Only 18, Durant Now The Face Of The Sonics

SEATTLE (AP) _ Kevin Durant is welcomed as the public face and cornerstone of the Seattle SuperSonics. <br/><br/>Durant was accompanied Friday by Jeff Green, whose availability was the catalyst behind

Saturday, June 30th 2007, 3:10 pm

By: News On 6

SEATTLE (AP) _ Kevin Durant is welcomed as the public face and cornerstone of the Seattle SuperSonics.

Durant was accompanied Friday by Jeff Green, whose availability was the catalyst behind a draft night trade that shipped seven-time All-Star Ray Allen from Seattle to Boston, and landed the Sonics two of the top five picks.

Seattle general manager Sam Presti sees Durant and Green as the Sonics' future.

Presti's next decision will be whether Rashard Lewis be a part of that foundation.

Lewis is expected to command a salary in the range of $15 million per season, and be heavily sought after by many teams. The 6'10 forward is coming off his best season, where he averaged career-highs in points (22.4), rebounds (6.6) and assists (2.4).

Publicly, Seattle is expressing its interest in bringing back Lewis, but Lewis' agent, Tony Dutt, is still waiting to hear exactly what the Sonics' plans are.

The SuperSonics are owned by Oklahoma City businessman Clay Bennett.