Supersonics S5 Presser

[BigDaddyd8720]

Welcome in everybody to the Supersonics Press Conference. I'm pleased to say that we have food for everybody this year so please help yourself to some chicky chicky parm parm. I told you that once we start seeing some results, I would be happy to include you guys in the festivities.

So let's get into it. While last season wasn't the season we hopped for, we definitely took a step in the right direction. We increased our win total to 48 wins and made the playoffs again, while having our division be the toughest once again. Schayes won MIP which we knew he would be capable of doing that. He got off to a slow start but that wasn't his fault, we wanted to take our time and develop him and now we're starting to see him come into his own. Wilkins and Green both made the All League team and I couldn't be happier for them. We really felt like we made the right moves to put our time in a great spot to be competitive. Now we just have to make sure we improve on last season and get out of the first round of the playoffs.

Which brings us to this season's expectations. While I'm not selling our team short, we still understand we have a lot of work to do to contend for the championship. We traded away Purvis Short this offseason but we got Mark Eaton in return and we really see him helping us out tremendously. It also freed up a lot of cap space so we can be better prepared for any future contracts. We also brought in Hanzlik who we feel gives us some depth. All of our players to a step forward in TC and hopefully this preseason is a sign of all the hardwork and we see similar results in the regular season. We've got 3 big men to rotate in and out to go along with 3-4 guards to rotate. I just gotta make sure I put the right players in the right position so everyone can succeed.

I will now open it up to any questions you may have.

[logpmess]

You have three terrific big men in Mark Eaton, Danny Schayes, and Mychal Thompson. Which one do you see as coming off the bench? How will you let that player know that not being a starter is not necessarily a demotion? Will he see similar minutes to the two starters down low?

[BigDaddyd8720]

You have three terrific big men in Mark Eaton, Danny Schayes, and Mychal Thompson. Which one do you see as coming off the bench? How will you let that player know that not being a starter is not necessarily a demotion? Will he see similar minutes to the two starters down low?

Great question. We will definitely look to rotate them all in to start the season but I think Mychal Thompson is the one that is definitely going to start and it's just gonna be a matter of how we want to structure our team. Eaton gives us more defense while Schayes provides some extra offense. If we feel we need to score more points, schayes goes in. If our defense needs help, Eaton will go in.

[IamQuailman]

With Danny Schayes & Larry Kenon both expiring, who is the higher priority to re-sign in the offseason?

[BigDaddyd8720]

With Danny Schayes & Larry Kenon both expiring, who is the higher priority to re-sign in the offseason?

It's no secret that Danny Schayes will be our #1 priority. We really like his progression and really see him becoming one of the elite Centers in this league

[WigNosy]

Steve Duin, the Oregonian...

Last season the Pacific division was seen by many as a meat-grinder. How do you feel it shapes up this season, and how can you claw your way to the top?

[BigDaddyd8720]

Steve Duin, the Oregonian...

Last season the Pacific division was seen by many as a meat-grinder. How do you feel it shapes up this season, and how can you claw your way to the top?

This division really is tough. And I'm happy to be a part of it and have had some success in it. I think it helps our team out a lot. That being said, I do think it does look a bit different this season. Warriors likely take a step back since they shipped of Malone, I doubt they win 60+ again. Lakers and Trailblazers are always gonna be in contention for the division. Clippers have gotten better each season just like us. And we see the suns are in their rebuild but not too far from competing. It's gonna be another grind this season but if we can come away with some extra divisional wins then we will be able to move into contention for division winners ourselves

[AngryBanana]

Chet Youbetcha, Dimmadome News: Why were you so willing to trade DJ away given that you had the cap space available to resign him?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[BigDaddyd8720]

Chet Youbetcha, Dimmadome News: Why were you so willing to trade DJ away given that you had the cap space available to resign him?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We didn't feel like he fit our long term plans. Had we kept him for the max deal, it would have put us behind in signing our other young players whose contracts are about to be up. Plus we saw what happened when he joined the team last season. He just wasn't the right fit for us and we believe we can win with the guys we have right now