Gelabale Returns from Idaho

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The Sonics recalled Mickael Gelabale from the Idaho Stampede Tuesday and will have him available Wednesday, when they host the Utah Jazz in their pre-All-Star finale. The recall was on schedule, as the Sonics planned all along to have Gelabale play six games in Idaho and return before the D-League's All-Star break.

In six games, Gelabale averaged 17.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. He shot an impressive 59.7% from the field and 7-of-20 (35.0%) from three-point range.

"Gelly was way more good than bad, just kind of stuck out - which he should, somebody who's better than the players in that league," said Sonics Head Coach P.J. Carlesimo. "That's good. He had a couple of games where he had a really good half and a fair half. You'd like to see him go down and put two halves together all six times, but particularly the first game that's probably hard to do. I think in general he went down and acquitted himself very well."

While the Sonics already have a crowded rotation, Carlesimo said the Sonics want to make sure they get Gelabale in the mix at some point during the second half of the season to get a better look at him at the NBA level.

Mouhamed Sene is also on his way back to Seattle, but just for the All-Star break. The Sonics are pleased with the progress Sene is making playing for the Stampede. Sene has averaged 11.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.1 blocks in 18 games, shooting 55.3%.

As for the Stampede, the team saw its D-League-record 18-game winning streak snapped by Los Angeles on Saturday and then lost against Monday at Utah. Still, Idaho goes into the All-Star break as the league's top team by three games at 23-7. Stampede Head Coach Bryan Gates, who worked as an assistant for the Sonics during summer-league play, will coach in Saturday's D-League All-Star Game in New Orleans.

In other news from Sonics practice, Carlesimo indicated it was possible center Robert Swift might move into the rotation at some point after the All-Star break, which could be a natural break in the schedule.

"When we come back," said Carlesimo, "maybe start over and say we've got to make some changes."

Carlesimo was generally pleased with the way his team responded to comming back to practice this week after taking the weekend off.

"We actually had two pretty good practices considering the days off," he said. "It was a little slow starting, but I think today was good."

Gelabale Gets the Point

With the Sonics missing point guards Luke Ridnour and Delonte West last night against the L.A. Clippers, swingman Mickaël Gelabale saw extended action at the position for the first time in his career. Backing up starter Earl Watson, Gelabale played 11 minutes. He did not score and committed three turnovers, but had three boards and three assists. Most notably, the Sonics were +8 during Gelabale's time on the court.

"He more than held his own, which was good," Sonics Head Coach P.J. Carlesimo said after today's practice. "We were positive when he was on the floor. Some of it is always matchups and who's on the floor for the other team too, but the fact remains - had he really struggled, then we wouldn't have been able to keep him on the floor as long as we did. We would have had to get Earl back sooner. Earl would have been more fatigued, would have had to play more minutes. He did good things. I thought he defended well, I thought for the most part he got the ball where we wanted it to be, got us into some sets."

"I thought he was good," added Ridnour. "He's a big point guard out there, but it was fun to see him play. He looked confident."

Gelabale was also pleased with his ability to play the position, though he took exception to his shooting, telling reporters, "Yesterday I was 0-of-5. Today I need to work on my shot."

For Gelabale, the hardest part of playing the position was, "Taking the ball upcourt with the point guard defending hard on you.

"Yeah, because I'm 6-7 and yesterday the guard was like 6-0 or 5-something." [Clippers point guards Dan Dickau and Brevin Knight go 6-0 and 5-10, respectively.]

Reporters asked Gelabale if playing the point was a way to get on the floor more often, and he downplayed the notion, answering with a smile, "I'm working on it, but we have three point guards, so I don't want to be the fourth one."

With three point guards competing for minutes at the position, Gelabale doesn't figure to get time there when the Sonics are healthy. However, it could be part of his long-term future. Carlesimo pointed out that, if at some point Gelabale goes down to the D-League, the Sonics might ask Idaho Stampede Head Coach Bryan Gates to try to get him some minutes at the point.

Gelabale's run as the backup point guard might not be over yet. Ridnour and West are questionable to play against the Bucks Friday after practicing today. I had more on that topic in my story on the Sonics evaluating their point guards.

- With the Sonics about to reach the quarter pole for the 2007-08 season, Carlesimo said he expects to meet with his players individually over the course of the upcoming road trip to evaluate the season so far and have both sides offer feedback.

"Some guys we've already had opportunities," said Carlesimo. "We haven't had real sitdowns. After tomorrow, not that there's magic, but it's 20 games and we're going to be away from home for seven or eight days, so it really lends itself well now in the next week or so to have sitdowns with people."