<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The tenor of Sonics practice was decisively upbeat upon the return of center Johan Petro and guard Ronald Murray. During the latter stages of Monday's workout, Murray appeared to show no lingering effects from the back spasms that forced him to miss the past four games as he blistered the defense in a 5-on-5 scrimmage with an array of mid-range jumpers and dribble-drive layups. Petro watched from the sideline, but afterward said he no longer feels any pain from the gastroenteritis that knocked him out of Sunday's lineup. Bob Weiss plans to re-insert Petro into the starting lineup before tonight's game against Utah at KeyArena. The Sonics coach is unsure how he will use Murray, who might have lost his spot in the rotation to Mateen Cleaves. While Murray was out, Cleaves committed just one turnover and averaged 5.0 points and 2.5 assists. He was one of the catalysts of Friday's 98-84 victory against Chicago as he played in the final minutes and had been a steadying influence during Seattle's turbulent 1-4 start. Weiss is leery about disrupting a delicate balance among his backcourt players after spending the first two weeks of the season trying to find a rotation that works. He has no intention of tinkering with the starters (Ray Allen and Luke Ridnour) and likes Damien Wilkins as a defensive reserve who can substitute for either Allen or Rashard Lewis. Potentially, Murray gives the Sonics a dynamic scorer on the bench, although he's averaging just 9.0 points and has missed 12 of 13 three-pointers. Cleaves is considered a caretaker of the offense who's able to score if needed. "We'll just have to see how that goes," Weiss said. The decision in regards to Petro is much easier. The 7-foot rookie replaces forward Danny Fortson and resumes his role in the middle, which gives Seattle a taller body to defend against 7-2 Utah center Greg Ostertag and 6-11 forward Mehmet Okur. "I'm ready to play again," Petro said. "The pain is gone."</div> Source
Good to see the young kid back in action - I really like his athleticism, he made a few plays against Boston where you said 'whoa he's only 19?' On a related note, there were off season rumors we were after Desagnia Diop...saw one of his games with Dallas where he had 16 rebs and 4 blocks - he looked great, wish we woulda signed him over Big Game Mikki.
