-time leader in games, minutes, points, assists, steals, field goals made and attempted and three-pointers made and attempted.
Payton's best year may have been the 1995-96 campaign, when he led the Sonics to a franchise-record 64 wins and their first NBA Finals berth in 17 years. He was the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year and was a member of the Olympic team that won the gold medal in Atlanta.
A nine-time All-Star, Payton has been picked for the All-Defensive Team nine straight years, joining Michael Jordan as the only players to do so.
The 6-4 Payton is averaging 20.8 points, 8.8 assists and 1.79 steals this season but has been unable to lift the smallish and young Sonics into playoff contention. In his career, he is averaging 18.2 points, 7.4 assists and 2.11 steals in 999 games, missing just five contests.
