Shawn Kemp stands firmly on the side of Sonics fans

MONROE — Thirty-five miles from KeyArena, Shawn Kemp stands in a high-school gym, sweating, grinning and now barking.

"Just trying to stay useful," he says.

His No. 40 jersey is now blue and gold. He's 38 years old and calls the other nine players on the court "kids." He dunks like a 6-foot-5 guard after knee surgery, rather than a 6-foot-10 Reign Man.

Still, even with age, even with rust, his greatness flickers. Look at the right time, and you catch his talent twinkling. Only 250 people are watching him play, but Kemp remains a superstar.

He spent Sunday afternoon at the Monroe Sports Arena as a guest celebrity at the International Basketball League All-Star Classic. He played in the game, scoring 32 points for the winning North team while messing around, and after taking pictures and signing autographs, he faced an urgent reality.

The franchise that made him an icon could be two days from skipping town.

Count Kemp as the latest legend to jump in front of the idling moving van.

He rubs the top of his head, which now includes tufts of gray hair, and sighs. Then he turns into a fan advocate.

"They can't complain about a new arena because they're not winning enough games, period," Kemp says. "They need to put up or shut up. When I got into the NBA, the thing of it was, if you won, you got a new arena. But if you lost, you had to work to get the arena.

"You can't be a losing team and get a new arena. That's not fair. That's not fair! That's how I see it."

Kemp won't allow too many thoughts of the Oklahoma Raiders winning this case. He assumes the city will win the lawsuit, assumes Judge Marsha Pechman will do what's right on Wednesday and enforce the KeyArena lease, assumes the Sonics will be here for at least another two years.

Optimism is his shield. Kemp prefers to look at these next two years and make a demand of the current owners: Win. Or at least try.

Stop demolishing the team. Stop building for a future Seattle may never see. Stop torturing a distressed fan base.

"This is what I think, man," Kemp says. "I'm afraid that if they bring the Sonics back, what kind of team are they going to put on the court? Are they going to put the effort out?

"If they bring the team back, are they going to really put a good team out there? Or do we just want any team? You've got to at least try."

Kemp references one of the most infuriating aspects of losing the Sonics. It's like NBA basketball hasn't existed here for two years. The Sonics have a 51-113 record with Clay Bennett and Co. as the owners. They've lost nearly 70 percent of their games, traded Ray Allen, let Rashard Lewis bounce in free agency and made no significant free-agent acquisitions.

Since Sam Presti took over as general manager last summer, the Sonics have followed through on a well-devised plan to create salary-cap space after next season. Next summer, the Sonics should be far enough under the cap to sign a maximum-salary player and a high-priced role player, if they choose. If they wait until the summer of 2010, they would have even more room to try to woo the likes of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.

Problem is, where will the team be located? James and Wade probably wouldn't even want to play in Seattle, so forget about Oklahoma City. As the losses pile up, you keep wondering if the Sonics are planning for a future that will never come.

So Kemp has a point. It's a point that came up the past two weeks in court, when city attorneys questioned whether ownership was making personnel decisions to create fan disgust. That charge will linger if the Sonics are ordered to stay in their KeyArena lease.

Team owners think they'll lose about $60 million if they stay here, so they won't be pursuing any high-priced talent. Besides, they have neither the cap flexibility nor the tradable assets to do so right now.

So fans are left to plead for something better than last season's 20-62 nightmare. And if resignation has set in, they must settle for nostalgia.

Kemp is happy to reminisce. He plays basketball now to stay in shape, although he's open to NBA offers. He realizes his time probably has passed, however, and doesn't want to be "one of those old guys who pushed it." Instead, he focuses on his love for the game.

After battling weight problems at the end of his career, Kemp said he weighs 255 pounds currently. He looks it, too. He looks good. He moves well. He's more explosive than he was during his last NBA season, five years ago.

"I'm actually thinking about running some marathons," Kemp says. "My goal is to run the New York City Marathon in about two years. That's a big challenge for me."

It would be more impressive than resuming his basketball career. To run a marathon, Kemp guesses he must lose 15 more pounds.

Let's hope he follows through with this plan. And let's hope chasing down a runaway franchise isn't part of the training regimen.

Jerry Brewer: 206-464-2277 or jbrewer@seattletimes.com. For more columns and the Extra Points blog, visit seattletimes.com/sports