Brown happy it's Haywood's time

Fred Brown had one question when the Sonics approached him about having his number retired.

"The first thing out of my mouth was that Spencer Haywood should be retired before anybody else," said Brown, who had his No. 32 retired in November 1986. "The one reason why I agreed to a Fred Brown honor was I looked at it as an honor for all of the players who came before me. But the city deserved to have Spencer Haywood up there."

After Haywood was included in last summer's Legends Tour with the Sonics, Lenny Wilkens reignited talks about retiring Haywood's No. 24. When Clay Bennett purchased the franchise in July and appointed Wilkens vice chairman in the fall, the go-ahead was given.

Haywood, traded to New York in October 1975 after five seasons in Seattle, will have his jersey retired in a halftime ceremony Monday. Brown, Wilkens, Jack Sikma, Nate McMillan and Gus Williams — the other five Sonics with retired jerseys — will participate. Haywood, 57, will be given an elaborate spread of gifts, including a framed jersey and autographed basketball.

"It basically has to do with who's in ownership," Sonics legend Slick Watts said. "Lets face it; a lot of people's numbers could be up there. A lot of it has to deal with the ownership, and we've got a different owner. Clay Bennett is trying to cover all of the bases. They even gave me a job [in community relations]. They're trying to cover all the bases, and he wants to do the right thing. But I always say it was time a long time ago."

Haywood, who has two sisters who have lived in the Seattle area the past three decades, begins his return today at a basketball clinic from 3 to 4 p.m. at Crossroads Community Center. He'll be on Smooth Jazz 98.9 (KWJZ) on Monday morning and appear at Key Bank Key Center at Fourth and Union from 1 to 2 p.m.

The halftime ceremony Monday will be tempered because Dennis Johnson, who was named MVP of the 1979 championship team, died on Thursday. He also wore No. 24. The Sonics will pay tribute to Johnson prior to the game against Portland, then the focus will turn to Haywood.

Brown is particularly enthused about Haywood's honor. They teamed to help lead the organization to its first postseason appearance in 1975. And Haywood always made practice spirited with his competitive nature, or with shots that would make coach Bill Russell stop the session.

"Spencer Haywood, would you please take that shot out of your repertoire," Russell would say sternly after watching the 6-foot-8 forward swish a fadeaway.

"It's been a long time coming," said Haywood, who averaged 24.9 points and 12.1 rebounds in Seattle. "But it came on time, with time on God's time."