Clutch shots to team mediator, Allen in charge

The locker room, as Ray Allen likes to say, is the players' sanctuary, where schoolboy hijinks are not uncommon among millionaire basketball players who pass the minutes before games with a variety of good-natured horseplay.

Allen warns first-time visitors that they're subject to the same rule that governs every member of the Sonics. And there's just one rule: If you can't take it, then don't dish it out.

The Sonics, who begin defense of their Northwest Division championship tonight against the visiting Los Angeles Clippers, attribute much of their tight-knit continuity to moments such as these when the games in the locker room are sometimes just as entertaining as the game.

"In my time [in the NBA] I've seen guys get so mad from cracking on each other that they'd want to fight," Allen said. "And these are the same guys who minutes later would be on the court playing basketball as if nothing happened.

"Teams ... are like a family. And no two families are the same. And within those families, you got different relationships. Sometimes you love your brother or sister, but then sometimes you want to kill them."

Spend a few minutes inside the Sonics' locker room listening to the barbs fly back and forth and the free-flowing discussions about a range of topics from the NBA dress code to Hurricane Katrina, and it's clear that Allen is in charge.

He doesn't admit it, and almost always refers to the stewardship of the Sonics as a co-captaincy that he shares with Rashard Lewis, perhaps out of respect for the younger player's tenure with the Sonics.

While Lewis has played in Seattle since 1998 — nearly twice as long as anyone else — the 30-year-old Allen is four years his senior and far more accomplished on the court. The distinction makes the pecking order clear and evident.

"We keep things light in here," said Lewis. "Ray is usually at the center of all of that. ... He's usually the one making little sly remarks, cracking on people and things like that."

It's Allen who often acts as mediator between players and coach Bob Weiss. Allen urged the new coach to soften team rules that prohibited cellphone usage and leisure attire on long trips.

And it was Allen who had the biggest games in the biggest moments, such as a 45-point outburst in a Game 4 victory against Sacramento in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.

"Sometimes he just puts the team on his back," reserve guard Mateen Cleaves said. "Sometimes he's vocal when he has to be. He's not a guy that is going to be in your face saying something all the time, but he knows when to say certain things to guys."

Allen suggested the players participate in a holiday gift exchange, organizes gatherings on the road, which include playing cards and dining, and has taken reserve forward Damien Wilkins under his tutelage.

"He's an All-Star, so I figure if he's doing it, it can't be wrong," Wilkins said of their pregame routine that requires them to arrive at the arena hours before anyone else for a light workout. "Last year, it was me, Ray and AD [Antonio Daniels]. Now it's just me and Ray."

Allen is involved with almost every facet of the Sonics. Not only does he mentor the guards, but often gives advice to the forwards and centers. Last season, Allen constantly encouraged Jerome James when it was unpopular to do so and while the former Sonics center was mired in a slump.

A few weeks ago, Allen jokingly said James and Daniels, who departed during free agency, should give him a percentage of their $30 million contracts.

"We're going to miss AD in ways that's difficult to describe," Allen said. "Like when you might say something, you always need somebody else to back you up. AD did that for me ... and right now, we don't have a guy like that."

It's not as if Allen is entirely alone, but he admits that he's been more of a vocal leader than he ever was during his 6 ½ seasons in Milwaukee and his 2 ½-year stint in Seattle.

With the Bucks, a trio of veterans (Sam Cassell, Glenn Robinson and Tim Thomas) surrounded Allen and took control of those teams. After being traded to the Sonics in February 2003, Allen was hesitant to use his veteran influence because of his lame-duck status.

In almost every city last season, a reporter would inevitably stroll into the Sonics' locker room, approach Allen and ask if he envisioned signing a contract with that evening's opponent once he became an unrestricted free agent.

In New York, Denver, Los Angeles and Utah, his answer never changed: Maybe. Being one of nine Sonics free agents last season bonded him to the group while also usurping his authority.

This season, Allen is unshackled by the uncertainty of free agency and says the five-year, $80 million deal he signed with the Sonics requires him to be more than just an All-Star guard who averaged 23.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists last season.

"With my contract I know that, fair or unfair, I'm going to get the credit and the blame for what goes on around here," Allen said. "Some people think I was playing for a contract last year, which couldn't be further from the truth.

"The truth of the matter is, this team has put me in the position where I can lead and set the example. And that's something that I'm comfortable doing."

Percy Allen: 206-464-2278 or pallen@seattletimes.com