Dwane Casey favorite for Sonics Job

[Darkwaters]

Sonics Could Name Coach Within Two Days
July 2, 2007 - 3:03 am
Seattle Post Intelligencer -
It is believed Sonics GM Sam Presti is close to naming a head coach and NBA sources say that former Sonics assistant and Minnesota coach Dwane Casey has emerged as the favorite.

None of the coaching candidates -- Casey, Spurs assistant P.J. Carlesimo or Utah assistant Tyrone Corbin -- have spoken with the media since the search intensified. But it is believed around the league that Casey, who was popular with the Sonics players during his tenure as assistant coach and has been a top recruiter during his days with the University of Kentucky and Western Kentucky, can help develop the team's desired culture.

http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/46844/20070702/sonics_could_name_coach_within_two_days/

[exstatic]

Not sure PJ is a good fit there, unless they want to do a wholesale purge like Portland did.

[Supergirl]

WTF? As much as I don't want to lose PJ, it's started to get a little ridiculous.

It's starting to look like there's something going on underneath the surface - like, PJ has a bad rep among a lot of NBA players stemming back from the Latrell incident.

[Kori Ellis]

PJ wasn't Presti's first choice for the job. So it's understandable he's not the frontrunner.

[Darkwaters]

PJ wasn't Presti's first choice for the job. So it's understandable he's not the frontrunner.

A lot of us were hoping that CSKA Moscow's Ettore Messina would coach the Sonics. But that was always just a pipe dream.

[FromWayDowntown]

PJ actually was a pretty good teacher of the game when he was at Seton Hall. I'm surprised that more teams going young haven't tried to tap into that part of his resume, though I guess the Ghost of Latrell Sprewell might be the thing that scares them off. I still think that if you give PJ a group of kids who largely haven't been tainted by the bad parts of NBA life, he'd find success in teaching those kids to play and play hard.

[NBA Junkie]

Looks like it could be the second time PJ loses out to Casey for a head coaching job.

[T Park]

I wish they would take him.

It would be interesting to see who would vault into the I guess head assistant coach ranks.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Kinda funny. Some folks around here have a mancrush on Presti, and yet he's close to naming their coach a guy who has a worse coaching record than P.J. in the NBA.

[Supergirl]

PJ wasn't Presti's first choice for the job. So it's understandable he's not the frontrunner.

But do you know WHY he isn't Presti's first choice? As others have pointed out, Casey has a terrible record as a head coach. Why wouldn't he take someone who has a great record as an assistant coach in the NBA over someone like that?

It seems to me, just from reading between the lines, that there is something residual that lingers from the Latrell Sprewell incident, like there's some sort of negative impression players have of him. And I don't really understand that. He criticized Latrell in practice - that's what practice is FOR, after all - and Sprewell said "I'm not in the mood for criticism" and then 20 minutes later tried to strangle him. The fact that Sprewell tried to strangle a woman year later speaks to his sociopathy, not PJ's poor coaching. Am I missing something?

[kyleo]

Casey had Minnesota playing .500 ball before they fired him. Then the T-Wolves just fell apart. I mean, not the greatest credentials, but it's something.

[objective]

A lot of us were hoping that CSKA Moscow's Ettore Messina would coach the Sonics. But that was always just a pipe dream.

I was hoping that Messina would replace Carlesimo as an assistant for the Spurs.

But according to a news blurb on the Euroleague site, he will definately be coaching CSKA next season.

[ploto]

It seems to me, just from reading between the lines, that there is something residual that lingers from the Latrell Sprewell incident, like there's some sort of negative impression players have of him. And I don't really understand that.
Sam Presti is not Pop or PJ in terms of personality and maybe he wants to create a certain feel for his team that PJ does not fit into. It should be no surprise. PJ isn't even Sam's second choice.

[SequSpur]

if you are thinking short term, then Casey is their man.. he's a fucking tool bag.

long term, they need to bring in someone else...

PJ is chillin here, making millions... why would he go somewhere else?

[Darkwaters]

if you are thinking short term, then Casey is their man.. he's a fucking tool bag.

long term, they need to bring in someone else...

PJ is chillin here, making millions... why would he go somewhere else?

Two words: Kevin Durant

[T Park]

two words

more money