Seattle SuperSonics guard Rick Brunson is expected to be sidelined at least two months because of a foot injury.

Brunson, bothered by plantar fasciitis all season, tore the fascia in his left foot during practice Monday. He said he was making a move during a one-on-on drill and heard something in his foot pop.

"I tried to come back and see how I felt with some type of pain. When I tore it that was it," Brunson, wearing a protective boot and using a crutch, said Tuesday. "I've never had to sit out a long period of time. It's frustrating because I wanted to bring something to this team."

Sonics guard Ronald Murray returned after missing his team's previous six games due to back spasms.

Murray played 25 minutes, primarily because All-Star Ray Allen was stuck on the bench because of foul trouble. Murray made an impact, however, finishing with 13 points on 5-for-14 shooting. He also had four rebounds and four assists.

"I felt good," Murray said. "There were no problems at all."

Murray has been in uniform the past two games but did not play. Sonics coach Bob Weiss said it was hard to sneak the point/shooting guard into the rotation because Mateen Cleaves and Damien Wilkins played well while Murray was injured.

It appears as if the Seattle SuperSonics are going to lose Brendan Malone as a consultant.
Malone was fired by the Cleveland Cavaliers as interim coach after last season. But the Cavaliers still are paying Malone a salary.

The Cavaliers called the Sonics this week and told them that they did not want Malone playing such a significant role with the team if they still were still paying him.

The Sonics do not want to pay Malone because he was added after coach Bob Weiss had formed his staff and he does not fit into their budget. Malone does not want to lose the salary that the Cavaliers are paying him so it appears likely he will stop working for Seattle.

As he was discussing his latest, unexpected milestone, Seattle SuperSonics All-Star forward Rashard Lewis revealed Wednesday that he plans on opting out of his contract after next season and once again becoming an unrestricted free agent.

Including this season, Lewis has four years and around $48 million remaining on the seven-year, $60 million contract he signed in the summer of 2003.

But the team gave Lewis an option to get out of the contract after the 2006-07 season, which Lewis said he will take. If he does, he will forgo $21 million over the final two years of his deal to seek a more lucrative contract.

?My mind-set is, to me, I am going to look at the last two years of my contract and see how much I can make those last two years, and how much I can get if I opt out of my contract,? said Lewis, who moved into second place on the team?s all-time list by making his 700th 3-pointer Tuesday night (he trails only Gary Payton). ?There are a lot of areas I am going to have to look at.

?See what teams are going to be able to pay me, or will the Sonics be willing to pay me? Nick Collison is going to be up, Luke (Ridnour) is going to be up, there will be a lot of confusion going on after the money that Ray (Allen) got. It will be tough, a lot of tough decisions, but I do plan on opting out.?

After next season, the Sonics will have contracts committed only to Allen, who this past summer signed a five-year, $80 million deal, and Damien Wilkins. The team will have the option to sign Robert Swift and Johan Petro, and Collison and Ridnour will be eligible for free agency, though the team will hold both players? Larry Bird rights.

Lewis has always been pragmatic about the NBA, never getting caught up in emotion, particularly after seeing his best friend, Desmond Mason, traded to Milwaukee. Lewis said he would like to play in Seattle his entire career, but he left little doubt that it will be a financial decision.

?I can see myself playing for the rest of my career here, but I don?t think that is going to be my decision,? Lewis said. ?It is halfway my decision, but the upstairs office has a lot of control on every player here, where they want us to be and what they want us to do.?

According to Coach Weiss Danny Fortson will be on the inactive list for 5-7 days due to pain in his toe. Weiss explained that Fortson was sore prior to entering last nights game but did not mention it to the coach until after he go into the game. Weiss called out Robert Swift as being impressive in practice lately and named Swift, Vitaly, and Mikki Moore as players who would replace Fortson in the rotation.

Johan Petro is expected to start tomorrow?s game against the Lakers.

Seattle SuperSonics rookie center Johan Petro returned to practice on Monday, one day after checking into a hospital with dehydration from a stomach flu.

Petro participated in most of the practice, and is a game-time decision for Tuesday night's game against Utah. The SuperSonics have won three straight.

The French rookie has started seven games, averaging 3.4 points and 4.1 rebounds in nearly 19 minutes per game.

Ronald Murray's back spasms have subsided, but the reserve Sonics guard isn't any closer to returning to action.

Coach Bob Weiss estimated Murray will miss the team's upcoming three home games as a precautionary measure. Murray first felt his back flare up in New Jersey and has missed the past three games.

Teammates caught a glimpse of the pain when they returned home from a six-game road trip early Thursday morning, winning the final game in Boston. While players waited for the luggage at 3:30 a.m., Weiss asked if Murray could grab his bags off the ground.

"He said he was all right, then, 'Agh!' " said Weiss, imitating Murray's groan. "He didn't get close to the bag so I said, 'I'll make two trips.' That back, it's murder."

Murray's absence gives Mateen Cleaves more opportunity backing up Luke Ridnour at point guard and Damien Wilkins at shooting guard. Cleaves keeps the offense moving better than Murray, a natural shooting guard, but Weiss wants to fill the role with the latter.

Sonics reserve guard Ronald Murray suffered back spasms during warmups and was unable to play Tuesday night. Damien Wilkins and Mateen Cleaves assumed Murray's spot in the rotation, and they combined for eight points and four assists.

Backup forward Danny Fortson played just 4:27 and missed the second half of the loss to New Jersey after suffering an inflamed right big toe. Fortson said afterward that he's not sure if he'll be able to play tonight against Boston and is treating the injury with anti-inflammatory pills and rest.

Expect Bob Weiss to be the first coach fired this NBA season.
   
It may not happen this week. It may not happen next week. But the first-year coach will be terminated soon -- and with extreme prejudice.
   
For now, Weiss is still the coach of the Seattle SuperSonics, who just completed one of the worst weeks in NBA history.
   
The Sonics mailed in a 25-loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, phoned in a 27-point loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers and just plain quit in a 41-point loss to the Washington Wizards on Friday night at MCI Center. Seattle did salvage the week with a victory against the winless Toronto Raptors ... in overtime after blowing an 18-point, fourth-quarter lead.
   
Of Friday's evisceration, Weiss said, "It was an embarrassment. We have to become accountable. We've got to become more aggressive. We've got to take it personal. We're letting teams manhandle us. We've got to get more physical. We have to get after people. We've got to have more pride. We're just in a funk. We're out there stumbling around. We're not competing. It was just completely unacceptable."

Vladimir Radmanovic is in the fifth and last year of his rookie contract, which is viewed around the league as a one-year deal. And as such, he cannot be traded without his consent. (That is a new twist in the new collective bargaining agreement.)

However, if he decides to agree to a deal, he surrenders his Bird rights, which would not be the case if he remained in Seattle and got the Sonics to agree to a sign-and-trade next summer. In other words, unless Radmanovic and his agent can find a receptive team with plenty of cap room next year (Chicago, for instance), it would be a colossal financial blunder to agree to a trade, especially since he is reported to have already rejected a $42 million extension.