According to several sources, the Seattle Sonics will introduce Spurs wunderkind Sam Presti as the new General Manager today. About. Freaking. Time.
San Antonio Spurs assistant general manager Sam Presti should receive an offer in the next day or so, and president Lenny Wilkens is staying in touch with prospective coaching candidates and keeping them abreast of the situation.
According to several NBA sources, Wilkens had informal conversations at the league's pre-draft camp in Orlando last week and told a handful of candidates that the Sonics intend to hire a GM this week and begin formal coaching interviews next week.
One team source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Seattle's short list includes former Indiana coach Rick Carlisle, former Minnesota coach Dwane Casey and Spurs assistant P.J. Carlesimo.
(from today's Seattle Times)
If that's truly the list of coaches the Sonics are chosing from, it would at least be an improvement over
the Two Bobs.
If Presti is truly our new GM, then I'm ecstatic about the Sonics' prospects for the draft. Not that having him would can change the choice with the 2nd pick, but it does for the 31st and 35th picks. Sure the wonder kid will come in with all the hype about how he found Parker and Oberto, but you also have to remember that the other thing big about him is that San Antonino promoted him each year. To me that says that they wanted to make sure that he'd say with them as long as they could have him. It also says that he's a hard worker and that he's earned his way into the job at the young age of 30. Hopefully, this means he's relentless worker. If so, we just might be able to rebuild this team in playoff contender in the next couple seasons.
ReplyDeleteNow the question is, who will he hire as head coach. Personally, I think it has be Carlisle, because he has a track record of turned the team he's been handed into a 50 win defensive monster. It just might be the thing do, because if you at the final four for this year's NBA playoffs you'd see that all four teams play relatively strong defense (granted that Detroit under Saunder lost all they'd learn from Carlisle and Brown). And it was further proven in the early rounds of the playoffs that defense wins in the playoffs (and I should know because I'm down here in the Bay Area as a Warriors season ticket holder). And all though a run and gun team would be fun, I'd prefer team like Cleveland that plays defense and had big star that care them when needed on offense (in the Sonics case we'd be 1 better than the Cavs because we'll have Durant AND Allen, maybe even Lewis).
In short, Presit is the first great move of the Clay Bennett era. Here's hoping that drafting Drurant, resigning Lewis and anchoring the Supersonics in Seattle are Bennett's next great moves. AND NOT a geographical move to the mid-west!!!
If a fourth coach (including Nate with the exception of one year) wins 45% or 40% with Allen & Lewis,etc. then will folks admit that they arent the winning pieces? The Bobs may not have been good but i do not think they were the sole problem.
ReplyDeletePrest - great.
ReplyDeleteCarlisle - great.
S&T Lewis - great.
Wahoo! I'm stoked on Presti and will be happy with Carlisle and could even handle the return of Dwayne. Carlisimo will totally blow, tho'.
ReplyDeleteWhat would you S&T Lewis for? There's really not a lot out there - unless you're looking at Zach Randolph, which makes sense if you think Randolph is for real and won't flake out for the next 4 years...
ReplyDelete