<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">SEATTLE -- The Seattle SuperSonics have scheduled a Thursday news conference amid reports that the team has hired P.J. Carlesimo as its new head coach. Team officials are refusing to comment on a report appearing on the San Antonio Express-News Web site, which says Carlesimo has been chosen by Sonics' ownership. Carlesimo has been an assistant the last five seasons in San Antonio and before that was a head coach in Portland and Golden State. Carlesimo and former Minnesota coach Dwane Casey have been considered the two front-runners for the position. The Sonics fired Bob Hill on April 24. </div> <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2925357" target="_blank"> Source</a> Not surprised, with the way the franchise is going right now I didn't expect them to hire anyone that had anything to do with the Sonics before (Casey).
I like it, i'll welcome as much Spurs related people/styles as Presti wants to bring in. I would've rather had Dwane Casey but i'm not disappointed in the pick of P.J. either.
I would rather have Casey as well. I agree with Shard about the way Bennet is running things, there won't be many too many individuals having any connection to Seattle brought in. I have mixed feelings about Carlesimo. He's used to winning the past 5-6 years so that has to be good. Just glad that we have a coach now.
I don't understand why this process was so drawn out. Presti knew what type of a coach P.J. was from his experiences with him in San Antonio. Why have a secret two month search for a coach (which started with Lenny) if you are intent on hiring Spurs personnel? Do I like the selection? No. If P.J. was such a great candidate than he wouldn't have spent the last 10 years in the right hand man role. I'm interested in who he hires as assistants as well. Maybe Dwane would want to get back in the game as an assistant b/c this was his best shot at getting a head coaching job again. Who knows? I would have preferred to hire a coach who would demand respect the instant he got the job. P.J. is really going to be reluctant to ride his players hard given that if one with cloudt rebels it will give the media all the ammunition in the world to bury him. The past will continuously haunt P.J. until he becomes a proven winner in the head spot. With the Sonics' current group I really do not anticipate that happening.
Not a fan at all. Never have been. The twisted side of me was kinda happy when nutbag psycho boy choked him. It marred both thier careers permenantly. PJ just didn't deserve it. It isn't his fault he isn't cut out to be a head coach. I won't be happy when they announce this . . . but at least it isn't Bob Hill.
<div class="quote_poster">odde23 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post"> . . . but at least it isn't Bob Hill.</div> Speaking of Bob Hill. Is he somehow the official spokesperson for the Sonics? There's always some sort of quote from him atleast twice a week in the papers.
How is Dwayne Casey any more of a head coach than PJ Carlesimo? I don't know what anybody is complaining about, anyway, nobody really knows how he's going to coach this team. I see no reason why he can't succeed.
<div class="quote_poster">Casual Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I don't know what anybody is complaining about....</div> The report that PJ was chosen as the head coach.
Steve Kelley doesn't like the hire - feels 'duped' actually http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/spor...4_kelley04.html - so that automatically means I like it.
<div class="quote_poster">Roland Hood Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Steve Kelley doesn't like the hire - feels 'duped' actually http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/spor...4_kelley04.html - so that automatically means I like it.</div> You don't agree with what he's written? I think he's hit the nail on the head - Bennett and co. are slowly washing any traces of Seattle basketball out of the franchise.
Well anybody who was 'duped' into thinking Clay and Presti were just going to maintain the status quo I think was being pretty naive. As a longtime Sonics fan hell yeah it'd be nice if Lenny was president and got us a new $300 million dollar arena right in downtown Seattle, and we brought back Ray and Rashard and Dwayne came back to teach them defensive principles that have escaped them for the past 4 years, Detlef Schrempf and Sikma on the bench turning Jeff Green and Swift into newer, better versions of themselves etc etc. But unfortunately that's all emotion and sentiment, 2 things Steve Kelley tends to pander to - see his 'bring Griffey Jr. back' article when the Reds were in town.
It's not a matter of being naive or thinking everything is going to be rosy and 'like old times', because that is obviously wishful thinking. I agree with the Ray Allen trade and I wouldn't want Rashard back if it's going to cost us the sort of money Orlando are offering. That's fine. My beef is, with the current roster and rebuilding direction, there is no better candidate than Dwane Casey. PJ has shown in the past that he can carry on the good work when inheriting a winning roster, but the Golden State debacle has been his one chance to work with a young team, and look how that ended up. Casey is someone who knows the franchise like the back of his hand, even has residence in Seattle and is renowned for his ability to work with young players. He has a real reputation as a players coach too (not in the Bob Weiss mould, mind you) while PJ has always struggled with player relationships. He is the perfect candidate in so many respects. Add to the fact if there was any real intention in keeping the Sonics in Seattle, having DC fall into their laps would be too good an opportunity to pass up for Bennett and Presti. Maybe I am being naive, but I just don't see how PJ is a better candidate in any sense than Dwane Casey for what we're trying to do here in a rebuilding sense.
PJ is a better candidate because Sam Presti knows him well. Even so, it is pretty obvious that Bennett is preparing the organization to move to Oklahoma in a year.
The only reason why I believe this is a bad hire is because P.J. did not have success as a pro coach in Portland or in Golden State. Presti and Bennett have said the goal is to compete for a championship. Well with a pretty good supporting cast in Portland P.J. couldn't get the Blazers past the first round. And after getting fired from Portland, despite his run in with Sprewell, he only one 46 games in two seasons. That is horrible. I could have been on San Antonio's staff and they still would have been one of the best teams in the league. The Spurs were not good b/c of P.J. they were great because of Pop. He may have learned many things from Pop but the bottom line is that the Sonics have no veterans, no interior scoring, and no defensive stoppers. The Spurs are the best in the league in all three categories and that is why they were as great as they have been the past 5 years. I wouldn't have hired a throwback voice with baggage--I would have rather had a demanding voice with experience that has had success in this league coach this team--someone like a Bernie Bickerstaff or a Terry Porter. Again if we were looking to bring in a up and coming assistant coach I would have chosen Don Newman. P.J. is looked at as a safe hire who given his past isn't that safe at all.
I like Casey and if Nate's timing had been a little better he would've gotten the head job instead of Weiss, and would like to think that if that was the case he'd still be the coach. But things being the way they since we are talking about track records the success rate of Sonics assistants as head coaches isn't that impressive (read: Hill, Weiss). Based on our 'system' (what is it?) you can't blame an outsider like Presti for thinking that the Sonics organization isn't exactly brimming with home grown coaching talent.