Sonics Notebook | Nelson seeks out Wilkens to sign his name in history

Don Nelson played groupie Sunday, winding through the KeyArena corridors in search of legendary Lenny Wilkens with an autographed game ball in hand.

Nelson, in the first few months of his second stint as the head coach at Golden State after also coaching the Warriors from 1988 to 1994, won his 1,200th NBA matchup Saturday, defeating New Orleans/Oklahoma City 101-80.

Warriors players and coaches signed the game ball afterward, but Nelson also wanted Wilkens, a man he regards as a mentor.

Wilkens, a Sonics vice chairman and color analyst, is the winningest coach in NBA history with 1,332 victories. Nelson is second on the list, but said he'd retire before surpassing the mark.

"I don't know if it's great to be back," Nelson, 66, joked with Wilkens, 69, when they found each other outside the Sonics' locker room.

"I've always tried to be like him," Nelson said, adding that he usually fails miserably because of his prickly personality. "He's been my idol for many years."

Fortson returning?

Sonics forward Danny Fortson said recently his knee is "fine," but he hasn't participated in a full practice since first feeling soreness in his right knee Nov. 17, missing the team's past 12 games.

The Sonics have missed his muscle inside and production off the bench.

Fortson would be useful on the team's upcoming five-game road swing against physical Eastern Conference teams, but he will not be with the team.

While Sonics coach Bob Hill said it's hard to say when Fortson will return, the coach said Fortson estimated it to be two weeks. That would put his return in line with Ray Allen, who is out with an ankle injury and hopes to be back Dec. 20.

Listen up

Guard Earl Watson's pregame ritual involves draping a towel over his head and plugging his iPod headset into his ears to bump to hip-hop music while watching game film.

With music being an important part of his preparation, it's understandable he couldn't bite his tongue last month when game operations had the players taking the floor to music by Beyonce.

Well, that mixed CD was dumped. For the team's past five home games, they've run onto the court listening to Young Jeezy's track, "And Then What?" posting a 4-1 record.

"It's been better," said Watson, who has averaged 13.5 points in his past two games. "They've been mixing it up with hip-hop and old school. I can go all old-school. I just like good music with a good beat and a good baseline. It's a spirit within itself and gets you excited."