Sonics
Fortson says he feels targeted

By Percy Allen
Seattle Times staff reporter

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MINNEAPOLIS — Between his broad shoulders and just below the nape of his neck, Danny Fortson had a tattoo artist stencil "Smoochie," a nickname that he had been given a long time ago, across his back.

To listen to the Sonics forward as he sat comfortably in a plastic folding chair after yesterday's practice, he believes his tattoo has been replaced by a oversize bull's-eye, which has made him a target for NBA officials.

"It's obvious," he said. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see what's going on. They're taking me out of the game and I'm trying to help the team win.

"It feels like I'm having that (physical play) taken away from me. For whatever reasons, I don't know. I really don't understand it."

The Sonics forward, acquired from Dallas during the offseason in a trade for Calvin Booth, has been an asset to his new team when he can stay in the game.

He was largely responsible for wins against San Antonio and Sacramento, as he dominated the middle defensively, and controlled the glass, registering double figures in points and rebounds in each victory.

But too often, his aggressiveness has been rewarded with a bevy of fouls, which has limited his effectiveness and playing time.

Five times, he has played fewer than 14 minutes because of foul trouble. He has fouled out twice, and, in every game, he has collected at least four. Fortson has also been suspended by the NBA for a game after receiving a flagrant 2 foul for throwing an elbow at Toronto's Chris Bosh.

In Sunday's 102-83 defeat at Boston, Fortson played just 13 minutes and finished with six points and four rebounds before fouling out.
 
Fortson also collected a technical foul, his league-high fourth of the season, while talking to Antonio Daniels about the tight officiating.

"I tell Antonio Daniels, 'Be careful. Set your man up so I can get good screen because the referees are looking to nail a guy so they can call a foul' and boom a T," Fortson said. "I'm talking to Antonio Daniels and I get a technical foul. That's not fair. That's really not fair."

Daniels corroborated Fortson's story, but after spending a season in Portland with Rasheed Wallace, another habitual offender, he knows that the officials are not going to change.

"I think Danny has a target on his back, which is to be expected because he plays as physical as he does," Daniels said. "But sometimes some of the calls that he gets compared to some of the other guys are a little, I don't know what you want to call it, unfair. But a lot of things that happen in this league aren't fair.

"You can't ask him to change his game. You can't ask him to change who he is, but for the betterment of this team, sometimes you have to adjust to the way that the referees are calling the game because we need (him) out there."

Sonics GM Rick Sund and coach Nate McMillan spoke to Stu Jackson, the NBA's senior vice president of basketball operations, about the officials' so-called special treatment of Fortson, but their request fell on deaf ears.

"I'm looking at tapes and I'm seeing him get hit just as much as he's hitting and I'm seeing him not getting calls," McMillan said. "I think sometimes anything that's close or any type of flop or bodies fly, he's getting called for it."

Fortson tried to approach Jackson before the game in Denver, but the man who levies fines and suspensions stopped him cold when he said: "I'll be watching you."

Jackson may have been joking, but Fortson said: "I didn't think he was a Danny Fortson supporter after that."

Fouling up Fortson
Danny Fortson has fouled out of two games and excessive fouls have limited his playing time to fewer than 14 minutes in five games. He leads the NBA with four technical fouls.
Opp	Min.	Reb.	Pts.	Fouls	Tech.
Boston	13	4	6	6	1
Toronto	20	10	7	4	0
New Jersey	22	6	14	5	1
Philadelphia	13	3	2	6	0
Toronto	10	0	0	5	0
Sacramento	21	13	16	5	1
Denver	14	8	6	5	0
San Antonio	21	13	15	5	1
Atlanta	14	5	9	5	0
Note: Fortson missed the season opener against the Los Angeles Clippers because of a back strain and didn't play against Memphis while serving a one-game suspension by the league after being accessed a flagrant 2 foul.