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SONICS HEADLINE NEWS
SONICS WAVE CLEAVES
SEATTLE - The Seattle SuperSonics today waived guard Mateen Cleaves, Sonics General Manager Rick Sund announced.
A 6-2 guard out of Michigan State, Cleaves averaged 4.1 points, 1.9 assists and 10.7 minutes per game in 19 appearances for the Sonics this season.
Cleaves, a five-year veteran, has averaged 3.8 ppg, 1.9 apg and 1.1 rpg in 159 NBA career games. He was originally drafted by the Detroit Pistons in the first round (14th pick overall) of the 2000 NBA Draft. Cleaves was signed by the Sonics as a free agent on Nov. 5, 2004 and re-signed with the team on Sep. 30, 2005. He appeared in 33 games over two seasons in Seattle.
The Sonics roster now stands at 14 players.
SONICS MAKE COACHING CHANGE
SEATTLE - The Seattle SuperSonics today announced that Sonics assistant and former NBA head coach BOB HILL has been named the team’s head coach replacing BOB WEIS, Sonics General Manager Rick Sund said. Weiss will remain with the Sonics organization in an advisory role.
“Bob Weiss has been a solid part of the Sonics coaching staff for many years,” said Sund. “He and I agreed that a change needed to be made to serve as a catalyst for elevating the performance of our team, and the timing is right for us today. He is a good man with an outstanding basketball mind and we look forward to his continued association with the organization.”
Weiss, 63, initially joined the Sonics staff as an assistant coach in 1994. He was originally a member of the Sonics organization as a player when he became part of the franchise’s 1967 inaugural roster. He has a combined 39 years experience in the NBA, including 27 seasons as a coach
TRADES
With three trades over the week and a half leading up to the NBA's 2006 trade deadline, the Seattle SuperSonics turned over more than a quarter of their roster.
The action started on Feb. 14, when the Sonics dealt Vladimir Radmanovic to the Los Angeles Clippers for Chris Wilcox in a trade of power forwards. The athletic Wilcox was behind All-Star Elton Brand on the Clippers depth chart, but gives the Sonics their most athletic power forward since Shawn Kemp.
The Sonics completed a pair of trades on the day of the Feb. 23 deadline. As part of a four-team trade, the Sonics acquired Earl Watson and Bryon Russell from the Denver Nuggets. In the deal, they sent Reggie Evans to Denver and Vitaly Potapenko to Sacramento. Watson, who was originally drafted by the Sonics out of UCLA and spent his rookie 2001-02 season in Seattle, is expected to become the Sonics third guard behind starters Ray Allen and Luke Ridnour. Watson is considered one of the league's best defensive point guards.
Seattle's other deadline-beating trade sent guard Ronald "Flip" Murray to Cleveland in exchange for guard Mike Wilks and cash consideration. Wilks, who is also considered a quality defender at the point, made his Sonics debut Feb. 25 in Miami and scored a season-high 12 points and handed out four assists in 23 minutes.