Sheppard Not a Candidate?

It appears the (extremely) long and winding road leading to a replacement for Rick Sund may be drawing to a close. According to the Washington Post, Tommy Sheppard is no longer in the running for the Sonics' GM position, meaning Sam Presti has the position all but locked up.

Why the Sonics continue to draw this situation out is a mystery to me. My only logical conclusion is that Presti wants to keep this under wraps until after the Finals are completed, so as not to distract from the proceedings. Honestly, what other reason could there be?

Unfortunately, the Sonics are the losers in all of this, as each day that passes means one less day Presti spends evaluating the roster and figuring out what steps the team needs to make this summer. Of course, it's always possible that all of this has been a formality and Presti has been spending the past month doing that evaluation, but to outsiders such as us, it sure is puzzling why this franchise continues to lumber along like Clemon Johnson in the second game of a back-to-back.

Also, feel free to check out the Miami Herald if you're in need of a laugh today. The Heat are interested in acquiring Rashard Lewis in a sign and trade, but even The Herald's Barry Jackson struggles to find a way to make it happen. Among the flotsam and jetsam named as possibly returning to Seattle are Jason Kapono, Jason Williams, Michael Doleac, ... oh, hell, there's no point in even listing the rest. The Sonics would be better off signing Lewis, paying him $15 mil. a year, and having him room with Vin Baker and Shawn Kemp than acquiring any of those "assets" from the Heat.

Presti and Sheppard

Since the two GM candidates seem to be Sam Presti and Tommy Sheppard, I thought we ought to take a look at their draft records. Now, it’s not entirely fair to either guy to do this, in that neither Presti nor Sheppard had the final say in who their franchise selected, but it is interesting to see who they’ve pulled out of the draft while they’ve been employed.

SHEPPARD: Jarvis Hayes, Steve Blake, Peter John Ramos, Andray Blatche, and Oleksiy Pecherov.

PRESTI: Tony Parker, Robertas Javtokas, Bryan Bracey, Johan Salmons, Luis Scola, Randy Holcomb, Leandro Barbosa, Sergei Karaulov, Romain Sato, Beno Udrih, Ian Mahinmi, Damir Markota.

Just from that brief glimpse, you have to give Presti a huge advantage. Sheppard’s big “find” has been Jarvis Hayes, and that’s not exactly something you post on your resume. (Note to those that will mention the Wizards’ drafting Devin Harris; the Mavericks actually drafted Harris, they just had the Wiz do it for them). Presti, meanwhile has produced Udrih, Parker, and Barbosa – all from the bad end of the rounds.

We’ll take a look tomorrow at the trades the two candidates have been involved in, just to shed some more light on the guy responsible for the future of the Sonics.

But before I quit for the day, I’d like to throw my two cents in that a GM’s drafting skills are what sets him apart. In today’s league, the best way to improve your team for the long-term is through the draft. Because of salary issues, it’s almost impossible to continue adding free agents to fill holes, you have to find guys in the draft. As much as we skewer Rick Sund and the Sonics, finding Collison and Ridnour in one draft is an exceptional example. There’s no way the Sonics could have gotten players like that through free agency at the salaries they were being paid.

On the flip side, piling up “projects” like Petro and Sene have the opposite effect, especially when you’re paying those projects close to $4 million a year to sit on the bench.

Sonics to name Presti GM today?

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.