In this first edition of "SuperFly," the pesky critter brings you all that was seen and overheard from his spot on the wall in Sonics land this week.

O' captain, my captain ... Gary Payton has been at the head of the pack in all the conditioning drills this week at practice. Payton even used his efficacious on-court communication skills to prod the youngsters into working harder and stopped a handful of plays to hand out tips and coach his teammates. GP has never been short on words, but SuperFly notices a more direct, patriarchal tone from the perennial All-Star this year.

Early bird ... Looks like the Sonics free-agent pickup Calvin Booth is not just a big bird, but an eager beaver. Booth was so eager to workout before training camp, even SuperFly couldn't beat the big man to the gym. The day after he signed with the Sonics, the man in the middle started a daily regimen of weights, cardio and hoops at the Furtado Center beginning at 8 a.m. every day. The big guy will need all the bulk he can muster to stay on his feet against Shaq, Zo, Dikembe and Co. this season.

Young again ... Sonics weight room sentinel Dwight Daub told SuperFly that in his five seasons with the team, he has never seen as many veterans joining the rookies in offseason workouts as he did this summer. Vin Baker is down to only a few pounds above what he carried to the All-Star game in four straight seasons back in the mid 90's. Gary Payton did the opposite -- he put on 18 pounds of muscle, although he plans to shave five of those during training camp.

Mac -- 4x17? ... In his training camp as chief, Nate McMillan instituted a litmus test to gauge the fitness levels of his players. McMillan enlisted Daub to come up with the test and to run it at the first day of practice. SuperFly's wings got tired just watching Daub run the players through four sets of 17 sprints across the court with only two minutes of rest in between. Mac-10 and Daub were shocked (ahem), pleased to see that all 19 players passed the inaugural "grind."

Welcome back ... SuperFly spotted Sonics legends Jack Sikma, Dale Ellis and Detlef Schrempf taking a break from the greens last week to visit training camp. But instead of practice jerseys, they were wearing whistles. It turns out that McMillan asked Sikma and former teammates Ellis and Schrempf to help out at training camp. The retired trio is encouraged to make observations and pass along any tips to players that they can. If they could only leave their rebounds and jump shots behind. SuperFly promises a special edition once there's a Craig Ehlo spotting.

Bigfoot ... In his 18 years of keeping shoes on Sonics feet, St. Yves has never had a player with bigger feet than free-agent pickup Jerome James. Not only is James a gargantuan 7-1, his size 22 kicks are bigger than new Sonics big-man mentor Sikma. Whether or not he can fill those shoes remains to be seen.

Overheard ... SuperFly couldn't help but overhear Payton promising at Media Day to be a mentor to the Sonics young guns this season. He also insisted there is a limit to what he'll do. "I'm not going to go to their house and say, 'Here's some Cream of Wheat,'" Payton said. "But if I'm in here lifting weights, I expect them to be here lifting weights." It's good to see GP didn't lose his sense of humor in the offseason.