Sonics Put Together A Mad, Mad Backcourt -- Maxwell Signs Three- Year Deal To Help Payton Frustrate Foes

He doesn't have the All-Star credentials of Gary Payton. But when it comes to being high-strung and a tad mad, Vernon Maxwell is Payton's equal. The nickname - Mad Max - gives a clue.

The Sonics' signing of the 33-year-old shooting guard yesterday produces perhaps the league's most volatile backcourt. Call it the all-technical backcourt - starring Payton, who led the NBA in technical fouls last season.

"It's going to be very intimidating to see me and that guy in the backcourt together and everybody knows it," said Maxwell, who accepted a three-year contract worth about $5 million.

"I'm looking forward to it because I know we run our mouth the same. We play with the same aggression on defense and the same thing on offense. I've always wanted to play with a guy in the backcourt like that, with the same temperament as me."

After missing out on shooting guard Mitch Richmond of the Washington Wizards and power forward Gary Trent of the Dallas Mavericks, the Sonics hit one of their free-agent targets. The courting started in early July, when Coach Paul Westphal and Vice President Billy McKinney flew to Southern California to sell the former Sacramento King on the Sonics.

General Manager Wally Walker said: "Both sides were enthusiastic after the meeting about how much fun it would be for the players and everyone involved to see Gary and Vern lined up defensively, with their intensity and ball pressure."

New Sonic Horace Grant is best friends with Maxwell and played a part in persuading him to come to Seattle.

"It had a lot to do with it," Maxwell said.

The 6-foot-4 guard turned down slightly better offers from the Detroit Pistons, Toronto Raptors and Los Angeles Clippers.

"I just felt like I had a better opportunity," Maxwell said. "I'm an older guy now. I know it will be hard for me to deal with a lot of losses right now in my career."

But unless the Sonics sign a starting small forward, they won't intimidate the rest of the Western Conference.

Maxwell appears willing to come off the bench behind Hersey Hawkins. But that might not be necessary. The best way for the Sonics to get a small forward is to trade Hawkins, who is scheduled to make $4.1 million next season.

With Maxwell, the Sonics have a shooting guard willing and able to create his own shot. Maxwell, as a reserve last season, averaged 10.7 points and shot 35 percent from three-point range, is well known for scoring binges. While with Houston in 1991, he became one of five players in NBA history to score at least 30 points in a quarter. In the fourth period against the Cavaliers, Maxwell scored 30 points on the way to a career-high 51.

But Maxwell also has made a mark off the court - by appearing in court. In March 1998, Maxwell served 45 days in jail for possessing 0.2 grams of marijuana.

"You have to make a judgment call," Walker said. "In Vernon's case, he had a real solid season in Sacramento. I think his issues are in the rear-view mirror."

In 1995, Maxwell left the court in Portland to punch a fan who apparently poked fun at his recently stillborn daughter.

"The past is the past," Maxwell said. "I've moved ahead. I have my wife and my family. I'm at peace with myself."

Maxwell has three children: Vernon Jr., 13; Brandon, 5; and daughter Ariel, 10. Maxwell said they have made him move into the slow lane off the court.

"Before, (Maxwell) wanted the fastest and flashiest Porsche, with `Mad Max' plates," his wife, Resharita, told The Sacramento Bee in February. "Now he has a Range Rover with no window tinting. He grew up."

Maxwell is entering his 12th season in the NBA. But he is still one of the league's quickest guards.

"I see guys in the NBA who are 23, 22 years old," Maxwell said. "I'm just as (fit) as they are. I can run just as fast as anyone on the court."

Maxwell's career reached its peak in 1994, when he scored 21 points in Game 7 of the NBA Finals to help the Rockets win their first title. But he was waived in 1995 after a dispute with the Rockets coaching staff.

From 1995 to 1998, Maxwell played for Philadelphia, San Antonio, Orlando and Charlotte.

"I wanted some stability in my career," Maxwell said.

Now, Mad Max hopes to find it in Seattle, where he has a kindred spirit in Payton.

"We need some ghetto on our crew," Payton said last month. "Get somebody that's going to bang like me - get crazy."