McMillan will be changing his style somewhat this season. Mitchell Layton/NBAE/Getty

At Monday's media day, McMillan said that the Sonics would be going away from their trademark trapping on defense more this season. Tuesday, as the Sonics practiced for the first time, McMillan unveiled more changes, both in the team's offensive strategy and his own demeanor.

As McMillan likes to do, he began training camp working at the defensive end of the court (the team will focus on offense this evening). The 18 players in camp for the Sonics were divided into six groups of three and worked in three-on-three sessions on trapping pick-and-rolls and playing zone, amongst other things, with assistant Dean Demopoulos and Associate Head Coach Dwane Casey each leading their own stations and assistant Bob Weiss teaming with McMillan on the third.

It was evident once media were allowed into the practice that McMillan was taking more of an active role in leading the drills than he has in recent seasons, especially when guard Ronald "Flip" Murray had to leave because of an injury and McMillan stepped into his spot with the Sonics down to 17 players.

"I've been missing from the floor the last few years," McMillan said. "I want to get back involved - teach, demonstrate, take a station as opposed to acting like if I've been in the playoffs the last two years and I can sit back and watch my assistants do it."

Entering his seventh year of retirement, McMillan is still only 40. He likened himself to another 40-plus NBA vet considering returning to the court, Dennis Rodman (who has worked out for the Denver Nuggets but did not get invited to training camp) - though McMillan won't be pulling his number 10 jersey out of the KeyArena rafters any time soon.

When the Sonics began working as a team with a four-on-four fast-break drill and later three-man weaves, more McMillan changes were apparent. Any player committing a turnover in the former drill and the entire team in the latter, as well as any player missing a layup, was forced to make a lap around the two full courts at The Furtado Center, the Sonics and Storm training facility.

"We want to condition their minds not to turn it over," McMillan said. "That's one of the things we want to emphasize. I thought the last two years we were okay. We can get better. Last year, I was experimenting with allowing the three-man to bring the ball down, some four-men. None of that (this year). We want to get the ball to the point guard, let him run the break this year, really take care of the ball."

The Sonics were still the ninth-best team in the NBA in terms of avoiding turnovers last season, committing them on just 13.3% of their possessions, but that represented a major step back from the year before. In 2002-03, thanks largely to the emphasis on avoiding turnovers provided by Demopoulos, as well as a veteran backcourt, the Sonics ranked third in avoiding turnovers, coughing the ball up just 12.2% of the time.

The opportunity for improvement is there, and the rewards are potentially great for the Sonics. Last season, only one team averaged more than the 1.08 points per possession the Sonics typically scored when they avoided turning the ball over.

The other area McMillan will look for improvement this season is in terms of shot selection. Since taking over the helm of the Sonics, McMillan has generally given players a lot of freedom in terms of what shots to take. That dates back to the beginning of McMillan's NBA career, when then-Sonics Coach Bernie Bickerstaff, now running the expansion Charlotte Bobcats, kept a tight leash on his young point guard. McMillan isn't going that far, but he is going to be more vocal in terms of what is and is not a good shot.

"Last year, we allowed a lot of guys to take the three, and we had a couple of guys who shot the threeball at a low percentage," McMillan said. "If you don't shoot the three well, we don't want you taking those shots. I allowed those guys to continue to take those shots. This year, shot selection is going to be important - who's taking that shot, where, when, the situation."

For a team that neared NBA records for threes attempted, the Sonics were quite accurate from long distance, shooting 37.3% as a team. Only two players, young guards Murray and Luke Ridnour, shot lower than the NBA average of 34.7% from downtown. Murray, who attempted 229 threes but hit at just a 29.3% clip, might fall into the group of players McMillan wants to tone down their use of the three, especially given his explosive ability to get to the basket.

Shot selection will also play a role in transition this season for the Sonics. McMillan entered last year's training camp saying the Sonics would run at most opportunities, but quickly tempered his statements when he realized players were using them as license to take bad shots early in the shot clock without players in rebounding position.

Murray will be sidelined temporarily after suffering an injury Tuesday. Jeff Reinking/NBAE/Getty

"We want to run, we want to play fast, but if we don't have an uncontested shot, then we want to set up," McMillan said. "So we want to play in the first few seconds of that shot clock. If we don't have that, then we'll set up and run an offense."

The Sonics got some bad news on the first day of practice when guard Murray sustained a strained left quad muscle during one of the three-on-three defensive drills. Murray laid on his back near the endline in obvious pain before leaving the court with trainer Mike Shimensky. Murray is out a minimum of one week, and an MRI scheduled for this afternoon will provide a more accurate prognosis.

Besides for Murray's injury, McMillan was pleased with what he saw.

"You want intensity that first practice," he said. "I think we got that today."

Forward Nick Collison, practicing with the full squad for the first time since being lost for the season a year ago yesterday when it was determined he needed surgery on both shoulders, showed no signs of the injury, McMillan said.

Center Robert Swift, in his first practice, was another target of observation. Swift disappointed coaches with his play as a trailer on one fast break, but quickly bounced back to impress with his defense of a pick-and-roll the following play. The weave drill allowed Swift to display his athleticism, as he got well above the rim on multiple dunks.

"I think he was excited, as you would expect, and he worked hard," said McMillan.