Steve Kelley / Times staff columnist
Sonics' Allen epitomizes new breed of superstar

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Almost from the beginning Ray Allen noticed something missing. He saw it on the first bus ride he took with his new teammates; he heard the silence on the first plane trip.

The Sonics, Allen's new team, were quiet, too quiet. There was something unsettled about this team. When the players got on the planes and buses, it seemed all of them were wearing headsets, either listening to Walkmans or zoned into their iPods.

Everything seemed, to him, too serious and too unsocial. It wasn't healthy.

So, after Allen's first game as a Sonic, a close loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles, he decided he needed to stop the music and his teammates needed to loosen up.

On the plane back to Seattle, Allen organized card games. He got the players talking to each other. There was an odd noise on the team plane. Laughter.

"You could tell that everybody was keeping to themselves," Allen said, relaxed in the locker room two hours before Friday's win over Memphis. "You could tell because everybody had those walls built up. They didn't really feel comfortable with each other, talking to each other. Now we have fun with each other.

"I think a lot of guys were trying to figure out what type of guy I was. Was I going to respond in the same way Gary (Payton) had? With Gary if you weren't playing well he would ream the guy. So I just tried not to come down hard on anybody. Let them know when they're doing their jobs."

That plane ride home signaled a change in style with this team. Without ceremony, without explanation, Allen was becoming the Sonics' new leader, replacing the man for whom he'd been traded, Gary Payton.

They were two great players, with two very different approaches to the game. Payton was all anger and impatience. He demanded the same of his teammates as he gave of himself.

Allen was more congenial and easygoing, more patient. Payton was as bracing as Kentucky whiskey. Allen was as smooth as a California cabernet.

"On that plane, they were in the front cabin, loose and playing cards as if nothing had happened," said Sonics coach Nate McMillan. "It was the first time I had seen all those guys together. They were communicating. They were laughing, which I thought was a good sign. It was like the beginning of a new era."

As good as Payton is, as successful as he's been, Allen seems to better fit the personality of this team. He understands the difference between easy laughter after a hard loss, and indifference.

"You've got to figure out an even ground. There's 82 games and I know when it's time to focus and when it's time to play the games," said Allen, 28. "I try to treat it the same, whether we win or whether we lose, we still have another game the next day. That's where my focus has to turn."

Ray Allen is the new superstar in town. He's a little bit of glitter for a franchise trying to get noticed. Allen starred with Denzel Washington in Spike Lee's "He Got Game." He's a three-time NBA All-Star and a two-time Olympian.

He walks comfortably in the spotlight. He enjoys the fame. But he isn't affected by it. He talks as easily with the ball boys in the locker room as he does with his teammates. He doesn't big-time anybody. He agrees to interviews and doesn't act as if it's as unpleasant as a root canal.

"He's genuine," his friend, Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kevin Ollie, who played with Allen last year in Milwaukee and Seattle, said last week.

Allen said he learned a lot about celebrity watching Washington on their movie set.

"I remember one time we were riding in the city (New York) from an audition and Denzel got out of the car and just walked down the street and back to his hotel," Allen said. "I was thinking if I had been driving down the street and saw him walking I would have lost my mind. But he wasn't worrying about anybody messing with him. That's just the mentality he has.

"He's comfortable in his own skin and that's something I learned from him. Sometimes, as a celebrity, you can become claustrophobic because you feel like somebody's always looking at you, talking behind your back, wanting something from you. But you just have to be comfortable and assume that the people coming up to you have good intentions."

It helps that Seattle is an easy town in which to be a celebrity. It's a city that respects a star's space.

"Since I've been here people haven't bothered me one bit," he said. "This is a city of culture. In the past I've been in places where it seems people always want something, your autograph or your phone number. It's like they want to hang out with you, but that doesn't happen here. It's totally great."

Allen is the new breed of superstar in Seattle. Like Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, he appears to be more Everyman than Superman.

"He's a classy guy," McMillan said. "He understands community. He understands the press. A lot of stars you can't approach, but Ray is approachable. And the way he plays is exciting to watch. When he's on a roll, his style of play is real smooth. He does things with the ball that are so amazing I'd pay to watch him play."

Even in this day of inflated ticket prices, Allen is worth the cost.

Steve Kelley: 206-464-2176 or skelley@seattletimes.com

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