Mike Bellerive/Sonics Photos

QUOTABLE ... “Vitaly, I think, will be a guy who really will surprise some people.” - Coach Nate McMillan

Position: Center
Height: 6-10
Weight: 285

2002-03 Stats
G	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	FG%	FT%	3P%
26	15.5	4.0	3.4	0.2	.441	.759	.000

Role:
Backup center. Vitaly Potapenko will probably play a similar role to the one he did during January and early February last season, splitting time as a backup center depending on matchups. Potapenko is well-suited to defend burly post scorers, and gives the Sonics an element of toughness they don’t get anywhere else. He will probably play more against slower-paced Eastern Conference teams, having spent the vast majority of his career in the East.

Outlook:
When the Sonics acquired Potapenko last summer as part of the Vin Baker trade, it was with the expectation that he would be unable to play perhaps until late in January after having surgery to repair a torn ACL. Potapenko threw himself into his rehabilitation and was back on the court by late December. At that point, the Sonics needed him, with the center duo of Predrag Drobnjak and Calvin Booth not supplying the necessary interior muscle. When Jerome James returned, however, Potapenko’s role became less defined. When the club added Elden Campbell, it became non-existent. Potapenko played just 69 minutes the rest of the season.

Potapenko should benefit from a thinned-out group of centers with Campbell and Drobnjak departed as free agents. After nearly an entire year on the court, he also enters this season much healthier and with the chance to play a full training camp. As a result, Potapenko should be more effective than he was last season. If he can regain his Celtics form, Potapenko is a quality reserve in the middle. His skills also contrast neatly with those of Booth, allowing the Sonics to mix and match their backup centers and put them in the right positions to succeed.