Mason goes out in style like his life

As he walked through the assembled media gathered to hear his first public words since being traded to Milwaukee, Desmond Mason stopped and embraced everyone within his reach.

"I feel like crying," someone was overheard saying. "This is so sad."

That's the effect Mason, unquestionably one of the good guys in the NBA, had on people. He is sincere and caring. He led the league in community-service appearances last season. He is the kind of guy who sat bedside with a young Sonics fan dying of cancer.

Mason was the kind of tenacious basketball player on the floor and personable citizen away from the court that Sonics majority owner Howard Schultz planned to build around.

He had several conversations with team management, which assured the 6-foot-5 guard that he was one of the cornerstones of the team along with Rashard Lewis and Vladimir Radmanovic.

The Sonics told him as much last week before shipping him and Gary Payton to Milwaukee in a five-player trade.

"I learned this is a business," Mason said. "I get real personal with people. I make a lot of friends and I want them to be my lifelong friends. But when you're dealing with basketball, it's a big business. They say that your body is your business so you have to take care of it. This is kind of how it works. It was tough for me to deal with.

"I've been told a lot of things over the last year and half about being a part of this franchise for a long time. But that was cut short yesterday."

Schultz said he was "saddened by the decision, but the opportunity to acquire a player like Ray Allen was something we, as an organization, couldn't pass up."

It was no secret that Schultz and Mason were building a friendship away from basketball. The Sonics guard invited Schultz and many folks in the front office to his Hawaiian wedding last summer.

Mason always believed he could talk to Schultz about anything. But the two haven't spoken since the trade. "He called me and left me a message," Mason said. "I was actually getting my physical, so I haven't had a chance to talk to him face to face. I saw (General Manager Rick Sund) for the first time today. He asked me if I was OK and I told him, I'll be fine. I'll be all right.

"I haven't talked to Howard yet. When I do see him, I'm not going to act crazy. I'm a young guy and I got a long future. Regardless of where I'm at, I'm going to play ball."

During last night's introductions, Mason received a standing ovation from the crowd. Many signs in the stands displayed affection for the acrobatic dunker known as "The Cowboy."

Mason tried to smile, but he appeared saddened. "If tell you I'm going to do something, I'm going to do it," he said. "Bottom line. So it's hard for me to expect everyone to be that way, but that's how I would like people to treat me also. If you tell me something, if you feed me this, be true about it.

"Or just tell me that you don't know. It's up in the air. Don't give me 'You will be here,' or 'This is what we're going to do.' Just tell me you don't know. Or don't say anything at all."