Kevin Pelton, SUPERSONICS.COM | October 10, 2005
All it takes for Seattle SuperSonics center
Robert Swift to remind observers why he was chosen in the lottery of the 2004 NBA Draft is a powerful slam dunk or a finish off glass in traffic. All it takes for Swift to remind that he is still just 19, an age at which few players, let alone 7-footers, have been contributors, is for Swift's aggressiveness to get the better of him on a foul.
A year removed from his first NBA (preseason) game and still 14 months away from reaching drinking age, Swift is very much in the midst of the development process. And process is the key word there.
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"He's in a situation where he's playing with good players, so he doesn't have to be the man. With that pressure relieved from him, he's playing better than he did in summer league."
Jeff Reinking/NBAE/Getty
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"I think he's done well," said Sonics Coach
Bob Weiss after a week of training camp. "He's in a situation where he's playing with good players, so he doesn't have to be the man. He knows we're not going to go out there and throw him the ball and he's got to produce. He's just going to set picks, offensive rebound and block shots and if he floats in the game, that's okay. With that pressure relieved from him and
Johan (Petro), both of them are playing better than they did in summer league."
Over the past week, Weiss has been relatively consistent in his praise of how Swift has performed. As he did last year behind the closed doors of The Furtado Center, the Sonics and Storm training facility, Swift has shown the ability to finish with a flush in the paint, contest shots and get on the defensive glass. However, with only 72 minutes of game experience behind him, Swift is still badly in need of experience and the learning that inevitably comes with it.
"It's the little things," said Weiss.
"One example is today, Robert and Petro both were almost over-enthusiastic. They're stepping out on these little guards. Well, you've got to learn that they're going to go around you if you step out of your comfort zone. You've got to let them come to you as a big man, because you're not going to stop them from getting a shot. What you can do is dictate what kind of shot they're going to get. What we want is a shot off the dribble with our big now lunging at them with a hand up. We don't expect the big to go out there and stop a small from getting a shot, because if he does that, that little is going to end up by the hoop, somebody's going to have a foul or they're going to have a layup. All of a sudden, instead of having a 45% shot, they're going to have a 65% opportunity by getting into the paint.
"Learning how much you can move on a pick, how much you can't. He (Robert) got called a lot for moving screens today, and he's got to get out of that habit."
The coaching staff is trying to keep from overloading Swift with things to think about by giving him one issue to focus on at a time.
"They come up to me after a practice or in between and tell me, 'Work on this,' and I work on it, and then they'll give me another thing to work on," said Swift.
A key part of Swift's development process was this summer, when he played for the Sonics entry in the Rocky Mountain Revue Summer League. During RMR action, Swift was the Sonics leading rebounder (7.5 rpg) and shot-blocker (1.3 rpg), but averaged only 5.2 points. Swift doesn't entirely understand the concern that he was not a bigger offensive threat in Utah.
"I wasn't there trying to score," Swift said. "I'm not going to be a main option with 
Ray (Allen), 
Rashard (Lewis) and 
Luke (Ridnour). I know that my job is going to be to rebound and block shots, so that's what I was working on in summer league. I made a lot of improvement in summer league. I think I was top five in rebounds, so I did what I wanted to do."
After summer-league play, Swift continued developing his game back in his native California.
"I spent about a week in Sacramento between working out in the morning and vacationing, visiting family at night," said Swift. "Then I went down to L.A. and started two- or three-a-days. I'd go two or three times in a day. I worked out in the morning with my agent (Arn Tellem) and a group of guys he had down there and then go play at UCLA in the afternoon.
"I started like three weeks before summer league. I just kept doing the same things - getting quicker, stronger. A lot of offensive and defensive rebounding drills, a lot of timing drills to work on my shot-blocking."
Swift's off-season work could pay off this season with a regular role for the Sonics. Despite the Sonics depth up front, Weiss would ideally like Swift to be a part of the rotation.
"If you have your wish list, I hope he's over 10 (minutes per game)," Weiss said. "The range could be anywhere from zero to 20, depending on how well he does."
"I would like to feel like I have a little bit of control over it, but I know I don't," said Swift. "I know it's up to the coaches. I'm going to go out and play hard every time I practice, and if they like it, hopefully they'll let me play a little bit."
