The AP reports: Ruben Patterson signed with the Portland Trail Blazers yesterday, promising that he's a better man than his criminal record might suggest.

"I'm not no bad guy. I'm not no rapist. I'm a great guy," he said after signing a six-year contract worth $33.8 million.

I don't want to dwell on the past," he said. "My main focus right now is basketball, and I'm going to do everything in my heart to help this team win a championship."

Patterson criticized the team (Sonics) for not supporting him, and said there was another reason he wanted to leave: Gary Payton's temper. Payton often derided his younger Sonics teammates during games, and sometimes he would bark at Patterson if he took a jump shot or tried to bring the ball up the court.

"It had a lot to do with it," Patterson said. "Everybody knows about Gary. He tends to yell at you a lot. But there's only so much you can take from a person. I'm not going to knock Gary Payton -- he's a great basketball player -- but he was never that vocal a leader on the Seattle Sonics."