By Mike Kahn
CBS SportsLine Executive Editor
Nov. 4, 1998

SEATTLE -- While NBA commissioner David Stern and players association executive director Billy Hunter met in New York Wednesday and failed again to make any headway in the more than four-month lockout and labor strife between the two parties, NBA players and aspirants were still running drills and scrimmaging in a suburban Seattle gym.

All-Star Seattle SuperSonics Gary Payton, Detlef Schrempf and Vin Baker were there. So was former first-round draft choice Christian Welp, who ironically chose to return from Europe this season. Getting loose in another corner was Seattle native and star guard of the Toronto Raptors, Doug Christie.

THE

Gary Payton can't wait to get back in a Sonics uniform. (Allsport)

MOOD WASN'T SIGNIFICANTLY different than any other time you see them stretching or shooting. But once they started answering questions it became an entirely different story.

"We're all straight with this, believe me," Payton said. "We're trying to help the guys who don't have a lot of money, but we're all together in this. If not, there's always Europe and I'll talk to my agent about that."

Payton spent a good bit of the summer playing ball in Italy as part of his deal with Nike. Still, Payton will average more than $12 million a year and he's giving up a lot of money by not playing. But he also made it clear, he already has a lot of money and that it's not the issue. Even after having his third child with wife Monique, he still doesn't have a lot of concerns.

"I just want to play," he added. "That's why we're here right now."

Schrempf's situation is different. While Payton, 30, is entering just the third year of a seven-year, $88 million-plus contract, Schrempf turns 36 in January and is in the final year of a five-year, $20 million deal, and injuries have begun to crop up.

"I don't want my career to end like this," Schrempf said. "The system obviously isn't working. There are guys who are overpaid and guys who are underpaid. No matter what Michael Jordan makes, it can't be too much, and Scottie Pippen has been underpaid for years. He deserves his money. I'm not saying everybody should be overpaid, but if David Stern can make $8 million and coaches are getting $5 million a year or more, then you can't tell me the owners aren't making money.

"This isn't a normal job. You look at what Mike Tyson gets for a fight or what movie stars make or rock stars . . . entertainment dollars are huge. This fits into that category. But I'm not going to keep busting my butt every day here for no reason. If we're not playing by Christmas, it's over and we all know it. That's why I'm going to Europe next week."

SCHREMPF ISN'T GOING TO GERMANY FOR good. He and Welp, former teammates at the University of Washington and native Germans who went to high school in Washington, are exploring the possibilities with the German national team. Schrempf is considering Italy. Welp would rather not.

"I'm tired of playing over there," said Welp, the first-round pick of Philadelphia in 1987. "I have until Christmas to sign over there, but I'd really like to play for the Sonics. I want to live in Seattle year-round. I don't want to be over there 10 months out of the year. Eight years has been too long. That's why I came back, hoping to play in the NBA again."

Welp, a 7-footer with a deft shooting touch who didn't mix it up inside very much, will be 35 in January. Money isn't his motivating factor, but he'd just as soon play for the Sonics as do anything else.

"I want to get into a training camp somewhere . . . if there is one," Welp said. "Everything I see is hurting basketball. This is the wrong way to go about it. All these strongarm tactics hurt the game. Everybody wants to play and the fans are looking at a bunch of millionaires arguing. This is a very difficult situation."

CHRISTIE IS CHOOSING TO LOOK AT the bright side. A Seattle native, he lives in a south suburb with his wife and two children, and is entering the second year of a seven-year, $22 million contract. He's not thrilled with Toronto and made it clear after Isiah Thomas left as general manager last season that he wants out, too. Ironically, the Sonics drafted him in 1992, but his agent, Brad Marshall, couldn't work out a deal. Since then, he has been traded to the Lakers, Knicks and Raptors.

"It's funny how this works out," Christie said. "It's great being here. I'm with my wife and kids every day. They come with me to Toronto, but this is home. I didn't like what was going on there (Toronto) when the season was over and because of the lockout, I haven't talked to anybody since. The communication is real bad right now and the lockout is obviously making it worse."

Like Welp, there are other free agents trying to get jobs, like John Coker, from Boise State. It's a different deal for guys like Payton and Schrempf, and they know it.

"We've got to work something out," Payton said. "Eventually, everybody has to get jobs. I know I can play somewhere, but some of these guys are going to be working at fast food places just to make some money. It never should have gone this far, but now it has and we'll just have to deal with it."

Which can mean anything from shooting jump shots in Milan to flipping pizzas down the street. There's a month to straighten this out. If not, the European leagues will see more talent than ever before.

"Right now, I just consider myself unemployed," Schrempf added. "And it's my responsibility to my family to get a job."

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