LISA BLUMENFELD / GETTY IMAGES
	Desmond Mason was stunned by his trade from the Sonics but has found a home in Milwaukee, with which he signed a three-year extension.

The fans, the coaches and his teammates. He thanked the trainers, the ball boys, the public-relations staff and members of the media.

It was just his way of letting the legions of everyday people behind the scenes at Sonics games who helped him blossom from an unknown mid-first round project into a solid NBA player know how much they meant to him.

Mason, a high-flying and acrobatic dunker, provided several memorable moments. Still, he wasn't a bona-fide star on the court, at least not yet, anyway. Away from basketball, however, the 6-5 shooting guard was the rarest and most precious gem.

He led the league in community-service appearances, sat bedside with a young Sonics fan dying from cancer and rarely said no when it came to giving.

Said Rashard Lewis, his former teammate and good friend: "Dez's problem is he cares too much. He's got a big heart."

Mason always wore his emotions on his sleeve and the entire world could see the hurt and disappointment in his eyes after the trade that sent him and Gary Payton to Milwaukee on Feb. 20 for Ray Allen, Kevin Ollie, Ronald Murray and a conditional first-round draft pick.

This wasn't the goodbye he had planned. There was supposed to be tributes and highlight clips of him dunking as he pulled on ropes that raised his No. 24 jersey into the rafters next to Lewis' No. 7.

At least that's how his Sonics career ended in his dreams.

That's what he and majority owner Howard Schultz talked about. Mason and Lewis were cornerstones of the new Sonics, post Payton, Vin Baker and Shawn Kemp.

Everyone told him this.

Then the Sonics told him he was traded.

For several months there was an icy silence between the two parties. Schultz said he left several messages on Mason's cellphone. Mason said he has moved on.

He sold his house in Maple Valley and found a new home along the lakeshore in Milwaukee, where he signed a three-year contract extension.

As for the Sonics, Mason said: "I'll remember my time here for the rest of my life."

And of Schultz? The two finally spoke when Milwaukee visited Seattle on Dec. 14.

"We talked," said Mason. "That's about all I can say. Maybe in the future we can talk some more."